Media Bo Nickal hints at potential layoff until 2024, doesn’t care if hype dies down in absence

Taking a break to focus on training is probably a good idea for Bo. He needs a lil work.
 
Sweater of AV said:
Umm...

“There’s a chance [I don’t fight again this year],” Nickal revealed on The MMA Hour. “I could easily fight two more times. I could fight next week if I wanted, but for me, everything that I’m training for and preparing for is my 10th title defense down the road.”

Ok, fair enough. But then...

“I’m just here to fight.”

<JagsKiddingMe>
Click to expand...

I came here to post this.

So instead enjoy this:

2023-07-11_13-38-58.png
 
TCE said:
Not sure why, he's taken no damage and has ended his fights very quickly. It's only mid way through July. I'm surprised at his take here.


“There’s a chance [I don’t fight again this year],” Nickal revealed on The MMA Hour. “I could easily fight two more times. I could fight next week if I wanted, but for me, everything that I’m training for and preparing for is my 10th title defense down the road. I’m not preparing for my next fight. That’s my mindset always, so I’m going to do what prepares me best for 10 title defenses.

“Of course, the more I fight with less time in between fights, the bigger the hype grows and stuff. But that’s honestly to me pretty irrelevant. I don’t care about hype, or how much people are talking about me. I’m just here to fight.”

https://www.mmafighting.com/2023/7/...2024-doesnt-care-if-hype-dies-down-in-absence
Click to expand...

What contract is he on?

Because if it's decent money, and he has to be on a main card, and it has to be a PPV, there's no fucking way the UFC pay him to fight twice before January.
 
Rio Ferdinand said:
Its pretty obvious he is taking time off to be a father.

He also doesn't seem to need money quite in the same way as certain other UFC fighters who were only until recently working for fucking Uber Eats.
Click to expand...
during COVID when barely anyone was working?
 
Mistake imo. Strike while the iron is hot.

He’s assuming that everything goes perfect and he will stay injury free and not lose any fights.

He’s only 27, but an injury could sideline him for a year, and a loss would delay things even more. Next thing he knows he’s on the other side of 30 still chasing a title shot, has to wait for the champ to be ready, maybe he wins but has an injury that requires surgery. All of a sudden he’s closing in on 35, slowing down, loses the belt, and it’s all downhill from there.

This is MMA, shit happens, he could trip over a wire, or get caught with a lucky punch.
 
Dana must luv it. Feed him a couple of winnable tune up fights build his image then , break time. Bo has been competing for a long time, he knows the focus required and has other stuff on his mind so understand. Imagine his promoter less empathetic.
 
Dr Fong said:
Boxing is not the same - HW has become like MMA but most other divisional stars compete somewhat regularly. Canelo has fought at least twice a year in every year of his career, 2020 excepted (for an obvious reason). When big money is continually offered, the super rich will still fight.

The issue for MMA fighters isn't that they get too wealthy and thus complacent to compete, it's that they are offered such a pathetic incentive to compete relative to what they get paid from other income streams.

This impacts mid-tier MMA names as much as the top tier. Look at a guy like Paulo Costa. Dude has only fought once per year since 2017 yet keeps his name out there and does well on social media.

And that's all that matters, because MMA is just a vehicle for a social media/boxing/porn career for a lot of these fighters.
Click to expand...

Boxing is pretty similar. Canelo is the exception, not the rule.

Terrence Crawford, down to fighting once a year last 4 years. Tyson Fury, once in 2020, 2021 and 2023 most likely. Usyk, fought a lot up to 2018 when he hit big time, then from 2019-2023, once a year. Errol Spence, 3 fights in 4 years 2020 to 2023. The list goes on.
 
Lost_Cause said:
Meh, ok. Fine. Play the Khamzat route.
Click to expand...

Or its because he is becoming a dad.... (He also said he MIGHT not fight. So its not 100%. )
Also he fought 5 times in the last 13 months.

Its amazing what you learn by reading the thread before posting.
 
j18lee said:
Boxing is pretty similar. Canelo is the exception, not the rule.

Terrence Crawford, down to fighting once a year last 4 years. Tyson Fury, once in 2020, 2021 and 2023 most likely. Usyk, fought a lot up to 2018 when he hit big time, then from 2019-2023, once a year. Errol Spence, 3 fights in 4 years 2020 to 2023. The list goes on.
Click to expand...

Yeah, the more I think about it the more I agree, I will concede.

Canelo and Inoue are active. After that it starts to collapse into inactive sh*t just like MMA.

I do think using Usyk as an example is taking the piss a little though because a) pandemic, b) military service, c) getting strung along in negotiations while being willing to fight. That's three pretty big extenuating circumstances. Lomachenko was also an active fighter until pandemic/war years and he was already an established star.

But MMA is still worse by virtue of the fact that its two remaining biggest stars - McGregor and Jones - have barely fought in years. At least Canelo fights and even the inactive Fury has fought multiple times more than them in the last five years.
 
Substance Abuse said:
<WhitmanDefeat>

Oh no. What shall we do in the meantime?
Click to expand...
Right. Somehow we’ve made it without Khamzat this whole time and we’re still here.

Too bad we’ve had to watch Izzy and Moreno and Volk and Fiziev and Max and Leon and even Jon Jones this whole time. What has this sport come to?

In all seriousness Khabib did this lame ass shit non stop then he finally arrived and then left early. MFs like Dustin Porier may not be able to beat him but at least that dude has showed up for a decade straight and put on fights people actually want to see.

also GSP and Anderson never did all that.

here’s the script. Wrestle so good you don’t even have to MMA just let the world know how lethal you’d be if you actually did.
 
Dr Fong said:
Yeah, the more I think about it the more I agree, I will concede.

Canelo and Inoue are active. After that it starts to collapse into inactive sh*t just like MMA.

I do think using Usyk as an example is taking the piss a little though because a) pandemic, b) military service, c) getting strung along in negotiations while being willing to fight. That's three pretty big extenuating circumstances. Lomachenko was also an active fighter until pandemic/war years and he was already an established star.

But MMA is still worse by virtue of the fact that its two remaining biggest stars - McGregor and Jones - have barely fought in years. At least Canelo fights and even the inactive Fury has fought multiple times more than them in the last five years.
Click to expand...

Those are just quick examples of the top guys right now, we can go back to history and it’s been this way for a while. When it’s the standard for boxing and MMA stars to fight twice a year and be considered active; all it takes is an injury to oneself or to your opponent and you’re down to once a year. Or a fight negotiation to break down; which is always more likely the more popular a fighter is.

Jamahal Hill just became the next one to follow this pattern, not saying it’s all his fault of course but did he just get injured recently to put him out a year? He fought in January. He should have fought twice more already if I were him. Once in April and once in July.

Yes, I hear that training for a fight twice a year is so incredibly draining that’s all they can do (sarcasm). Yet somehow there are fighters who fight 3 or even 4 times a year at the elite level.
 
Its his career, I get it. He needs to remember, the UFC(Dana) can get hot and cold. One day you are a prospect, the next you are getting fed to up and comers.


He should use his time wisely for sure, but also accept these easy gimme fights too.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

big franklin
The UFC is pushing Bo Nickal, but I'm not buying. Here's why.
3 4 5
Replies
86
Views
6K
David Street
David Street

Latest posts

Forum statistics

Threads
1,265,174
Messages
57,325,561
Members
175,644
Latest member
J MMA

Share this page

Back
Top