Bo Nickal admits he has "a lot of catching up to do" before a potential fight with Khamzat Chimaev
Rising middleweight contender Bo Nickal has admitted he still has plenty more to do in the octagon before he can potentially lock horns with Khamzat Chimaev in the future.
Nickal is currently set for the biggest test of his MMA career so far when he faces Paul Craig at UFC 309 this weekend. Despite Craig being unranked in the division, he is a former BAMMA light heavyweight champion and has wins over the likes of Jamahal Hill and Magomed Ankalaev at 205 pounds.
For Nickal, the 28-year-old is undefeated in his career so far (6-0) and has finished every opponent he has faced. His last bout came back in April at UFC 300, where he submitted Cody Brundage in the second round.
Ahead of his clash against Craig this weekend, Bo Nickal was asked about his future and his hopes of facing Khamzat Chimaev. Even back when he was competing on Dana White's Contender Series, Nickal has been calling for a bout against 'Borz', believing his wrestling is good enough to stop the UFC star.
But while Nickal would love the fight as soon as possible, he believes he has to achieve more in the octagon to earn the right to face Chimaev, especially following his performance against Robert Whittaker at UFC 308. He said:
"I think that Khamzat's last performance was really incredible. Probably the best performance he's had, submitting a former champion in the first round...I have a lot of catching up to do, I'm fighting unranked guys right now...The main focus is improve, develop and get better at fighting and we'll make that happen [facing Chimaev] in time."
Catch Nickal's comments here (3:54:50):
Bo Nickal wasn't surprised by Khamzat Chimaev's performance against Robert Whittaker
Bo Nickal was impressed but not surprised by Khamzat Chimaev's mauling of Robert Whittaker at UFC 308.
'Borz' dominated the fight from the off, immediately taking 'The Reaper' down before eventually locking in a face crank submission for the win in the first round.
Nickal was asked about Chimaev's peformance and a potential bout between them during a recent interview with Ariel Helwani. The 28-year-old stated that he expected Chimaev to be as dominant as he was. He said:
"I think it was super impressive. To be honest, it's funny because a lot of people expected that to be a tough fight for him and - you can ask around, all the people that I talked to - I kind of thought he would do that to Whittaker. It's one thing to think that or to kind of see that happening, but he actually did it, which is super impressive."
Check out Bo Nickal's comments here: