Bo Nickal gets honest about "turning into a striker" ahead of Reinier De Ridder fight at UFC Iowa
Bo Nickal is confident about his striking abilities, which he plans to use in his upcoming matchup against Reinier De Ridder at UFC Iowa. Nickal also claimed to be a "natural striker" and hinted that he might not even use wrestling, which is his forte.
Nickal is set to face De Ridder in a middleweight bout in the co-main event of UFC Iowa. The fight night event will take place on May 3 at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa. Ahead of the matchup, Nickal posted a YouTube video in which he discussed sharpening his striking prowess and expressed optimism about his chances in that area, saying:
''There's a chance, know. There's a chance I shouldn't take down this fight. But I don't know. I'm kind of turning into a striker, so we'll see... Yeah, I'm working on it. Know, it's developing, getting better. I think that I'm a natural, natural striker, so... Over hands there, that's without a doubt, there's no doubt about that.''
Nickal continued:
''You know I feel a lot of gratitude, a lot of appreciation, I think that god's gifted me with a lot of opportunity and just ability so, I'm grateful every day to be able to do what I do and yeah always reflecting and and just living in gratitude. So very appreciative for all the opportunities I get and looking forward to making the most of them.''
Check out Bo Nickal's comments below (via Home of Fight's X post):
Nickal is 7-0 in his professional MMA career, beating the likes of Jamie Pickett, Val Woodburn, and Cody Brundage. In his recent octagon outing at UFC 309, the 29-year-old faced Paul Craig and secured a unanimous decision win.
Meanwhile, De Ridder is a former ONE Championship two-division champion. He signed with the UFC last year and secured a record of 2-0 in the promotion. 'RDR' is coming off an opening round submission win over Kevin Holland at UFC 311 earlier this year.
Bo Nickal responds to Reinier De Ridder's wrestling challenge
Ahead of their UFC Iowa bout, in an interview with MMA Fighting last month, Reinier De Ridder challenged Bo Nickal to take the fight to the ground.
In response, Nickal spoke to MMA Junkie and gave his approval, saying:
''I'm down for it. I think for me, the priority is to just do my best. I focus on my attitude and my effort, and I'm grateful for this opportunity. I'm going to go out and go 100 percent the whole time.''
Check out Bo Nickal's comments below (1:52):