Bo Nickal and Gable Steveson’s rivalry got personal fast, with the Olympic gold medalist allegedly threatening to knock Nickal out just weeks before the latter’s shocking defeat at UFC 331 on September 19. What started as a war of words over public comments nearly turned into a showdown, with one openly threatening the other.

Speaking to Ariel Helwani, Bo Nickal recounted their tense confrontation at a Real American Freestyle (RAF) event on August 22 and recalled the moment Gable Steveson made his intentions crystal clear.

“We had a RAF event where we were competing in the same event. I went up to him and I was like, ‘Bro, like, what’s your problem? Why are you talking crazy about me?'” Nickal recalled. “He was like, ‘You are talking about me.’ And I was like, ‘I responded to you. But I was like, ‘We’re both wrestlers. We come from the same background, American wrestling.’

“And then, honestly, it got kind of heated at that point… I was like, bro, what are you even talking about, man. This is insane. And I remember this so vividly. He was like, ‘I’ll knock you out.’ That’s what he said to me, and I’m like, ‘You absolutely won’t knock me out.'”

While the confrontation thankfully didn’t lead into an altercation backstage, it most easily could have given their recent back-and-forth.

The bad blood between Bo Nickal and Gable Steveson dates back to July, when Steveson, after his spectacular debut at UFC 329, made a bold claim that he could steamroll the UFC middleweight in a wrestling match, winning 10-0 in under a minute.

The jab was especially notable given that Nickal had previously offered Steveson advice as he made the switch from wrestling to MMA. But any goodwill clearly did little to cool things down, with the Olympian making it clear he had no doubts about how a showdown on the mat would play out.

“You think Bo Nickal could pin me? Bo Nickal cannot pin me,” he said during an interview. “You know what I would do to Bo Nickal in a wrestling match? I would beat Bo Nickal 10-0 in under a minute, that easy.”

The 30-year-old immediately fired back on X, taking aim at Gable Steveson’s conditioning and warning that his wrestling-heavy approach could leave him exposed if he gassed out.

Things came to a head in August when Bo Nickal and Gable Steveson found themselves at RAF 12.

While Nickal was confronting Steveson in an effort to get to the bottom of the public back-and-forth the two were engaged in, the 26-year-old Olympic gold medalist saw it as a direct confrontation and decided to issue a threat to knock him out.

Bo Nickal, for his part, wasn’t too concerned about the threat from the heavyweight prospect since he was convinced that once the rules are different, the advantage would be firmly in his corner.

“And I was like, ‘I don’t know if I’d beat you in a wrestling match, but I would destroy you in a fight. I’m absolutely confident in that,'” Nickal recounted to Helwani.

The 30-year-old wasn’t done making his point. He claimed he laid out exactly why Steveson needed more time to sharpen his striking defense before stepping into the cage with seasoned MMA fighters, warning that elite wrestling alone wouldn’t protect the heavyweight from the dangers of a real fight.

“And then one of the things I said to him was, ‘You have no defense. Like, you’re not experienced enough to understand, like, how to get away from these strikes,” Nickal continued. “That’s gonna come with time. That’s gonna come with experience.

“Like, I learned this too when I fought Reinier de Ridder, and so, like, you gotta learn these things.’ And then, boom, how many weeks later… Gable got knocked out.”

The 26-year-old’s knockout loss to Sean Sharaf in just 12 seconds at UFC 331 on September 19 added an unexpected twist to the rivalry, especially after Bo Nickal had publicly warned that the heavyweight could get knocked out.

Still, the UFC middleweight isn’t writing Gable Steveson off just yet. Despite their heated exchanges, he has made it clear that he wants to see his fellow wrestler learn from the setback, improve his MMA game, and eventually find success in the sport.

Bo Nickal still hopes Gable Steveson can bounce back in MMA

For all the trash talk and bad blood between them, Bo Nickal insists he still wants to see Gable Steveson make it in MMA. He explained that his decision to confront the Olympic champion wasn’t about starting a feud but about clearing the air.

With both men coming from the same American wrestling background and making the jump to professional fighting, the 30-year-old believed they had more reason to support each other than trade shots in public.

“Big setbacks can lead to big comebacks, so I hope that he can figure his stuff out,” he said. “Again, it’s weird, all the stuff between us. But I still want to root for him and want him to do well.”

Bo Nickal knows firsthand that one devastating loss doesn’t have to define a fighter’s career. The American suffered his first professional defeat against Reinier de Ridder in 2025, a major setback for a prospect who entered the UFC with huge expectations thanks to his elite collegiate wrestling credentials.

That loss forced the three-time NCAA Division I national champion to take a closer look at his game and work on becoming a more well-rounded MMA fighter. Having gone through that experience himself, Nickal believes Gable Steveson can bounce back from his defeat, provided the heavyweight is willing to learn from his mistakes and make the necessary adjustments.

For now, Bo Nickal is gearing up for his first-ever main event. The middleweight was initially booked to face Joe Pyfer at UFC 335 on December 12, but the matchup was later pushed back to 2027, delaying his return to the Octagon.

The one-on-one is now expected to headline a UFC event in Cleveland, Ohio, next February, giving the 30-year-old a chance to rebuild his momentum and strengthen his position in the middleweight division. After suffering the first loss of his professional career and getting back to winning ways, the former NCAA champion will be eager to make his main-event debut count.

As for Gable Steveson, his next UFC appearance remains unannounced following the knockout loss to Sean Sharaf. His future in the promotion is still up in the air, but Nickal’s comments suggest the door remains open for the Olympic gold medalist to bounce back, despite the bad blood between them.