Bo Nickal has fired a bold shot at Islam Makhachev, claiming the UFC welterweight champion would struggle badly against elite wrestlers under freestyle rules. While the Dagestani has built a reputation as one of MMA’s most dominant grapplers, Nickal believes there’s a big difference between wrestling inside the Octagon and competing against specialists on the mat.

And when asked if Islam Makhachev could hold his own, the former NCAA champion didn’t mince his words.

“Islam? No, he’s going to get killed. He will get killed-killed,” he told Ariel Helwani. “The only MMA fighter that can actually compete with a real wrestler is me.”

The 30-year-old doubled down on his argument, explaining why even the UFC’s most accomplished grapplers could struggle against athletes who have spent their entire careers competing in wrestling.

To make his point, he brought up Sean Brady, one of the welterweight division’s most respected grapplers, who recently competed in RAF and showed exactly why Nickal believes there’s a huge gap between MMA grappling and elite freestyle wrestling.

At RAF 12, the UFC welterweight faced 38-year-old Jordan Burroughs, the 2012 Olympic gold medalist widely regarded as one of the best freestyle wrestlers of his generation. The result was one-sided, with Burroughs dominating the 33-year-old and securing an 11-0 technical fall.

“Let’s talk about this for real. Who’s one of the best 170-pound MMA grapplers in the division right now that just did an RAF? Sean Brady. He’s top-notch,” he said.

Bo Nickal used the aforementioned result to argue that the gap becomes even wider when MMA fighters face wrestlers who train exclusively for the sport.

“Imagine if he (Sean Brady) went against a guy like Jason Nolf, who’s training full-time, or a guy like Levi Haines,” he added. “Like, Jordan Burroughs hasn’t even wrestled in, like, three years, and he’s one of the greatest of all time.

“But let’s talk about actual, like—if you bring in an MMA grappler into the wrestling scene, they are not competitive. The only one that’ll be competitive is me. That’s a fact.”

Bo Nickal’s confidence isn’t coming out of nowhere. The Penn State standout built an elite wrestling resume, winning three NCAA Division I national titles and reaching the championship final in all four years of his collegiate career.

But even with those credentials, the transition to MMA and pure wrestling isn’t always straightforward. The 30-year-old got a taste of that himself at RAF 12, where he suffered a freestyle wrestling loss to Max McEnelly, another NCAA Division I champion.

However, before fans turn against Bo Nickal for his blunt opinion, it is worth noting that he isn’t the only one who ever questioned how Islam Makhachev would fare against other wrestling stars.

Jordan Burroughs also questioned Islam Makhachev’s wrestling confidence

Even before Bo Nickal, it was Olympic gold medalist Jordan Burroughs who weighed in on Islam Makhachev’s wrestling credentials. The tension goes back to Makhachev’s own comments about Burroughs, when the UFC champion suggested the Olympic gold medalist relied heavily on his double-leg takedown and claimed he could defend it.

Burroughs, however, believes that assessment overlooks the technical details that separate elite wrestlers from even the best MMA grapplers. He even pointed to Islam Makhachev’s fight against Ian Machado Garry at UFC 330 when the Irishman defended and countered the champion’s high-crotch and single-leg attempts despite not being an elite wrestler.

“I’m like, if Islam gets on my leg that way, I’m going to send him for a ride,” he told Ariel Helwani.

Other UFC fighters have also discovered that success in MMA does not guarantee victories against pure wrestlers.

Arman Tsarukyan, considered one of the UFC’s best wrestlers, found that out the hard way at RAF 11 on July 18, 2026, when he suffered a 5-3 defeat to former NCAA Division I wrestler and former welterweight champion Colby Covington.

Merab Dvalishvili has had a more mixed experience against elite wrestling opposition. He rallied from an early 8-0 deficit to beat Olympic gold medalist Henry Cejudo 11-8 in their first freestyle meeting on July 11, 2026. But ‘Triple C’ got his revenge at RAF 12, pinning Dvalishvili in just 36 seconds to claim the RAF Lightweight Crossover Championship.

These matchups highlight the distinction Bo Nickal is making. Elite MMA fighters can have exceptional takedowns, defensive wrestling and grappling instincts, but facing specialists who have spent years mastering freestyle wrestling is an entirely different challenge.