Bo Nickal: Me vs. Khamzat Chimaev top three biggest fights UFC can make
Bo Nickal is confident that a fight between him and Khamzat Chimaev would do massive numbers.
Both undefeated and boasting strong grappling bases, Nickal (7-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) has been angling to fight Chimaev (14-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) since he's entered the UFC. The pair have exchanged words in the past, but Chimaev is far ahead of Nickal in the title race.
Nickal takes on former ONE Championship title holder Reiner De Ridder (19-2 MMA, 2-0 UFC) in a three-round middleweight bout May 3 at UFC on ESPN 67 from Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa. Meanwhile, Chimaev is expected to be next in line for UFC middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis.
While Nickal acknowledges that he's not there just yet, he thinks a future fight with Chimaev would be a blockbuster.
'100 percent, that's the most exciting fight there is in the division in my opinion,' Nickal said in an interview with Home of Fight. 'I think as far as the fights in the UFC, you've got at the top: (Jon) Jones and (Tom) Aspinall, you've got Ilia (Topuria) potentially with Islam (Makhachev) or another 55'er, and then I think right after that, the most exciting fight next is me and Khamzat. That's something that the fans need to see, that I want to see. I'm sure he wants it, as well, so I've just got to keep winning fights and we'll make it happen.'
If Chimaev vs. Du Plessis is indeed next, Nickal thinks Chimaev's grappling prowess will prove to be too much.
'Tough fight: I think that Dricus has the size. He probably has a little better cardio,' Nickal said. 'I think striking is pretty even. Khamzat obviously has a massive advantage in the grappling. All that considered, I think I'd give the edge to Khamzat because of that wrestling advantage. We really haven't seen – you just don't get strong grapplers like that competing. You're not used to that.
'No matter what Dricus is going to do, he's not going to be able to game plan for that, and he's not going to have felt that from anyone. Really the only two guys I believe in the sport that can give that feel are me and Khamzat. I think that gives him an edge, that gives him an advantage. The longer the fight goes, the bigger the advantage is for Dricus, but seeing Khamzat in his last fight against Whittaker, he was very impressive. All in all, it's going to be a great fight, but I would give the edge to Khamzat.'
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie's event hub for UFC on ESPN 67.
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