With a seven-fight winning streak, Bo Nickal is set to clash against former ONE Champion Reinier de Ridder to prove his mettle in the middleweight division. However, the road to glory will be challenging, considering ‘The Dutch Knight’ has significantly more MMA experience. Despite being a three-time NCAA wrestling champion from Penn State, Nickal will face a formidable test in de Ridder and amidst this dilemma, Daniel Cormier has stepped forward to offer him the key to victory.

Going back to his roots, the Nittany Lion will be joining Happy Valley United to host the Riding Time Rally at PBR Philly at Xfinity Live. Many of you might be wondering what is that? Well, Happy Valley United is the NIL collective backing Penn State student-athletes in 31 sports, offering them opportunities to earn through sponsorships and partnerships. As Bo Nickal joins his people for the event, Daniel Cormier has come forward to offer the Penn State athlete a piece of necessary advice.

While having a conversation on ‘Good Guy/Bad Guy,’ Chael Sonnen brought forward the topic of Bo Nickal’s upcoming fight against Reiner de Ridder and emphasized that it is a requirement for Nickal to maintain the threat of takedowns during matches, responding to Sonnen, Daniel Cormier added that Nickal shouldn’t do what Magomed Ankalaev did in his battle against Alex Pereira, “He needs to take him down early because you don’t want to end up like Ankalaev,” said Daniel Cormier.

He further added, “Ankalaev was trying to take Pereira down, but he just couldn’t. You don’t want that. The one thing about a young fighter, a young wrestler, is Chael. Do you remember the first time you shot on somebody thinking you would take them down, and they defended? You’re like, “Oh my God, what happens now? What happens now? The first time somebody defends a takedown it’s very very scary.”

Reiner de Ridder is a scary fighter who has been known to take his opponents to deep waters. Being the former two-division ONE Championship champ, ‘The Dutch Knight’s UFC run has been pretty successful so far. With back-to-back submission victories over Gerald Meerschaert and Kevin Holland, de Ridder is becoming a force that should be feared. Cormier in his statement emphasized that the psychological dilemma might be a hindrance for the former NCAA champion if he doesn’t score a takedown in the initial rounds.

Why are Daniel Cormier and Chael Sonnen talking about Nickal’s takedown attempt you might ask? Well, that’s because Nickal was heavily criticized by the entire MMA community for the lackluster bout and not going for a single takedown against Paul Craig. Despite the victory, Nickal didn’t rejoice about it as he knew lacked composure in the fight and this might be the reason why he himself asked for a fight against Reiner de Ridder.

Bo Nikal reveals that he asked for the Reiner dr Ridder fight

Returning to the Octagon after his lackluster performance against Paul Craig, Bo Nickal will be looking to test himself against arguably the biggest fight of his career against Reiner de Ridder. Serving as the co-main event at UFC Des Moines. Facing Ridder, Nickal sees this matchup as the ideal opportunity for his next step up in competition. In addition to that, Nickal has come forward to reveal that he was the one who asked for the fight.

While speaking with Ariel Helwani, the Penn State wrestler emphasized, “This is a matchup that I asked for. And I feel like it’s a matchup that’s exciting for a lot of reasons. He’s had a lot of success in other organizations and success in the UFC, and it’s a natural step up for me. I want to keep fighting better and better guys. This is a guy who has a proven track record and many, many finishes.”

He further added, “It’s an interesting matchup. It’s a similar matchup to the Paul Craig fight, where he’s got more of a jiu-jitsu style. I think, obviously, with him being on a win streak and also having a different type of style on the feet, it will prove to be an interesting fight. I’m pumped up.”

Furthermore, Nickal called out to his opponent stating that he didn’t think de Ridder wanted to clash against him. Well, quite a bold take from the multiple times NCAA champion. Given that, what are your thoughts on the matchup? State your opinion in the comments below.