Bo Nickal, the new MMA prospect who previously made snide remarks on the former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, believes he could be the next Jon Jones in the sport.
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The American wrestling prodigy recently made his MMA debut in Jorge Masvidal’s promotion iKon Fighting Championship. He took less than a minute to stop his opponent via a knockout in his maiden MMA fight.
However, this win was just a checkpoint for the 26-year-old, as his goals are a lot bigger than this. The MMA debutant envisions himself as the next number one pound-for-pound fighter.
In an interview with Ariel Helwani, Nickal stated he goes for the finishes in all his fight. Hence, he finds himself similar to the UFC GOAT Jon Jones. He said, “I think a guy that especially early in his career had a lot of finishes was Jon Jones. And he had diversity, too. I mean, obviously, my wrestling accolades were a lot better than his, but he stopped wrestling really young.”
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“So I see myself emulating a lot of his attacks, of his styles. We’re both long guys, explosive, powerful. So, you know, and he was out there just finishing dudes, whether that was with strikes, elbows, kicks, knees, submissions, and that’s kind of how I see myself too.” Nickal added.
“Because to be that No. 1 pound-for-pound that I want to be, I can’t go out there and take a dude down and hold them down for five minutes. Like, I’ve got to smash every single guy I fight. So the guys that did that are the guys that I’m trying to emulate that style.” Nickal concluded.
Bo Nickal comments about Khabib Nurmagomedov
Bo Nickal has been a wrestler all his life. He has won countless tournaments and has impressive amateur records under his name. Hence, the 26-year-old believes he could out-wrestle the UFC legend Khabib Nurmagomedov.
However, his comments on the former UFC champion didn’t sit well with Nurmagomedov’s fans. And the MMA debutant received a backlash for the same.
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So, Nickal defended his comments in the same interview with Ariel Helwani. He stated he respects the Dagestani fighter. However, he had been wrestling till the age of 25, before he made his MMA debut. Hence, he said he could get through Nurmagomedov in wrestling.
What are your thoughts on Nickal’s comments? What do you guys think about his comparison with Jones? Let us know in the comments below.
