“Who’s wants to see us strike?” – a thrilling question posed by Reiner de Ridder ahead of his highly anticipated clash with undefeated middleweight prospect Bo Nickal at UFC Des Moines on May 3. Since joining the UFC, the former ONE Championship dual-weight champion has already knocked out one and submitted two opponents. But now he faces his toughest test yet against the three-time national champion wrestler. As the tension builds, Nickal has openly revealed his strategy, adding even more intrigue to what promises to be a thrilling showdown.

Bo Nickal is undefeated in his MMA career, however, the fighter has been immensely criticized for the way he fights. Despite being undefeated with just one win via decision in his career, Bo Nickal isn’t universally loved by fans. Yes, he has 6 finishes in 7 fights, but the first three were relatively no-name fighters. And when he joined the promotion, he dominated unranked opponents.

His last endeavor against Paul Craig nearly broke his morale when, despite his victory, the MMA community booed him for not showing urgency to finish Craig or even make it a dog-fight. Now that he is booked to take on one of the best grapplers in the MMA realm, Nickal has the opportunity to exhibit why he is one of the best in the promotion.

Mike Bohn of MMA Junkie recently had a conversation with Bo Nickal, where he asked the American wrestler about Reinier de Ridder’s game plan to take him down and fight him there. He also asked Nickal about his philosophy for the fight, to which Nickal responded, “I’m down for it. You know, I think that, um, for me, the priority is just to do my best, and I focus on my attitude and my effort.”

He further added, “I’m grateful for this opportunity, and I’m going to go out and give 100% the whole time. I’m going to keep bringing it from the first bell to the last, and that’s all I can control. So, you know, for me, it’s to go out there and just give 100% effort.” Nickal is certain that after his last performance, he will do whatever is possible to be in the good books of the fans. Interestingly, De Ridder is confident that striking with Nickal isn’t the main reason for this matchup. Instead, it’s the clash between one of the nastiest submission specialists in the UFC and a world-class wrestler.

Nickal is looking to secure a victory as he has a specific target in his cross-hairs—Khamzat Chimaev. In one of his statements recently, the American wrestler praised ‘Borz,’ “He’s a guy that I look at with a lot of respect, and he’s proven himself. Competed against the best in the world and won.” Interestingly, as the date of the highly anticipated fight between both grapplers draws near, a UFC legend has come forward with some much-needed advice for NCAA Division-1 wrestler.

Michael Bisping on Bo Nickal’s path to victory against Reinier de Ridder

While chatting with former UFC fighter Paul Felder, Michael Bisping reflected on Nickal’s performance against Paul Craig. “I tell you what. Bo Nickal is obviously still undefeated. The wrestling accolades and the striking are getting better all the time,” said Bisping as he emphasized Nickal’s worth in the sport.

Bisping further added, “This is a really interesting matchup, you know, Reinier de Ridder obviously on the ground is phenomenal. The former two-weight champion over [at] I think was ONE FC but Bo Nickal, what’s he gonna do? Is he gonna take him down? Who was Bo Nickal’s last opponent where he didn’t do a takedown?” Cutting in on Bisping’s statement, Felder expressed that his fight against Paul Craig was the perfect opportunity for him to use his dominant wrestling, but he never did.

“This was an opportunity for you to be more aggressive and when it wasn’t working out on the feet, it was a huge opportunity to show him that wrestling, and he just never did that. But that being said, I do think that this is the perfect next step for him to kinda right the ship and go out there and do a lot of things that he wasn’t able to do in that Paul Craig fight,” said Felder.

Well, Nickal’s performance against Craig kind of derailed his hype train. But he now has the opportunity to course-correct and prove his mettle to his doubters and haters. Given that, what are your thoughts on the matchup? Will Bo Nickal live up to the hype that once carried him, or will Reinier de Ridder further ‘fraud-check’ him at UFC Iowa? Let us know in the comments down below.