Jorge Masvidal has no doubt Bo Nickal’s wrestling poses problems for everyone – including UFC middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev.
The three-time NCAA Division I champion wrestler’s stock took a hit when he was finished by Reinier De Ridder at UFC on ESPN 67 in May, which marked his first-career loss.
Nickal (7-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) has always been adamant that Chimaev can’t take him down. Masvidal, who trains with Nickal at American Top Team, agrees with the standout wrestler.
“In Bo’s case, he had the wrong strategy for that fight (vs. De Ridder),” Masvidal said on his “Death Row MMA” podcast. “He’s such a next-level wrestler. That’s not to diss De Ridder. I think he’s a phenomenal fighter, (but) I know Bo could have taken him down and controlled him better than just getting to the clinch and fighting where RDR is so good at. I think his game planning was a little bad, but also the guy’s been fast-tracked to fight the world’s best right away.
“Yes, he’s an elite wrestler, and he’s one of the best ever, but still. They could have taken their time a little bit more with Bo. I think if he changes up a thing here, changes up a thing there, this guy is like a legitimate world-class problem. There’s not a guy that can stop his takedown – not Chimaev, not nobody, bro. When he’s on and he’s just wrestling and letting it go, nobody’s going to be able to stop his takedowns. These last two, three months, he’s really been focusing on his standup and getting it dialed in.”
Nickal returns on another main card when he takes on Rodolfo Vieira (11-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) at UFC 322 on Nov. 15 from Madison Square Garden in New York (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+).
