Bo Nickal, the outspoken freestyle wrestling phenom, seems to be perpetually caught in a storm of controversy. Whether he’s ruffling feathers with his take on Greco-Roman wrestling or stirring the pot about Islam Makhachev’s prospects in high-level college wrestling, Nickal isn’t one to shy away from sharing his unfiltered opinions. It all began when the U23 World Champion was asked how to make wrestling more popular, and his response was anything but diplomatic. “Get rid of Greco, doesn’t even make sense,” he bluntly stated, showing his frustration with a style of wrestling that, in his eyes, seemed unnecessarily restrictive. “Can’t grab the legs? Alright. Stupid made-up rule for no reason,” he scoffed, clearly unafraid to take a jab at the traditional discipline. Not stopping there, Nickal proposed a radical shakeup to the wrestling world: “Honestly, I’ll be fine to add three weights to men’s freestyle and three weights to women’s freestyle. Take off the second bronze medal. Make everybody wrestle back for one bronze medal and we can make the brackets even smaller and now we have room for more weight classes.”

Unsurprisingly, his bold remarks didn’t sit well with the wrestling community, particularly among Greco-Roman enthusiasts. Kamal Bey, the 2023 Pan American gold medalist and a staunch defender of Greco-Roman wrestling, was quick to counter Nickal’s comments. Calling Nickal’s rationale “absurd,” Bey fired back, “Not grabbing legs makes things dumb? The most popular style of wrestling internationally is Greco Roman.” As a former Greco-Roman champion himself, Bey didn’t hold back, challenging Nickal to truly understand the sport he was criticizing. “Most Americans won’t even take time to learn the sport that’s why it’s uninteresting to most. Wish you’d come and take time to learn our sport @NoBickal then you’d appreciate how hard and how fun it can be. @_wrestlersgrind,” he added, throwing down the gauntlet.

Faced with the backlash, Nickal appeared to soften his stance. Responding to Bey’s pointed comments on X, Nickal offered a more conciliatory tone: “Honestly man I love watching you compete. If every Greco wrestler was like you my opinion would be different. I wrestled Greco at a high level as a kid and liked it a lot but I think it’s just not quite as exciting overall as freestyle.” While he praised Bey as an exceptional wrestler, Nickal still held firm to his belief that, on the whole, Greco-Roman lacks the dynamism of freestyle. “There are outliers such as yourself, but overall I think there’s less action,” he maintained, standing by his original critique.

Though the exchange between the two wrestling greats ended amicably, with Kamal Bey wishing Nickal good luck for his upcoming matches, the fan frenzy over Nickal’s controversial comments showed no signs of dying down. The wrestling world is abuzz, divided between those who defend the tradition of Greco-Roman and those who, like Nickal, call for change. As the debate rages on, one thing is clear: Bo Nickal knows how to keep the wrestling community talking.

Fans split over Bo Nickal’s take on Greco-Roman wrestling

While Bo Nickal’s take drew irk from Greco-Roman wrestling greats, surprisingly, several fans shared his opinion. One fan on X came out openly expressing his unlikeness for Greco-Roman wrestling. “Oh geez. Everyone hates Greco in the US, even our Greco wrestlers. Watch them compete and tell me they enjoy the sport. Even the GOAT Lopez can only stand to do it once every 4 years” he said. Another fan joined in with his supporting words, “Have to side with Bo on this one. Greco is, for the most part, unwatchable.”

Echoing same sentiments, another fan stuck hard on the complicated rules in Greco-Roman wrestling, “Greco is Hard to watch, hate having to explain the rules to EVERYONE that watches it with me and Bo is an ambassador to the sport of college wrestling and a bridge connecting to MMA.”

But others weren’t as supportive over Bo Nickal’s take. One X user attributed America’s lack of interest in Greco-Roman wrestling to the country’s limited success in the sport. Without mincing his words, he said, “If the US was actual good at greco, i believe people would have drastically different opinions on it.” Another one came down even harsher stating, “Greco is boring to people who don’t know anything about it. The fact remains that the US is the only Country that wrestles Folkstyle.” Bo Nickal might consider Greco-Roman wrestling boring, but it’s quite popular across the world. Thirty-one countries and three individual neutral candidates participated in Greco-Roman wrestling events at the Paris Olympics, cementing its reputation as a hugely popular sport around the globe. What is your take on Bo Nickal’s opinion about Greco-Roman wrestling? Tell us in the comments.