Rumored Bo Nickal vs Reinier de Ridder in the works? Date TBD

[RockyLockridge]

I really don't think Bo's grappling is much for RDR to worry about. He's probably going to be the one initiating the grappling. Craig was a fossil. RDR is a lot more athletic though he might not look it.

Rdr has already beaten several fighters better than nickel.

Then again so has Craig so I'm not too sure what to think about this match up

 

[CJrider]

Highschool gym level kickboxing match part 2 electric boogaloo

 

[Adamant]

Oh shit, really? This is one of the fights I was hoping for. Finally Bo is fighting someone that's not a tomato can.

 

[rjmbrd]

Rdr has already beaten several fighters better than nickel.

Then again so has Craig so I'm not too sure what to think about this match up

Craig is enigmatic in that he's gotten smashed by mid-level guys and pulled off a few incredible upsets above his pay grade. This is the nature of a guy who doesn't have the athleticism to compete as a well rounded fighter, but has an exceptional guard. His overall body of work speaks for itself - he isn't elite.

Now we're looking at Craig rounding out the end of his career, being booked with Bo to lose.

RDR is also being booked to lose here. Bo will have virtually no risk of getting KO'd, and he should be able to counter wrestle and show us another horrifically bad kickboxing fight. This is probably the safest route to the UFC securing him a ranking.

Bo is a big Trumper and a loudmouth with some name brand / draw. There is ZERO chance Dana would put him in a fight that wasn't favorable to him. The fact that we are seeing it so blatantly is frankly hilarious.

 

[jeskola]

RDR will dominate Bo and people will say Bo was rushed and needs more time to develop. He will become the new Erick Silva.

 

[Croaker]

Nope, all those guys are seriously talented and proven. All are also ranked in the top10 so I’m okay with UFC saving Nickal from a total ass whooping.

Before Bo fought Craig I posted exactly how I see the fight going. It was spot on and it made me feel exactly 0% better since the fight was boring, it sucked, we learned nothing new about either guy. Shit match making. What did they expect?

Bo would fuck Izzy harder than Izzy fucks his dog

 

[CC27]

the matchup makes sense but I kind of dont like it. I'd have probably done RDR vs Costa, let RDR see if he can climb the div and then maybe Bo gets one more outside top 15. But I get that they want him to get a ranked fight and this was the one.

 

[Safton]

Bo seemed weirdly terrified of the prospect of engaging Craig on the ground to the point that he was willing to risk losing a razor-thin sparring match with him on the feet instead. I'm not saying he should have grappled in that fight necessarily, but he did show poor fight IQ by never adjusting what he was doing and letting Craig fight his fight the entire time.

If he's not willing to grapple with Craig, I don't see him being willing to grapple RDR despite his showings in no-gi against the likes of Oliver Taza, Gordon Ryan, etc. So we'll likely see another sloppy kickboxing fight where Bo tries to use his wrestling defensively... which I assume he can do? No one has really tested him there yet inside the cage and RDR is an unexceptional wrestler who relies on one-dimensional entries sometimes.

That said, people keep talking shit on de Ridder's striking... but he acquitted himself well against a vet in GM3 and has way more reps than Bo. Nickal's striking is still very basic and again... dude nearly lost a sparring match to Paul Craig on the feet. I could see him getting outhustled here if he doesn't crack Reinier.

 

[Doctor Grudge]

Bo seemed weirdly terrified of the prospect of engaging Craig on the ground to the point that he was willing to risk losing a razor-thin sparring match with him on the feet instead. I'm not saying he should have grappled in that fight necessarily, but he did show poor fight IQ by never adjusting what he was doing and letting Craig fight his fight the entire time.

If he's not willing to grapple with Craig, I don't see him being willing to grapple RDR despite his showings in no-gi against the likes of Oliver Taza, Gordon Ryan, etc. So we'll likely see another sloppy kickboxing fight where Bo tries to use his wrestling defensively... which I assume he can do? No one has really tested him there yet inside the cage and RDR is an unexceptional wrestler who relies on one-dimensional entries sometimes.

That said, people keep talking shit on de Ridder's striking... but he acquitted himself well against a vet in GM3 and has way more reps than Bo. Nickal's striking is still very basic and again... dude nearly lost a sparring match to Paul Craig on the feet. I could see him getting outhustled here if he doesn't crack Reinier.

He beat Craig by a decent margin. Craig is way better on the ground than him. Not even close.

 

[DoctorStoppage]

I think RDR takes it if this happens. Bo maybe could win a boring point fighting fight on the feet but I don’t see another route for him

 

[TITS]

I think RDR should be favoured, but not nearly that much IMO.

His striking is rudimentary at best. He is one of the few ranked fighters in the UFC that might be a worse striker than Nickal. And with Nickal's wrestling this could wind up as a kickboxing match.

The Riddler at -400 isn't that crazy. Nickels is a complete bum in the striking department.

 

[tritestill]

Like this matchup, RDR takes the zero

 

[CroCopsLHK]

Honestly I have a hard time imagining Bo winning this one. If he does I'll be seriously impressed

Unless it's another bullshit fight like the Paul Craig one

I have strong doubts about Bo and RDR has been a live dog

 

[Safton]

He beat Craig by a decent margin. Craig is way better on the ground than him. Not even close.

I wouldn't call that win "a decent margin". I think he won for sure, but considering Craig was seen before the fight by many to be a stylistically favorable lay-up for Nickal to go out and finish or dominate... it wasn't exactly a resounding victory. He edged him by a handful of strikes each round and arguably should've dropped the first.

As for who's better on the ground, it's hard to say. There's so much more tape on Craig in an MMA context. His strengths and many limitations are well-documented. Bo is still dipping his toes into MMA grappling. If your position is that Paul is the more proven MMA grappler, then I don't necessarily disagree. But I also don't think it would be crazy to say that Bo might have been able to introduce takedowns and top game into his gameplan, especially toward the end of rounds or near the edge of the cage.

 

[Jstr]

RDR will be a lot heavier than Bo in the cage, he is a huge middleweight.

 

[Broke Lester]

are you even familiar with who Reiner is? He's a beast on the ground, has like 5 black belts in judo and a jui-jitsu champion. How is this a favorable matchup for Nickal??

Plus he's huge for that division.

 

[fortheo]

Everyone talking like RDR is the worse striker is a little odd to me. They're both shitty strikers, but RDR has decent height and reach on Bo and I think he'd get the better of the ugly striking exchanges.

 

[mkess101]

There's at least a reasonable chance this looks like Nickal/Craig. Which was like watching paint dry.

But...I gotta think (hope) that RDR won't be content to lose that way. Ridder's striking sucks, (Nickal's only marginally better) so I think if it starts looking like Nickal/Craig that RDR will take some chances that Craig wasn't willing to. Shoot on Nickal, even knowing he's very unlikely to get a traditional TD. But can maybe cause a scramble or just make something happen to break a boring rhythm.

They'll probably put this on the main card of a PPV...and we really don't need another conservative snoozer from Nickal wasting a PPV slot.

 

[mkess101]

Everyone talking like RDR is the worse striker is a little odd to me. They're both shitty strikers, but RDR has decent height and reach on Bo and I think he'd get the better of the ugly striking exchanges.

Theyre both bad, but Bo has a noticeable speed edge imo.

 

[NoSmilez]

RDR can hit hard but he is not athletic. He is a bit slow. Nickal isn't a natural striker but he has a speed advantage. Bo will lose if he tries to brawl with RDR.