Bo Nickal will not abandon his bread and butter on his rise to becoming a UFC champion.
[autotag]Bo Nickal[/autotag] says he abandoned his wrestling only for [autotag]Paul Craig[/autotag] at UFC 309.
Nickal received criticism for not resorting to his decorated wrestling background and instead choosing to stand with Craig in their middleweight bout earlier this month. He swept the scorecards to claim a lackluster unanimous decision win, but many pundits and fans weren’t impressed with his performance.
“My goal has always been to be UFC champion, pound-for-pound No. 1 fighter in the world,” Nickal said on the “Pound 4 Pound” podcast with Henry Cejudo and Kamaru Usman. “And so when I call out guys like Khamzat, that’s because I think that he’s really good, and I want to fight the best guys.
“I think that this last fight, even though people didn’t love the performance, was a great step in the right direction. I dominated a veteran, a guy who has 26 fights, for three straight rounds with just using striking. I didn’t even use my biggest asset. I think people now are saying, ‘Oh, Bo, he can’t wrestle’ this or that. Bro, trust me, I can wrestle.”
Nickal assures everyone that he plans on using his wrestling against future opponents. He insists that he implemented the correct game plan against Craig (17-9-1 MMA, 9-9-1 UFC), who finished former UFC champion Jamahal Hill and top contender Magomed Ankalaev off of his back.
“I want to keep dominating,” Nickal said. “I look at my potential for matchups in the future, and with Paul Craig, it’s like his best position’s off his back. So, I didn’t think it was the best situation to put him in his best position, but there’s really no other guys like that.
“So, you can guarantee that every single guy I’m going to be taking them down. There’s a very low chance – I’m not going to say zero because crazy things happen – I could slip on a banana peel or something. Very low chance that they’re taking me down, and if they do I’m getting up guaranteed.”
Daniel Cormier is surprised to see Bo Nickal upset at him over his UFC 309 commentary.
[autotag]Daniel Cormier[/autotag] is surprised to see [autotag]Bo Nickal[/autotag] upset at him over his UFC 309 commentary.
During Nickal’s fight with Paul Craig this past Saturday at Madison Square Garden in New York, Cormier said Nickal showed that he’s not ready for someone like Khamzat Chimaev. Nickal won the fight by unanimous decision, but did not attempt a single takedown.
Nickal (7-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) didn’t appreciate Cormier’s comments, but the former UFC dual-champion explains that the standout wrestler just needs more work before competing against the upper echelon at middleweight.
“Bo Nickal is a bit upset with the commentary during the fight last week,” Cormier said on his YouTube channel. “This one kind of took me a little bit by surprise because I do like Bo, and I do believe that at some point he’s going to be a champion. I just think that he’s a respectful guy. So, he’s trying to say things in the nicest way he possibly can, but I think he may have misunderstood what I’m trying to say. What I was more trying to say in this fight is, let’s not rush him into fights with people who are much more experienced. That is how good he has done in a short period of time.
“You know what’s the craziest thing? After this weekend, right after the fight, people called me and said I was a Bo apologist. I was being apologetic for his performance, almost making excuses for him. That’s crazy because it’s odd that a fighter can interpret it so much different than other people in the world. I thought he did really good. I have no problem with Bo Nickal. I believe he’s going to be fine. I don’t have a problem with the performance. I thought he fought really well, but there’s room for improvement. Let’s just take our time – we don’t need to rush him.”
From one week to three months, check out the full list of medical suspensions handed out following UFC 309 in New York.
Every fighter who competed this past Saturday at UFC 309 has been given a medical suspension following their bouts.
Jhonata Diniz, Mickey Gall and Bassil Hafez were knocked out in their fights and were among four fighters who received 90-day suspensions, which was the longest period issued. The fourth fighter who received 90 days was James Llontop, who went the distance with Mauricio Ruffy, but was on the receiving end of multiple damaging strikes over three rounds.
The event, which took place at Madison Square Garden in New York, was headlined by a heavyweight title fight between Jon Jones and former champion Stipe Miocic. Although he announced his retirement following the main event, Miocic was given a 60-day suspension for his TKO loss to Jones.
Wednesday, MMA Junkie acquired a full list of medical suspensions from the New York State Department of State, which oversaw the event. Check out the full list below. The suspensions ranged from a 7-day mandatory rest period to 90 days. Any fighter given 30-90 days may return sooner if cleared by a doctor (unless noted otherwise).
Eduarda Moura def. Veronica Hardy
Nov 16, 2024; New York, NY, USA; Veronica Hardy (red gloves) fights Eduarda Moura (blue gloves) in the flyweight bout during UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images
[autotag]Eduarda Moura[/autotag]: 7 days mandatory rest
[autotag]Veronica Hardy[/autotag]: 7 days mandatory rest
Oban Elliott def. Bassil Hafez
Ò(Editors Note: Graphic Content, Blood)Ó Nov 16, 2024; New York, NY, USA; Bassil Hafez (red gloves) fights Oban Elliott (blue gloves) in the welterweight bout during UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images
[autotag]Bassil Hafez[/autotag]: 90-day suspension with neurology clearance
Ramiz Brahimaj def. Mickey Gall
Ramiz Brahimaj def Mickey Gall UFC 309
[autotag]Ramiz Brahimaj[/autotag]: 7 days mandatory rest
[autotag]Mickey Gall[/autotag]: 90-day suspension with neurology clearance
Marcin Tybura def. Jhonata Diniz
Ò(Editors Note: Graphic Content, Blood)Ó Nov 16, 2024; New York, NY, USA; Jhonata Diniz (blue gloves) reacts after losing to Marcin Tybura (red gloves, not pictured) in the Heavyweight bout during UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images
[autotag]Marcin Tybura[/autotag]: 7 days mandatory rest
Ò(Editors Note: Graphic Content, Blood)Ó Nov 16, 2024; New York, NY, USA; David Onama (red gloves) fights Roberto Romero (blue gloves) in the lightweight bout during UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images
Nov 16, 2024; New York, NY, USA; Jonathan Martinez (red gloves) fights Marcus Mcghee (blue gloves) in the bantamweight bout during UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images
[autotag]Jonathan Martinez[/autotag]: 7 days mandatory rest
Mauricio Ruffy def. James Llontop
Ò(Editors Note: Graphic Content, Blood)Ó Nov 16, 2024; New York, NY, USA; Mauricio Ruffy (red gloves) fights James Llontop (blue gloves) in the catchweight bout during UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images
Nov 16, 2024; New York, NY, USA; Viviane Araujo (red gloves) fights Karine Silva (blue gloves) in the WomenÕs Flyweight bout during UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – NOVEMBER 16: (R-L) Bo Nickal of the United States of America punches Paul Craig of Scotland in a middleweight fight during the UFC 309 event at Madison Square Garden on November 16, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
[autotag]Bo Nickal[/autotag]: 7 days mandatory rest
[autotag]Paul Craig[/autotag]: 30-day suspension
Charles Oliveira def. Michael Chandler
Nov 16, 2024; New York, NY, USA; Charles Oliveira (red gloves) fights Michael Chandler (blue gloves) in the lightweight bout during UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images
UFC Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones (R) fights challenger Stipe Miocic during their heavyweight title bout at Madison Square Garden in New York, on November 16, 2024. (Photo by Kena Betancur / AFP) (Photo by KENA BETANCUR/AFP via Getty Images)
[autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag]: 7 days mandatory rest
Darren Till jumped at the occasion to bash Bo Nickal after UFC 309.
[autotag]Darren Till[/autotag] jumped at the occasion to bash [autotag]Bo Nickal[/autotag] after UFC 309.
Nickal (7-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) was successful in his toughest test to date against Paul Craig (17-9-1 MMA, 9-9-1 UFC) on Saturday’s main card at Madison Square Garden but saw the judges’ scorecards for the first time in what was a lackluster affair.
Till’s attack on Nickal isn’t out of nowhere. The pair traded barbs in September 2022 after Till challenged Nickal to a fight. Nickal laughed off his callout, criticizing him for getting outgrappled by Derek Brunson.
“The ginger ninja doesn’t even fight. Talks more than me and I talk a lot. #GingerNinja He even sh*t talks me and hasn’t beat an opponent who’s record is a winning one. Proper ginger ninja. Yes his wrestling is good but his striking is appalling and his cooking videos make me want to stab myself to death. Proper ginger ninja.”
The ginger ninja doesn’t even fight. Talks more than me and I talk a lot. #GingerNinja
He even shit talks me and hasn’t beat an opponent who’s record is a winning one
Proper ginger ninja
Yes his wrestling is good but his striking is appalling and his cooking videos make me… https://t.co/zIYMRLKTIO
“Guy has talked so much sh*t. Sh*t talked me since he came the UFC like I haven’t fought and beat top guys in there. Be more humble ya ginger tool cos ur sh*t and Khamzat would destroy you.”
Guy has talked so much shit. Shit talked me since he came the UFC like I haven’t fought and beat top guys in there. Be more humble ya ginger tool cos ur shit and Khamzat would destroy you https://t.co/H5DRM2EOBh
Chael Sonnen is not happy with Bo Nickal’s performance at UFC 309 and blames his team for that.
[autotag]Chael Sonnen[/autotag] is not happy with [autotag]Bo Nickal[/autotag]’s performance at UFC 309.
Nickal (7-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) remained unbeaten when he outstruck Paul Craig (17-9-1 MMA, 9-9-1 UFC) in Saturday’s main card at Madison Square Garden in New York. Despite sweeping the scorecards, Nickal was met with boos by the crowd and a chant of “overrated.”
Sonnen thinks Nickal looked composed but was irked with how little activity took place in the fight. He wasn’t a fan of his game plan, in which Nickal didn’t attempt a single takedown.
“My problem with it and my gripe is that you have a four-time world champion. … Doesn’t do one damn bit of wrestling because somebody got a hold of him,” Sonnen said on his YouTube channel. “One of his trainers or his training partners sat him down and said, ‘You’re not ready to go to the ground with the guy.’ Well how the F would we know? How in the F we would know that now?”
Nickal called his performance “picture-perfect,” alluding to a successful game plan. Sonnen puts the responsibility on Nickal’s corner for not encouraging him to play to his strengths, and pointed to Georges St-Pierre as an example of someone who never strayed away from his game plan.
“You do not look at your opponent’s game to decide your strategy,” Sonnen said. “That is nothing that Bo has ever done. He didn’t show Gabe Dean that respect. He didn’t show Myles Martin that respect. He did not show David Taylor that respect. And he refuses to take down. A four-time world champion refuses to use one bit of wrestling against a guy that’s never had a wrestling match. That is because of somebody in his trusted inner circle.”
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 309.
What are the immediate outlooks for Charles Oliveira and Bo Nickal coming out of UFC 309? We discuss on “Spinning Back Clique.”
Jon Jones was obviously the protagonist of UFC 309, but that doesn’t mean there weren’t other interesting storylines on the card.
Sarurday’s pay-per-view event at Madison Square Garden in New York City saw former UFC lightweight champion [autotag]Charles Oliveira[/autotag] get back in the win column as he defeated Michael Chandler in a thrilling rematch. Right before that lightweight clash, top prospect [autotag]Bo Nickal[/autotag] extended his unbeaten run by outpointing Paul Craig in a showing that was criticized by many. These were just two of the many highlights from the card.
Can Oliveira win back the UFC lightweight belt? Is Bo Nickal ready to fight ranked opposition?
MMA Junkie’s Brian “Goze” Garcia, Mike Bohn, Danny Segura and host Gorgeous George discuss some of the key results outside the main event for UFC 309.
Watch their discussion in the video above, and don’t miss this week’s complete episode of “Spinning Back Clique” below on YouTube or in podcast form.
Check out the latest episode of “Overreaction Time” covering Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic, Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson, and more.
The time for overreacting is here!
Check out the latest episode of “Overreaction Time” at noon ET/9 a.m. PT as host Simon Samano and MMA Junkie reporter Farah Hannoun debate these “overreactions” on the following topics in mixed martial arts:
[autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Stipe Miocic[/autotag] was a meaningless UFC heavyweight title fight.
UFC 309 proved Jon Jones would lose to [autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag].
Things are about to get ugly between Jon Jones and [autotag]Dana White[/autotag].
[autotag]Michael Chandler[/autotag] should stop acting so desperate to fight [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag].
[autotag]Bo Nickal[/autotag]’s UFC 309 performance was a huge disappointment.
[autotag]Jake Paul [/autotag]vs. [autotag]Mike Tyson[/autotag]: What the hell was that?
The UFC totally redeemed itself with the UFC 310/UFC Tampa shakeup.
Bo Nickal is brushing off criticism surrounding his UFC 309 win, especially from “idiot drunk fans.”
[autotag]Bo Nickal[/autotag] is brushing off fan criticism surrounding his UFC 309 win.
Nickal (7-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) remained unbeaten when he outstruck Paul Craig for a unanimous decision win on Saturday’s main card in New York. It was a lackluster performance from the highly touted standout wrestler, who was met with boos and “overrated” chants from the crowd of more than 20,000 fans at Madison Square Garden.
Despite the hostile reaction, Nickal remains pleased with his performance.
“It was funny to hear the chants,” Nickal said on “The Ariel Helwani Show.” “It almost just made me laugh, because the crowd and the people that are doing that, I’m looking at – I’ll just explain it this way: When you get disrespected by people that, in my opinion, have no idea what they’re talking about, it’s almost a compliment.
“To feel that from the crowd, it almost just made me laugh, because it’s someone insulting you, who has know idea what’s going on. It’s almost a compliment to me, because I feel like I controlled the fight, I did everything I needed to do, and if I have a bunch of idiot drunk fans that don’t like the way it’s going, I think that’s actually probably a good thing.”
UFC 309 commentary disappoints Nickal
Nickal was, however, disappointed with the broadcast commentary from Jon Anik, Joe Rogan and Daniel Cormier during his fight with Craig (17-9-1 MMA, 9-9-1 UFC), specifically pointing out Cormier’s comments.
“When I watched the fight back, something that was a little disappointing was the commentary and just kind of hearing the way that they were looking at the fight,” Nickal said. “It made me feel like they didn’t really know what was going on as much, because anybody that I’ve talked to that are people that I trust, that shoot straight with me, they’re like, ‘Dude, you shut that guy out, domination, it was a flawless victory.’
“To hear things like DC say, ‘Oh, he’s not ready for Khamzat.’ I think he was kind of trying to be respectful but also trying to, like, maybe set me down a peg. It was just weird to hear. But I just feel like the people I know, who are in my corner, who would give me honest feedback, they’re very happy with the victory. I was very happy with the victory. So that’s what I really care about at the end of the day, but it was a little disappointing to hear some of those comments from people that I respect a lot.”
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 309.
Dana White thinks Bo Nickal needs to slow his roll after UFC 309.
NEW YORK – [autotag]Dana White[/autotag] thinks [autotag]Bo Nickal[/autotag] needs to slow his role after UFC 309.
Nickal (7-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) remained unbeaten when he outstruck Paul Craig (17-9-1 MMA, 9-9-1 UFC) on Saturday’s main card at Madison Square Garden – the first time he goes to the judges’ scorecards.
It was a lackluster fight for the most part, where Nickal landed the better shots than Craig, but didn’t attempt a single takedown.
“Well, you know, we’ve had these discussions with Bo, Bo needs work,” White told MMA Junkie and other reporters post-fight at UFC 309. “Bo is an up-and-coming guy. I know he has big aspirations and wants to move faster than he should, but tonight showed that – I mean, he still dominated, he won the whole fight, but he’s got work to do. It’s alright, we’ll move him. When you’re in a position like Bo is, there’s a lot of expectations.”
Prior to UFC 309, Nickal mapped out a plan where he saw himself five fights away from a title shot. Nickal received “overrated” chants from the crowd, but the standout wrestler was unbothered with the reaction. He called his performance “picture-perfect,” and was happy to log in experience of fighting three rounds after finishing his first six professional fights.
On the latest episode of “Spinning Back Clique,” the panel discusses Jon Jones’ win over Stipe Miocic at UFC 309, Jake Paul’s victory over Mike Tyson, and more.
Check out this week’s “Spinning Back Clique,” MMA Junkie’s weekly live show that takes a spin through the biggest topics in mixed martial arts.
This week’s panel of Brian “Goze” Garcia, Mike Bohn and Danny Segura will join host “Gorgeous” George Garcia live at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) to discuss and debate the following topics:
[autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] has made the heavyweight division quite interesting, to say the least. The living legend returned to the cage Saturday, successfully defending his UFC heavyweight title against [autotag]Stipe Miocic[/autotag] in the main event of UFC 309. Now it seems Jones has little to no intention of unifying the belt with interim champion [autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag], and is calling for a bout against fellow star and light heavyweight champion [autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag]. What happens now? Will Jones give in and fight Aspinall, or will he retire from MMA? We discuss and analyze everything surrounding the UFC 309 main event.
Jones wasn’t the only one who made headlines at UFC 309, which also saw [autotag]Charles Oliveira[/autotag] defeat [autotag]Michael Chandler[/autotag] in their highly anticipated rematch; [autotag]Bo Nickal[/autotag] continue his unbeaten run in MMA; [autotag]Mauricio Ruffy[/autotag] follow up on an impressive UFC debut; and much more. We discuss and highlight some of the other key results outside the UFC 309 main event.
Netflix debuted its first live sports event with a boxing match between popular influencer [autotag]Jake Paul[/autotag] and 58-year-old former champion [autotag]Mike Tyson[/autotag]. The event left plenty to discuss – some good, some bad. We react to Paul’s win over Tyson, along with Netflix’s jump into live sports.
To close out the show, we review some of the smaller news items outside the two big weekend events, including the booking of [autotag]Shavkat Rakmonov[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Ian Machado Garry[/autotag], which serves as the new co-main event of UFC 310; the return of [autotag]Colby Covington[/autotag], who fills in for Machado Garry to fight [autotag]Joaquim Buckley[/autotag] in the main event of UFC on ESPN 63 on Dec. 14; and the implementation of the old UFC gloves – sort of.
[autotag]Jim Miller[/autotag]: 7 days mandatory rest
