Bo Nickal secured a victory in his fight against veteran Paul Craig at UFC 309 and kept his winning run going. However, it didn’t feel much like a win. The arena was filled with “overrated” chants as fans voiced their disappointment, criticizing Nickal’s lackluster performance, even though he did show a lot of quality in his fight.

Given that he’s a three-time NCAA D1 wrestling champion, Bo Nickal was widely regarded as the heavy favorite going into the fight. However, he only came away with a narrow decision victory over the Scotsman, which fell short of the dominant performance many had anticipated. But a former UFC fighter has made some bold predictions for him going into 2025.

Chael Sonnen feels 2025 will be a year to remember for Bo Nickal and his team

Bo Nickal’s rise in the UFC has been nothing short of meteoric. The former wrestling champion entered the promotion with a reputation built on his dominant wrestling background and raw athleticism. Having dominated in the collegiate ranks, Nickal’s transition to MMA seemed seamless, with many experts predicting him to make a quick impact in the UFC. However, his last performance at UFC 309 might not have impressed many Sonnen still hopes he is a future champion.

‘The American Gangster’ took to his ‘Good Guy/ Bad Guy’ podcast along with Daniel Cormier to discuss about it. Sonnen has always been a fan of Nickal and has always rated him very highly. During one of the sections, Cormier asked him to make some predictions about the upcoming 2025 year. The former UFC champion had no hesitation in saying that Nickal might just end up moving a lot of places by the end of the year.

He said, “I believe that Bo Nickal is going to rise to the top. I do not know if the calendar year will quite give him an opportunity. I think he needs 16 months to actually find the belt.” Bo Nickal faces immense expectations as an undefeated middleweight, with many believing he has the potential to become a future champion. His wrestling ability has placed him in the discussion as one of the top wrestlers in the promotion. But his last fight has been nowhere close to what people expect from him.

Nickal secured a decision victory over unranked veteran Paul Craig at UFC 309. What stood out as unusual, however, was that Nickal didn’t attempt a single takedown throughout the entire fight against the Scotsman. But was this all the fault of the 28-year-old fighter? Well according to Mike Perry, his team also should take some of the blame.