Bo Nickal weighs in on potential Dricus du Plessis vs. Khamzat Chimaev title clash, outlines "their biggest asset" in the cage
Rising prospect Bo Nickal recently shared his insights on the upcoming potential UFC middleweight championship clash between Dricus du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev.
'Borz' is coming off a victory against former champion Robert Whittaker at UFC 308.
Meanwhile, 'Stillknocks' has successfully defended his title against two former 185-pound kings, Israel Adesanya and Sean Strickland. According to the current UFC middleweight rankings, Nassourdine Imavov and Chimaev are two of the top contenders for the next championship fight.
In a recent exclusive interview with Mike Bohn of MMA Junkie, Nickal expressed his thoughts on a potential matchup between 'Borz' and du Plessis, saying:
"That's an amazing fight. I think those are two guys that have tremendous belief in themselves... They go out and fight extremely hard, so I think you have to give the grappling edge to Khamzat [Chimaev]. I think you give the conditioning edge to Dricus and the striking, maybe leans a little bit towards Dricus [du Plessis], but pretty much a toss-up."
Nickal continued and outlined the biggest assets of Chimaev and du Plessis in the fight game:
"Their biggest asset is their belief in themselves. They go out hard and ready to win, and feeling like they should win. So, that's going to be an entertaining fight whenever those guys believe in themselves and think they should win, so I don't know, 50-50."
Check out Bo Nickal's comments on Dricus du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev below (5:42):
Bo Nickal speaks on his potential fight against Khamzat Chimaev
Khamzat Chimaev has shown dominance with his Russian-style wrestling, while Bo Nickal has earned several accolades in American-style wrestling. Due to their contrasting yet similar fighting styles, both UFC middleweight fighters have often been anticipated to clash against each other at some point in their careers.
During the same aforementioned interview, Nickal talked about the possibility of his fight against 'Borz' by saying:
"I think that he [Khamzat Chimaev] is a guy I look at with a lot of respect, and he's proving himself and competed against the best in the world and won. The only way we're going to get matched up is if I continue to do the same thing and I prove myself. I think it will be an exciting fight for the fans. I got a little ways to go before then, but we'll make it work." [6:38]