“Khabib, Khamzat, Islam,” Bo Nickal tweeted when asked about his top three MMA wrestlers of all time, which came as a surprise to many. After all, this is the same man who had once called Khamzat Chimaev‘s wrestling “trash”. “I wouldn’t even say [Chimaev’s wrestling is] mid,” the undefeated middleweight would dismissively add. What’s the reason behind this change of heart? Did that UFC 308 fight against Robert Whittaker make Nickal a believer? Regardless, Bo Nickal’s list inspired other members of the fight community to give their picks.

Among those surprised at this 180-degree turn is Michael Bisping, who spoke about it in a recent video on his YouTube channel. For context, Bisping, inspired by Nickal, gave his own top-five list of MMA wrestlers, putting Chimaev at #4 (Matt Hughes at #5, Islam Makhachev at #3, Henry Cejudo at #2, and Khabib Nurmagomedov at #1).

“He’s got six knockouts and six submissions with an undefeated, shiny record. But the wrestling is just next level and it just goes to show you haven’t got to be an Olympian to be successful at wrestling in mixed martial arts. Sure, Khamzat Chimaev was a very very good wrestler but he wasn’t exactly an international legend—far from it. But I tell you what, in mixed martial arts he’s unbelievable,” he said.

Bisping’s words about a fighter “not having to be an Olympian” to wrestle well inside the Octagon is similar to Daniel Cormier recounting his story about how—despite him being an Olympic wrestler, couldn’t outwrestle Jon Jones, even being taken down on occasions by the two-weight champion and Swedish legend Alexander Gustafsson. Wrestling in MMA and pure wrestling are two different disciplines at this point.

‘The Count’ was also quite happy that Nickal had changed his mind about Khamzat Chimaev‘s wrestling abilities. Khamzat Chimaev seems like he’s in his prime right now, and Robert Whittaker serves as a cautionary tale for any fighter who has ‘Borz’ in their crosshairs. Perhaps, Bo Nickal is supremely aware of this. If he does well enough, he may find himself face-to-face with the Chechnyan wolf himself someday. In that case, he’d have to back his words up. It makes sense for Bo to tread with caution, especially when he’s entering the more serious chapter of MMA competition in his UFC career.

“The fact that Bo Nickal had him on his [top three MMA wrestlers] list is kind of curious because Bo Nickal did say in the past that his wrestling wasn’t actually that good. But it just goes to show that Bo’s being very humble and also being honest because it doesn’t matter how good you are technically if you can take everybody down and control them, then you are successful,” Michael Bisping added. Humble or not, there’s one man who is confident he can beat up Khamzat Chimaev. We’re talking about none other than the middleweight champion himself, Dricus Du Plessis.

Dricus Du Plessis desperate to fight Khamzat Chimaev

Khamzat Chimaev may be the most intimidating fighter in the entire middleweight division, but Dricus Du Plessis takes goofy to horrifying new dimensions. Think Five Nights at Freddy’s. On one hand, the undefeated now-Emirati seems like an unstoppable force of nature. On the other hand, the South African champ has been playing peek-a-boo with his awkward style, leaving even the most seasoned fighters wondering what his next move is and where it’ll come from..

There has not been an official announcement from the UFC, but Dana White would be an absolute tyrant if he didn’t put Chimaev against Du Plessis-Chimaev next. Contrary to what would constitute logic, ‘DDP’ has been foaming at the mouth to fight Chimaev, who he thinks “deserves a hiding”. No reasonable man would be as enthusiastic as the South African to fight the Chechnyan, yet here we are.  Not to mention a victory over the undefeated, massively-hyped ‘Borz’ would help bring ‘DDP’ one step closer to his ultimate goal—becoming the middleweight GOAT.

“People think of Khamzat as this boogeyman. [For] People, that’s a fact. I don’t, I don’t see that. For me, I only see one thing, and that’s the potential to do good to my legacy. The potential to make my legacy even better,” Du Plessis told Ariel Helwani in a recent interview. So what do you think? Will we see Dricus Du Plessis put his belt on the line against Khamzat Chimaev? Is Khamzat Chimaev one of the best wrestlers in MMA? Let us know in the comments below.