SUNRISE, Fla. – Luke Rockhold wants Bo Nickal to keep his mouth closed until he wins a championship outside of collegiate competition.
Former UFC middleweight champion Rockhold is just hours away from competing in a wrestling match against Colby Covington in the main event of RAF 5 at Amerant Bank Arena. Nickal (8-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) is also on the card, and will hit the mats against former UFC title challenger Yoel Romero.
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Rockhold gets along well with Covington, who is a polarizing figure in the combat sports space. However, when it comes to Nickal, Rockhold didn’t mince words.
“Colby’s been on top for a long time; he has a character, and he does what he does, but you know he’s not a bad guy – and he’s not a p*ssy,” Rockhold told MMA Junkie. “There’s guys like Bo Nickel out there talking too much sh*t. You quit. You don’t have that fight in you. You’re a competitor. You’re not a fighter. I respect fighters, not competitors.”
Rockhold believes Nickal didn’t make a good account of himself and his character when he fought against Reinier de Ridder at UFC on ESPN 67 in May. Nickal lost that fight by second-round TKO after a brutal knee to the body dropped him.
“He quit against RDR,” Rockhold said. ‘Before the knee even hit him, you can see the breaking in his mind. … I was asked a couple questions early on when he first entered the UFC, and I was like, ‘Who’s this guy?’ I remember him spouting off and saying sh*t, and he continued to talk when he hasn’t done anything, he hasn’t beat anybody.
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“You’ve got to win against a jiu-jitsu guy that’s not going to fight him like a dog, you know? You’ve got to bless him, and you haven’t really fought anybody that’s going to bring it to you, except for RDR, and you broke like a bitch.”
Rockhold’s harsh words also originate from comments made by Nickal leading up to the RAF 5 event. Nickal, a three-time D1 national champion collegiate wrestler and 2019 U23 world champion, among other accolades, said he believed he should have been the main event over former UFC titleholders Rockhold and Covington.
“The whole reason this sport is here, is on this stage, is because of us, and you haven’t touched anything,” Rockhold said. “You’re talking about two guys that have gotten gold. I’ve gotten a lot of gold in my life. And you’ve done nothing.
“You’re out here asking me when I’ve won. What have you won? Anything other than college? It’s something to do with – it’s like it’s like comparing college and high school. It’s like what are we talking about? Nothing matters until you’re on a world stage. Just shut the f*ck up, bite the bullet and get to work, and become a f*cking man and grow some balls.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Ex-UFC champ tears into Bo Nickal: ‘What have you won?’
