Bo Nickal has long been considered the top undefeated prospect in the UFC, widely seen as a future champion. The former NCAA superstar had all eyes on him when he stepped into the cage against Reinier de Ridder, a fighter with twice as many submission wins as his total MMA fights. In the end, experience proved to be the deciding factor, as the Penn State alum found himself shattered on the ground, enduring the agony of his first loss at UFC Des Moines.

Nickal was a considerable favorite going into the fight. Many had placed their wagers on his grappling ability to overwhelm his opponent. However, Reinier de Ridder’s striking proved to be too much for him inside the octagon, as he practically dismantled Nickal with well-timed body shots and knees. With the underdog’s triumph, the wind changed dramatically.

Since the loss, the criticism hasn’t really slowed down, but Bo Nickal’s not without support. Figures from wrestling and UFC like Michael Bisping and Henry Cejudo have backed him, even if they’ve been honest about his flaws. Now, middleweight contender Jack Hermansson has also chimed in. Ahead of his UFC 317 bout with Gregory Rodrigues, ‘The Joker,’ who already shut down another rising prospect, Joe Pyfer, in his last outing, noted that Reinier de Ridder’s grappling was on a whole different level than Nickal’s last opponent, Paul Craig.

During an interview with Home of Fight, Hermansson said: “I feel sorry for him, you know. And, I think the UFC probably thought that would be a good match-up for him, especially after Paul Craig’s fight. Was it? So, when you have a guy like that, because de Ridder is a lot better than Paul Craig. Paul Craig has a lot of submissions in the UFC, but he’s not a good grappler like de Ridder. And when you have a guy like de Ridder, he doesn’t care if someone takes him down. He could just purely focus on his stand-up.”

That’s absolutely true! ‘RDR’ looked far sharper than Paul Craig, which earned him the win. Based on the skills he showed, he could easily be a strong contender among the top middleweights. That’s why the promotion matched him up with Robert Whittaker in Abu Dhabi. As for Bo Nickal, ‘The Joker’ believes the former NCAA star’s striking struggles were a major factor in his downfall during that fight.

He added, “And when Bo gets uncomfortable there, you know, it’s kind of a dilemma if he doesn’t good in the stand-up and he’s taking him down in a world, de Ridder is good at. So, I thought that’s gonna be a bad matchup for him. But, impressive win, but it also shows that Bo might need more time before he challenges the best guys in the UFC. He’s still very young.”

Spot on from ‘The Joker’ again. Bo Nickal needs a complete overhaul of his striking before he can step in against anyone from the top 15 again. The competition will only get tougher from here, and since he’s made it clear that taking a step down in opposition isn’t an option, the UFC will likely honor that, especially with the popularity he still carries. However, there’s still a part of the former NCAA champ that admits he wasn’t as prepared for de Ridder as he thought.

Bo Nickal accepts being under-prepared for the Reinier de Ridder fight

Bo Nickal steamrolled his past opponents with dominant grappling, but a slight shift in approach was noticeable from the Cody Brundage fight. He started emphasizing striking more, which continued into the Paul Craig bout, where he kept the fight standing. Many expected improvements, but instead, his underdeveloped striking drew criticism. So many thought that the pre-fight camp could be the issue. 

Well, the former NCAA champ opened up about this during an appearance on The Ariel Hewani Show earlier this month: “I felt super confident going into the fight. I think that in my mind, prior to, I did everything that I needed to do to prepare to win the fight. I felt great. I think that now, having looked back, and gone through that, that I wasn’t as prepared as I thought.”

That’s definitely the first step toward a big change. Nickal admitting his preparation wasn’t the best is only going to make him more ready for his next outing, which is likely to be another high-stakes matchup. With American Top Team’s world-class coaching staff behind him, he’s expected to make the necessary adjustments and come back sharper. 

That being said, do you think that Bo Nickal comes back stronger than ever with transformed striking? Or we’re going to see him grapple more whenever the next outing takes place? Please share your thoughts in the comments section.