Bo Nickal responds to calls for dramatic weight class move from former UFC champ after first career loss
UFC middleweight prospect Bo Nickal was persuaded to move to the welterweight division by a former champ.
Bo Nickalâs dominant start to his MMA career came to an abrupt end at UFC Des Moines, courtesy of former two-division ONE champion Reinier de Ridder. In a shocking result, de Ridder finished Nickal with a knee to the liver in Round 2 to hand the blue-chip prospect his first MMA defeat.
It was a stunning end to the UFC Des Moines co-main event, after Nickal entered the fight as a modest favorite after four wins to begin his UFC tenure. The Dana Whiteâs Contender Series alum has been the target of harsh criticism since the fight, including one former lightweight calling for Dana White to cut Nickal.
Nickal admitted in a post-fight interview that he knew there was a chance heâd be âexposedâ at UFC Des Moines. But after his first MMA setback, a former champion called for Nickal to make a surprising change for his next Octagon appearance.
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Photo by Mike Roach/Zuffa LLCBo Nickal responds to calls for welterweight move after UFC Des MoinesFormer UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling, who made the full-time transition from bantamweight to featherweight after a loss to Sean OâMalley, questioned Nickalâs frame fit for the middleweight division. Sterling encouraged Nickal and his team to strongly consider a move down to 170lbs, a significant change after cutting almost 40 lbs just days before UFC Des Moines.
Nickal has competed at middleweight for his entire MMA career, and fought as low as 174 lbs just once in his collegiate wrestling tenure. He was an NCAA Division I wrestling national champion at Penn State before launching his MMA career in 2022.
Sterlingâs comments received divided reviews from MMA fans, with some wondering if a move to welterweight would be worth it for the blue-chip prospect Nickal. But after Sterlingâs remarks went viral, it didnât take long for Nickal to respond.
MMA journalist Ariel Helwani asked Nickal about Sterlingâs comments after an appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show.
âI canât make 170,â Nickal said defiantly.
âIâll be at 185.â
While Nickal seems content in fighting at middleweight, itâs not unheard of for fighters to change their minds in favor of weight class drops later in their careers. Kayla Harrison is the best example, as she made the move from lightweight down to bantamweight when she signed with the UFC.
Standing at 6â1âł, Nickal is slightly below the average height for UFC middleweights, and stood a few inches shorter than de Ridder at UFC Des Moines. After cutting weight since he first started to wrestle, Nickal seems done making dramatic weight cuts at this stage of his combat sports career.
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Dricus du Plessis âsatisfiedâ watching Bo Nickalâs first lossUFC middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis had an interesting take on Nickalâs performance at UFC Des Moines. In a recent podcast appearance, du Plessis roasted Nickal for his past boastful comments and expressed little sympathy for the star middleweight.
Du Plessis updated fans on a timeline for his next expected middleweight title defense against Khamzat Chimaev, after injury rumors briefly postponed the matchup. Du Plessis says a fight announcement is imminent, potentially for as soon as UFC 319 in August.
After Nickalâs loss at UFC Des Moines, his path to the middleweight Top 15 hit a major speed bump. Following Nickalâs past comments about du Plessis and the top middleweights, du Plessis enjoyed watching the talented middleweight suffer inside the Octagon.
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