bo nickal career mismanagement is insane

[mister piscadinha]

dude should be in the apex facing four cans per year, but they put him in ppv main cards twice a year

dude is 28, not 17

he looks uncomfortable striking, shouldn't at all taking this slow ass road

if this guy want to be great in the ufc, he needs to switch gyms and fight 3-4 times a year

 

[Duke Kensington]

Doesn’t he train out of ATT? Not many gyms better than that.

he’s in a weird place where most cans are so bad everywhere that he can always out wrestle them and learn nothing. It makes more sense to spar/train with high level guys and fight twice a year.

Next year he will probably fight slightly higher level guys and maybe even a ranked opponent. Once you’re ranked it’s only really 2-3 fights until a title shot.

 

[Oscar Madison]

UFC Undefeated.

Craig was his entry into mid-level competition.

He's got 3-4 years to make his run -- and Find Out.

 

[HuskySamoan]

UFC Undefeated.

Craig was his entry into mid-level competition.

He's got 3-4 years to make his run -- and Find Out.

Craig is a 36 year old unathletic butt-scooter who has zero knockout power. He's 17-9, 1-4 in his last 5. Craig is "mid level" somehow, but about as easy as matchup as they could possibly find for Bo outside of your Jamie Picketts and Cody Brundages. Bo hasn't fought a single guy with a shred of potential or upside, not a single competent fighter that's even top 30 level yet and at MW...top 30 is pretty slim pickins still. Also just in a vacuum Bo's striking and wrestling haven't been coming along at all. If he's going to take such easy fights...he might as well be active.

 

[Bend NvR Break]

dude should be in the apex facing four cans per year, but they put him in ppv main cards twice a year

dude is 28, not 17

he looks uncomfortable striking, shouldn't at all taking this slow ass road

if this guy want to be great in the ufc, he needs to switch gyms and fight 3-4 times a year

Switch gyms?
He has a specific BJJ trainer. He has a specific MT trainer. He has a specific American Top Team trainer that trains with him in Pennsylvania. And he still practices wrestling at Penn State.

We need to stop expecting a round shape to fit into a triangle hole. Bo spends 40-50 hours a week in MMA. We just need to accept that we can't just grab combat athletes from other sports and expect them to do good in MMA. Just because you work hard at something doesn't mean you'll be successful at it. This isn't a switch gym issue. This is a Bo Nickels issue. His success in wrestling and potential isn't coming to fruition like it was expected too.

 

[Marko Polo]

Switch gyms?
He has a specific BJJ trainer. He has a specific MT trainer. He has a specific American Top Team trainer that trains with him in Pennsylvania. And he still practices wrestling at Penn State.

We need to stop expecting a round shape to fit into a triangle hole. Bo spends 40-50 hours a week in MMA. We just need to accept that we can't just grab combat athletes from other sports and expect them to do good in MMA. Just because you work hard at something doesn't mean you'll be successful at it. This isn't a switch gym issue. This is a Bo Nickels issue. His success in wrestling and potential isn't coming to fruition like it was expected too.

He seems really scared of being hit, like Lesnar was

 

[Adamant]

Bo should fight Hermannssonn or De Ridder next.

 

[Blanqa Blanqua]

dude should be in the apex facing four cans per year, but they put him in ppv main cards twice a year

dude is 28, not 17

he looks uncomfortable striking, shouldn't at all taking this slow ass road

if this guy want to be great in the ufc, he needs to switch gyms and fight 3-4 times a year

He does come across as a 17 y/o

 

[CieloLuce]

I think the dude understands his role in the UFC. I think after that performance the UFC understood what he is capable of and we will be seeing him on fight nights or prelims for PPV's.

I am going to call it out now. He is literally the Daukaus bros but with more time.

 

[ThaiSexPills]

Craig is a 36 year old unathletic butt-scooter who has zero knockout power. He's 17-9, 1-4 in his last 5. Craig is "mid level" somehow, but about as easy as matchup as they could possibly find for Bo outside of your Jamie Picketts and Cody Brundages. Bo hasn't fought a single guy with a shred of potential or upside, not a single competent fighter that's even top 30 level yet and at MW...top 30 is pretty slim pickins still. Also just in a vacuum Bo's striking and wrestling haven't been coming along at all. If he's going to take such easy fights...he might as well be active.

Craig has beaten Hill and Anklaev. He’s a perfect gatekeeper for an up and comer like Bo and if you don’t respect him, you could lose badly. He’s obviously by far the best opponent Bo has had so far.

 

[mister piscadinha]

Bo should fight Hermannssonn or De Ridder next.

i like the ridder fight

if bo wins, he's legit
if he loses, de ridder gets some shine

 

[mister piscadinha]

Switch gyms?
He has a specific BJJ trainer. He has a specific MT trainer. He has a specific American Top Team trainer that trains with him in Pennsylvania. And he still practices wrestling at Penn State.

We need to stop expecting a round shape to fit into a triangle hole. Bo spends 40-50 hours a week in MMA. We just need to accept that we can't just grab combat athletes from other sports and expect them to do good in MMA. Just because you work hard at something doesn't mean you'll be successful at it. This isn't a switch gym issue. This is a Bo Nickels issue. His success in wrestling and potential isn't coming to fruition like it was expected too.

do you think it's impossible for him to shed his fear of getting punched?
be fair, we not talking cm punk here

 

[Myrddin Wild]

Bo & his team know what his weaknesses are behind closed doors, & agree that he needs time to develop... otherwise they'd be rallying to get him into teh deep end quicker.

Lets all just sit back & enjoy teh ride. The UFC actively develops fighters through their kiddie pool who they think stand out & have potential. I don't think it's arguable that Bo has that potential, especially now that he's gone undefeated in teh UFC's kiddie pool & made it look pretty easy.

 

[MeatGrinder]

It just seems like hes the type of guy that sticks to a gameplan to a T no matter what. Seems like he just doesn't have that dog in him. Maybe having a silver spoon in your mouth from a child will do that to someone. The absolute killers in mma came from nothing and had to fight for survival. They NEED to win and will do whatever it takes to do so. Bo doesn't need that, he's set for life. Listening to him talk, he sees it as a competition, instead of a fucking fight. Long story short, his mindset is not where it needs to be in this sport.

 

[Oscar Madison]

Craig is a 36 year old unathletic butt-scooter who has zero knockout power. He's 17-9, 1-4 in his last 5. Craig is "mid level" somehow, but about as easy as matchup as they could possibly find for Bo outside of your Jamie Picketts and Cody Brundages. Bo hasn't fought a single guy with a shred of potential or upside, not a single competent fighter that's even top 30 level yet and at MW...top 30 is pretty slim pickins still. Also just in a vacuum Bo's striking and wrestling haven't been coming along at all. If he's going to take such easy fights...he might as well be active.

Craig is the entry point of the fat middle of the bell curve.

I can't hate on Bo, because he's a crossover talent that is pushing his comfort zone, although, I believe his attempt to keep his winning streak going is making him risk averse.

But his fights are still entertaining to me, if not just to see if he can continue to prevail with his awkward style.

 

[Tweak896]

Some guys never develop striking, even when it seems like they train for it nonstop. Bo is turning 29 in a couple of months, going on 5 years in full mma training, not to mention training wrestling his whole life. You could list an endless list of names of wrestlers that have had better striking than Bo has shown in less time. All he really needs is a striking game and he's good to go.

 

[Bend NvR Break]

do you think it's impossible for him to shed his fear of getting punched?
be fair, we not talking cm punk here

At Bo's age it might take a while. Brock never learned to accept it. Bo might be in the same boat.

 

[Deltron 6060]

Craig is a 36 year old unathletic butt-scooter who has zero knockout power. He's 17-9, 1-4 in his last 5. Craig is "mid level" somehow, but about as easy as matchup as they could possibly find for Bo outside of your Jamie Picketts and Cody Brundages. Bo hasn't fought a single guy with a shred of potential or upside, not a single competent fighter that's even top 30 level yet and at MW...top 30 is pretty slim pickins still. Also just in a vacuum Bo's striking and wrestling haven't been coming along at all. If he's going to take such easy fights...he might as well be active.

What does that say about Bo then? He looked pedestrian on the feet and was afraid to grapple with a "36 year old unathletic butt scooter".

 

[theincognito]

Doesn’t he train out of ATT? Not many gyms better than that.

he’s in a weird place where most cans are so bad everywhere that he can always out wrestle them and learn nothing. It makes more sense to spar/train with high level guys and fight twice a year.

Next year he will probably fight slightly higher level guys and maybe even a ranked opponent. Once you’re ranked it’s only really 2-3 fights until a title shot.

ATT sucks at building talent from the ground up. Zero home grown champions.

Its strength is that a lot of top talent go there after they are already established.

He would have been way better off at AKA or somewhere.

 

[linvillegorge]

At Bo's age it might take a while. Brock never learned to accept it. Bo might be in the same boat.

I think Brock's biggest issue was that he came into MMA already rich as fuck. He never had to have that driving hunger that most developing fighters have. He was already set for life. He would reportedly get pissed as hell at any sparring partners who hit him in the face. Like bro, how is this supposed to work? Someone who wasn't already coming in as a shot caller in the gym because of money and fame would never be able to get away with that.

But ironically it was his fear of getting hit that ultimately helped him become champ. It made him turtle up and let Carwin beat on his arms for three minutes and gas himself out while Rosenthal bizarrely watched it. If he had been fighting to try to create a scramble or otherwise improve position he probably gets KTFO.