Did Bo Nickal Sign His Death Certificate Last Night with His Dumb Interview Answers?

[Bend NvR Break]

He needs to stop golfing and going on podcasts. It is obvious he isn't training much outside of camps.

Tbf
He has a specific BJJ trainer in Pennsylvania.
He has a specific MT trainer in Pennsylvania.
He still practices 4 days at a week at Penn State for wrestling.
And he had an American Top Team affiliated trainer meet with him in Pennsylvania to evolve him into a MMA fighter.

He does a lot of training. Idk if it will pay off but he does spend a full time jobs amount of time a week training.

 

[azerty]

They can make money off him till the wheels fall off.

do they tough? doesn't seem like a big draw to me, obviously they know better, but i think they're banking on the dagestani killer thing to become real, and it's reasonable to think it won't happen now

 

[HHJ]

do they tough? doesn't seem like a big draw to me, obviously they know better, but i think they're banking on the dagestani killer thing to become real, and it's reasonable to think it won't happen now

The house always wins in the end.

 

[blaseblase]

People don’t understand how age works

He started MMA at 26 after failing at an international wrestling career

If he was 22 coming right out of college I’d be on the hype train as well, but he’s almost 29

3 years really isn't a long enough time to establish where his ceiling is. Usman wasn't even in his 30% phase at that age.

 

[Orochimaru 大蛇丸]

3 years really isn't a long enough time to establish where his ceiling is. Usman wasn't even in his 30% phase at that age.

3 years in at 28 going on 29 is different than 3 years in at 23

But yeah Usman is a good example of a guy who figured out how to make it work later, I didn’t start watching him until like 2017ish so it would be interesting to go back and see what he looked like before then

But nobody was hyping Usman up 3 years in, I’m not saying Bo is for sure a bust and he’s gonna suck, I just don’t think he’s shown anything that makes me think he’s gonna go be a world beater eventually

 

[NoSmilez]

Tbf
He has a specific BJJ trainer in Pennsylvania.
He has a specific MT trainer in Pennsylvania.
He still practices 4 days at a week at Penn State for wrestling.
And he had an American Top Team affiliated trainer meet with him in Pennsylvania to evolve him into a MMA fighter.

He does a lot of training. Idk if it will pay off but he does spend a full time jobs amount of time a week training.

He might have to move out of Pennsylvania and live in Florida. Last night was a showcase fight and he looked terrible. He played it so safe and he grappled against professionals earlier in his career. Paul Craig is decent on the ground but it's not something Bo never seen before. Bo also looked terrible on the feet. He shouldn't be on main cards at this point of his career.

This is also the biggest crime against sherdoggers.

 

[ThroughTheDakr]

Disappointed in Bore Nickal's striking. Spamming the same overhand left like a 8 year old playing Street fighter at his local arcade won't get it done against any competent fighter

 

[Elvis.]

He’s a natural heel , I’m more comfortable with him embracing it then if he we’re trying to pretend to be a nice guy and coming off as a phoney

 

[Tweak896]

Ehh... he gets too much hate because he's been pushed by the UFC too hard. His striking is slightly above Paul Craig, so no wonder he's been hesitant to really go for high ranked guys right now. Truth is most guys at MW won't have the BJJ to make him stay standing or wrestling to keep him standing. Khamzat or Robocop would be nightmare matchups. However with his wrestling he can probably beat guys you wouldn't expect, but it's going to get ugly whenever he can't wrestle.

 

[rjmbrd]

I think there's a reason he's only fought twice this calendar year. It's not like he was injured. He knows where his current ceiling is and is delaying his step up in competition. They should not be putting him on PPV main cards going forward.

The reality is you get better at MMA by fighting.

You learn a lot in practice but time in the cage going full speed is necessary to evolve. This is why the amateur system exists and regional orgs. We saw last night that his gross lack of experience fighting is going to derail him the next level up.

Craig is a .500 fighter. You have a 50% chance of beating him just by signing the bout agreement. This was an easy layup meant to give Bo a highlight finish but he lacked ringmanship and experience, so the journeyman took him to what was nearly a draw.

 

[WoozyFailGuy]

Literally all he had to do was say "Hey you know, I'm a great wrestler, I'm a great grappler, but it isn't the smartest thing to do to just dive into Paul Craig's guard. The guy has submitted Ankalaev, he's beat guys like Shogun and Jamhal Hill. He's a dangerous guy."
Literally don't even address the stand up part of the fight being timid slop, don't acknowledge Paul Craig being on a skid and probably close to retirement, just promise the crowd blood next time, and yell out how you'll spill buckets of blood for them next time and WOOOO loudly.

Him comparing himself to how GSP had decisions was one of the worst things he could say, as OP said, it reinforced this idea that this is the Bo we can expect.

Meanwhile, see how Caio absolutely fucking blasted through Craig. That's the real dark horse of the division right there.

 

[blaseblase]

The reality is you get better at MMA by fighting.

You learn a lot in practice but time in the cage going full speed is necessary to evolve. This is why the amateur system exists and regional orgs. We saw last night that his gross lack of experience fighting is going to derail him the next level up.

Craig is a .500 fighter. You have a 50% chance of beating him just by signing the bout agreement. This was an easy layup meant to give Bo a highlight finish but he lacked ringmanship and experience, so the journeyman took him to what was nearly a draw.

I think he probably could have whooped Craig on the ground but seems like he wanted to test his standup out and not take risks. Unfortunately his striking is not where it needs to be against the top 15. His wrestling will get him some wins but he would get his ass handed to him against the guys who can wrestle were he thrown against them in his next fight.

 

[rjmbrd]

Ehh... he gets too much hate because he's been pushed by the UFC too hard. His striking is slightly above Paul Craig, so no wonder he's been hesitant to really go for high ranked guys right now. Truth is most guys at MW won't have the BJJ to make him stay standing or wrestling to keep him standing. Khamzat or Robocop would be nightmare matchups. However with his wrestling he can probably beat guys you wouldn't expect, but it's going to get ugly whenever he can't wrestle.

Cody Brundage was a Division II wrestler with nothing notable about his career. He's 4-5 in the UFC and has lost to guys you've never heard of. One of those 4 wins is because when Malkoun knocked him out, it was ruled back of the head, so he has 3 'traditional' wins in the UFC out of 10 fights.

He was counter wrestling Bo without much fuss, and he's not even a UFC caliber fighter, let alone ranked.

The fact that Paul Craig who is a .500 fighter himself and generally dogshit at striking casually took him to a competitive 3 round kickboxing match is pretty damning.

You move Bo up to ranked opponents and he's going to look bad.

 

[WoozyFailGuy]

People don’t understand how age works

He started MMA at 26 after failing at an international wrestling career

If he was 22 coming right out of college I’d be on the hype train as well, but he’s almost 29

When did Poatan start training MMA again?
Is it optimal to start training early? Obviously, that is if you aren't taking heavy damage sparring and competing early. That can lead to just as short a career as someone starting late. But we've seen all kinds of athletes start at all kinds of different times and become champions. It isn't simply an age thing. I've always had my reservations about Bo as I do with most "prospects", I need to see them be the nail as well as the hammer and I have to see some gold deserving finishing instincts. I have seen neither from our tender Bo's career so far that hasn't been against overmatched journeymen.

 

[1BadMF]

Fighters say stuff like this all the time, but people have a problem with Bo doing it because he's a religious white guy

 

[Burd]

Why boo fighters from your own country?

 

[Orochimaru 大蛇丸]

When did Poatan start training MMA again?
Is it optimal to start training early? Obviously, that is if you aren't taking heavy damage sparring and competing early. That can lead to just as short a career as someone starting late. But we've seen all kinds of athletes start at all kinds of different times and become champions. It isn't simply an age thing. I've always had my reservations about Bo as I do with most "prospects", I need to see them be the nail as well as the hammer and I have to see some gold deserving finishing instincts. I have seen neither from our tender Bo's career so far that hasn't been against overmatched journeymen.

He’s such an exception though, and he’s been given hand picked match ups by the UFC and has never had to fight anyone who can actually grapple

Of course Bo has too, but they’re not gonna be able to protect him at MW the same way they have Pereira who was able to fight Izzy, leave MW and then go to an absolutely awful LHW division that has literally no one who can wrestle

 

[Oscar Madison]

The guy is only 7 fights in his career. Not UFC career but career total. Paul Craig was a terrible match up for Bo. You don't want to take him down as that is where he has the best chance to win. In the stand up Paul is decent enough to make Bo look bad because Bo isn't particularly experienced in the striking. His TD threat ususally amplifies his striking.

He did still win 30-27 clear as day. Can Michel P stop a TD yet? He was taken down 10 times and controlled for over 15 minutes. Utterly dominated. Michel is a fun fighter with a massive glaring weakness. He is Superman and top level wrestling is his kryponite.

Agree.

And Bo got more cage time to grow -- with another Win.

He needs to stay on the Main Card -- he's like his own Reality TV Show in the Cage. Fans can see the awkwardness and growth as they root for him. Other fans will hurl insults and Boos -- which apparently don't bother Bo as he is a forgiving Christian.

Bo knows his value.

 

[Tweak896]

Cody Brundage was a Division II wrestler with nothing notable about his career. He's 4-5 in the UFC and has lost to guys you've never heard of. One of those 4 wins is because when Malkoun knocked him out, it was ruled back of the head, so he has 3 'traditional' wins in the UFC out of 10 fights.

He was counter wrestling Bo without much fuss, and he's not even a UFC caliber fighter, let alone ranked.

The fact that Paul Craig who is a .500 fighter himself and generally dogshit at striking casually took him to a competitive 3 round kickboxing match is pretty damning.

You move Bo up to ranked opponents and he's going to look bad.

That's a good point, but still Bo handled someone with a decent wrestling background. You're right he should've just instantly pinned him down to the mat the whole fight with his pedigree he has, but he had tons of resistance. Still, I'd be curious how he would do against Strickland or Whittaker who have no wrestling background. I don't think it's as cut as dry.

However it's hard for me to get excited for Bo until he fixes the holes in his game. He's doing the right thing taking lower ranked guys. He does have power as well. His striking is atrocious, he has to make up with something for the future. Khamzat's no technical savant in striking but his power/aggression/wrestling in combo are enough for Khamzat to have plenty effective striking. I feel like Bo's hesitancy gives his opponents space to stop his takedowns or feel comfortable to stand with him.

 

[rjmbrd]

That's a good point, but still Bo handled someone with a decent wrestling background. You're right he should've just instantly pinned him down to the mat the whole fight with his pedigree he has, but he had tons of resistance. Still, I'd be curious how he would do against Strickland or Whittaker who have no wrestling background. I don't think it's as cut as dry.

Murdered. He gets murdered by Strickland.

Whittaker likely TKO's him, but would take some time. Strickland would march him down and make it look like nothing until Bo quits.

However it's hard for me to get excited for Bo until he fixes the holes in his game. He's doing the right thing taking lower ranked guys. He does have power as well. His striking is atrocious, he has to make up with something for the future. Khamzat's no technical savant in striking but his power/aggression/wrestling in combo are enough for Khamzat to have plenty effective striking. I feel like Bo's hesitancy gives his opponents space to stop his takedowns or feel comfortable to stand with him.

His best shot at beating Khamzat is if he trips and twists his ankle climbing into the Octagon. That is not a competitive fight.