For a long time, UFC’s middleweight division was in a stalemate, with Israel Adesanya holding the gold with an iron grip while the rest of the division struggled to get past Robert Whittaker. Alex Pereira‘s short run at the title did bring some momentum, but after the Brazilian dropped the title to his Kiwi rival, everything turned back to how it used to be.

But things are once again getting heated up. Dricus Du Plessis has finally solved the Whittaker puzzle, becoming the first man to stop ‘Bobby Knuckles’ since 2019. Bo Nickal is finishing opponents left and right. Khamzat Chimaev is finally moving up, and Sean Strickland is back on a winning streak. But there is a low-key entrant to the division who may make things more interesting: Paul Craig!

Paul Craig calls out Bo Nickal

After finishing André Muniz in his middleweight debut, former UFC Light Heavyweight Paul Craig has called out Bo Nickal. Nickal, who is currently undefeated, has been looking unstoppable since his debut earlier this year, with the former wrestler finishing both of his last opponents in the first round. But if Craig is to be believed, his American rival has to get past his guard to dominate him on the ground.

These words came out during his appearance on ESPN’s post-fight show. In his own words: “I kind of like Bo Nickal as a fight. Nobody wants to fight him, but then if he takes me down, he better be good at passing guard because I’m very good at retaining guard. He’s a name.”

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To date, Paul Craig has used his BJJ black belt to dominate numerous athletes at the highest level of sports. This includes former 205 lbs champion Jamahal Hill and former title challenger Magomed Ankalaev.

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However, when it comes to the ground game, Nickal isn’t a slouch by any stretch. Apart from his extensive wrestling career, the Pennsylvanian also has a good deal of BJJ exposure. In fact, he held his own in a submission grappling match against the legendary Gordon Ryan. But till now, he has not yet got a chance to show off his skills on the ground against a top-level grappler. With that in mind, it would be interesting to see how strong ‘The Bear Jew’s claims are.

Fans React to the idea of Craig vs. Nickal

As soon as Paul Craig’s words were out, fans across the internet came forward with their reactions. Familiar with Craig’s ground game, many were attesting to his claim. Some of the reactions are as follows:

• Do same: awful matchup for Bo
• This is a good match. Let’s see how bo does against an actual submission fighter
• Damn this actually a tuff fight for Bo
• Bo gonna have to really train striking before this fight and fighting submission attempts
• Craig is a better striker and lethal on the bottom
• He’d be very live to upset BO this guy is no joke
• Paul Craig subbed ankalaev
• What Bo hasn’t really fought anyone with good striking or that isn’t afraid of takedowns and Craig is taller isn’t he Paul Craig is a beast

What do you think about this matchup? Is Paul Craig’s BJJ enough to finally stop the Bo Nickal Hype train? Let us know in the comments.

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