Chael Sonnen lashes out at the UFC middleweight division after 'finding out' no one called Bo Nickal out besides Darren Till
Chael Sonnen has criticized the UFC middleweight division as he seemingly believes that, other than Darren Till, none of its fighters are willing to face Bo Nickal.
In an edition of Beyond the Fight, Sonnen addressed undefeated MMA prospect Nickal's highly-anticipated UFC main roster debut. The 26-year-old Nickal is scheduled to face veteran middleweight Jamie Pickett in the headlining fight on the UFC 282 event's undercard on December 10th.
Nevertheless, Sonnen has suggested that 'The Allen Assassin' is unlikely to fight Pickett. 'The Bad Guy' is of the view that Nickal will instead end up fighting a higher-ranked opponent, namely Dricus du Plessis, at UFC 282. Alternatively, Sonnen opined that Nickal could perhaps fight Darren Till at the event.
Moreover, he highlighted that Till is the only UFC middleweight who's called out the highly-accomplished wrestling phenom. Lambasting the other UFC middleweights, Sonnen stated:
"December 10 is when Bo is going to be fighting, and he's going to be televised. And there wasn't any '85 pounders that spoke up. I found that odd. I find that very in line with what people do -- never trying to get themselves an opportunity. Pretending."
He added:
"Pretending they want it all, and pretending they're hungry, and pretending they're sacrificing, and telling anyone that'll listen they should be getting more. But then when the opportunity comes to actually compete and do some heavy lifting, I just don't see a lot of it. Now when I tell you that nobody called out Bo, that's a literal statement with one exception. Darren Till said I'll fight him."
Watch Sonnen discuss the topic at 3:10 in the video below:
MMA sensation Bo Nickal's response to Darren Till's call-out
A few weeks ago, the MMA community was set abuzz by the news that Darren Till had verbally agreed to a fight Dricus du Plessis at UFC 282. That said, Till recently took aim at Bo Nickal. 'The Gorilla' claimed that he'd like to "drive the left hand through his skull."
Bo nickal is looking good, be good to meet up with him in the future in the octagon. Drive the left hand through his skullā¦ š„·
It's believed that Darren Till jibed at Bo Nickal due to the American having called out Till's friend and training partner, UFC welterweight and middleweight star Khamzat Chimaev. Chael Sonnen too notably referenced the Chimaev factor in the Till-Nickal feud.
Furthermore, appearing on Thiccc Boy Studios' Food Truck Diaries, Bo Nickal responded by reminding Darren Till of his recent defeat against wrestling specialist Derek Brunson. Noting that he's surprised to see Till call him out despite knowing what he'd do to him, he said:
"Man, Darren. Very, very cute. I guess that's my first impression, it's a cute thing of you to say having just gotten absolutely bodied by Derek Brunson."
Watch Bo Nickal's assessment below:
EXCLUSIVE: Bo Nickal FIRES BACK at Darren Till https://t.co/8nwkBxYgKx