Home/UFC

via Imago

via Imago

Bo Nickal’s UFC 300 win hasn’t impressed Khamzat Chimaev. The 28-year-old middleweight remained undefeated after a second-round submission victory over Cody Brundage on the historic UFC card. While he showcased his impressive grappling skills in the fight, the fans were stunned at Nickal’s comments about his performance after the fight. He stated in the post-fight interview, “I feel like I’m a little bit embarrassed with that performance, just because I expect to go out there and completely dominate and shut this guy out and I gave him a little bit too many opportunities.”

And ‘Borz’ also echoed the same sentiments as in a now-deleted post on X, he had stated, “This wrestling was big bullsh*t”. The post was brought up during the post-fight press conference when Nickal was asked to share his thoughts on Chimaev’s comments.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by MMA Junkie (@mmajunkie)

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

He responded by stating, “Yeah, this guy is crazy man… it’s easy to be critical of me… a guy that has less experience, but at the end of the day, I’m getting finishes, this guy is winning decisions, and he’s gassing out at the end of the rounds and I’m widening the gap so…”. Nickal also revealed that he feels that if the two were to fight, he could weather Chimaev’s early onslaught to pull ahead as the fight went on. He ended his response by stating, “Everyday I widen the gap on that guy to be honest.”

However, the MMA fandom wasn’t impressed with Nickal’s assertion as they came to Chimaev’s defense in the comments section. The overwhelming sentiment amongst the community indicates that ‘Borz’ is perceived as having faced a harder tier of opponents than the American. As such, let’s take a look at what the netizens had to say.  

Fans slam Bo Nickal for claiming he is better than Khamzat Chimaev  

Some fans came to Khamzat’s defense, arguing that he is facing high-ranked opponents while Nickal fights unranked fighters.

In Khamzat defense, he’s fighting high ranked championship caliber opponents, your fighting no name unranked fighters

Others claimed that Chimaev would finish Nickal if the two were to face each other inside the cage. ‘Borz’ is currently ranked no.11 in the middleweight division, so it would be fair to assume that there is still a large difference in MMA experience between the two.

Khamzat finishes Bo

Fans also echoed the sentiments that were put forth when Nickal’s presence at UFC 300 was announced that he is yet to reach the level of a main-card talent

It was a mistake putting him on the main card, let’s be honest. Even this dude recognizes that his performance was not up to the level of the card

Others were more straightforward in their response as they bluntly stated that Nickal would be in for a rude awakening if he faced Chimaev inside the Octagon

cool story, khamzat finishes you any day of the week twice on Sunday

Fans also pointed out that Chimaev’s last fight was against Kamaru Usman, a former champion who is significantly tougher competition than anyone Nickal has faced so far

Khamzats fighting the top of the division. Bo is fighting low level guys… he’s comparing apples to oranges

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

The fact that ‘Borz’ has only gone to decisions against names like Usman and Gilbert Burns was also referred by the fans

Khamzat had 10 finishes in his first 10 fights until he faced elite competition.. just saying he did get a bunch of finishes..

In conclusion, it appears that fans are firmly on the side of Khamzat Chimaev in this back-and-forth between UFC middleweight contenders. While it remains to be seen when the two men shall stand face to face inside the Octagon, the debate surrounding the pair indicates that fans eagerly await the opportunity to see them test their skills against one another!

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

What are your thoughts on the exchange between Bo Nickal and Khamzat Chimaev? Share your thoughts in the comments below!