“He looks good striking, but he’s not comfortable. He hurt him, but he didn’t know how to get close,” Israel Adesanya stated on his YouTube channel, pointing out a significant hole in Bo Nickal’s game while reacting to his outing against Paul Craig at UFC 309. ‘The Last Stylebender’s assessment became even more accurate after Nickal’s loss to Reinier de Ridder at UFC Des Moines. The loss still stings for the hottest prospect, but there’s a chance at redemption through hard work.

Bo Nickal has always taken pride in his wrestling, so much so that, back in 2022, he boldly challenged none other than the former two-time middleweight champion. While he gave Israel Adesanya credit for being the most entertaining striker in the world, he didn’t hold back on his own strengths. During an interview with Michael Bisping, “I’m gonna bring him to the ground. He’s never fought anybody with one-tenth of the wrestling that I have, with one-tenth of the jiu-jitsu that I have,” Nickal stated confidently.

Now, coming back to 2025, it’s become quite clear that Adesanya’s nearly 76% takedown defense and almost 50% striking accuracy would’ve been far too much for the former NCAA champion. With that in mind, ‘The Last Stylebender’ praised the Dutchman for an outstanding performance, while also showing empathy in his response to Bo’s loss.

Adesanya said in his UFC 315 Prediction YouTube video, “Yeah, that was just a good systematic finish from Reinier. He just f–g broke him down with knees to the body over and over again, whenever they were in the clinch. He made space and sent one up there, just investing. You see us slowly catching up with Bo, and people wanna s—t on Bo Now, try to kick him, when he’s down, but you don’t do that.”

The Nigerian-Kiwi definitely understands Nickal’s situation—he’s going through something similar himself, having lost three fights in a row. He knows that the 29-year-old is still very much a prospect with potential, but bouncing back will require a serious shift in approach.

He added, “Yeah, he will be back! He knows what to do, he knows the game. But this is not wrestling, this is fighting, and there are levels to this, and eventually, he’ll be back and he’ll learn from this. I don’t think he’ll be the guy to just go away and fade away. He’ll learn from this, climb the ranks, and do what he wants to do.”

Israel Adesanya has joined Henry Cejudo and the wider wrestling community in offering much-needed support to Bo Nickal. However, despite the backing, the All-American is still facing backlash online, and now, he has a bit more to say beyond his initial calm and collected response.

Bo Nickal brutally slanders the online haters

Bo Nickal is definitely a confident individual and understandably so, given his accolades both inside and outside the Octagon. He didn’t hesitate to take shots at other accomplished middleweights, positioning himself as a dangerous prospect in the division. But after Reinier de Ridder derailed his hype train, critics haven’t missed a beat in piling on. 

At first, the Penn State alum responded calmly on The Ariel Helwani Show, saying, “Pray for those people.” But his tone seems to have shifted quite a bit since then. At the submission radio interview, he said, “At the end of the day, say what you want. But when I get back on top, and when I’m the freaking champion of the world, you all will come crawling back. They always do. They always do, and I will spit right in your face.”

With prayers for the critics seemingly out the window, Bo Nickal looks more motivated than ever, and he’s got a legion of doubters to prove wrong. We’re all waiting to see how he tweaks his training and completely overhauls his striking. So, do you think we’ll witness a transformed Nickal, smashing opponents like the Hulk in the near future? Let us know in the comments below!