Khamzat Chimaev Spills Why Dana White ‘Didn’t Pick’ Bo Nickal for UFC Saudi Arabia – “Too Early”

Khamzat Chimaev and Bo Nickal are two of the most hyped fighters in the promotion. Nickal, a three-time NCAA D1 champion, was signed to the UFC after only three professional fights due to his championship pedigree and popularity among wrestling fans. Chimaev, on the other hand, was an absolute beast early on in his UFC career.

The Chechen fought four times in UFC back in 2020 and absolutely mauled all of his opponents. And despite Bo’s relative inexperience, there have been many calls for him to fight Chimaev since last year. The two men have also gone back and forth after UFC 300. ‘Borz’ gave his thoughts on fighting the American in a recent interview.

Khamzat Chimaev doesn’t think time is ripe for Bo Nickal clash

Amid their recent feud which has seen both men take potshots at each other, Khamzat Chimaev was asked what he thought about a possible fight with Bo Nickal by UFC YouTuber Nina Drama. And as expected, Chimaev was not very complementary.

“What do I think about shhh [sic]. I don’t know why UFC didn’t pick him because they think the guy’s too early for me. Too young? I don’t know how old he is, but in MMA it means like the guy is too young for the sport and grow up. For a fight now? I’m gonna smash that guy first round, easy. But maybe when I’m older it makes a tougher fight. But for sure I’m gonna win that time as well,” he said.

The Emirati citizen wondered why the UFC didn’t choose to book Nickal against him for the UFC’s historic first Saudi Arabia card and put it down to his novice status. Regardless, along with the criticism over Nickal’s age, the Chechnyan has also been critical of the U23 world champion’s wrestling abilities despite the latter’s recent performance at UFC 300.

Chimaev and Nickal trash each other after UFC 300

Bo Nickal managed to submit Cody Brundage in the second round of their UFC 300 clash with his signature rear naked choke hold. However, the former NCAA champion did not seem too impressed with his performance and gave himself a thumbs-up when he got up after the submission. This sentiment was shared by Khamzat Chimaev who took to Twitter and called Brundage’s wrestling abilities “bullsh**”.

This, predictably, invited a response from Nickal, who promised to take Chimaev down and “ragdoll” him. Clearly, the two men are on a collision course and will fight somewhere down the line. And while the time may not be ripe yet according to Chimaev, fans will not mind seeing them resolve their bad blood in the octagon sooner rather than later.