Nursulton Ruziboev explains callout of 'legend' Bo Nickal after UFC Fight Night 256 win
Nursulton Ruziboev explains callout of 'legend' Bo Nickal after UFC Fight Night 256 win
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Relive Nursulton Ruziboev's message to Uzbekistan fans after UFC win
UFC Fight Night 256 winner Nursulton Ruziboev talks to MMA Junkie post-fight after his unanimous decision victory over Dustin Stoltzfus.
LAS VEGAS – Nursulton Ruziboev thinks his callout of Bo Nickal could come to fruition after UFC Fight Night 256.
Following a unanimous decision victory over Dustin Stoltzfus in their middleweight bout on Saturday at the UFC Apex, Ruziboev (36-9-2 MMA, 4-1 UFC) got on the microphone and made it known he wants a matchup with Nickal (7-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC).
Nickal is just a few weeks removed from losing his undefeated record with a second-round TKO loss to Reinier de Ridder, and in the aftermath of that fight has received much blowback from the MMA community.
Ruziboev wants to give Nickal a chance to bounce back, though he doesn't think it would play out that way.
"I watched his fights before – he's a great wrestler, a legendary wrestler," Ruziboev told MMA Junkie through an interpreter post-fight at UFC Fight Night 256. "I watched his fights and I think that it's a comfortable fight for me. It's a fight I could win. I could try against him. Obviously, if he had won (against Reinier de Ridder), since he's in the top and I'm not in the top, he would've given it to me. But since he lost, this fight could happen. Now that he's coming off the loss, I think he would accept my challenge."
Ruziboev said he hopes the matchup with Nickal can happen "sooner than later," but first, he must return to his native Uzbekistan to recover from some minor injuries.
Although Ruziboev didn't get the exact performance he wanted against Stoltzfus, he said he was proud to get his hand raised against a unexpectedly hard hitter.
"There wasn't a surprise, really, but I thought I was going to be able to finish him in the fight," Ruziboev said. "Once I got in the fight I felt his punches, they were harder than I thought, so I wasn't able to finish him."
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