"He has to grow up" - Khamzat Chimaev shares theory about Bo Nickal's missed opportunity to fight him at UFC 308
Khamzat Chimaev recently weighed in on Bo Nickal's missed shot at squaring off against him at UFC 308. 'Borz' secured the biggest victory of his UFC career to date last weekend in Abu Dhabi, submitting former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker in the first round.
Chimaev was originally scheduled to face Whittaker at UFC Saudi Arabia in June but had to withdraw due to a severe illness. During that time, Nickal was offered the chance to step in on short notice against 'The Reaper', but he declined. The American wrestling phenom had previously expressed interest in a showdown with Chimaev at UFC 308, though the opportunity ultimately didn’t materialize.
During a recent interview with Nina-Marie Daniele, 'Borz' shared his thoughts on why the UFC didn’t grant Nickal a chance to fight him. The undefeated Chechen-born fighter said that the promotion recognizes he would be too challenging for the relatively inexperienced Nickal.
"Why is it they didn't pick him? I don't know because they think the guy is too early for him, too young. I don't know how old he is, but in MMA, it doesn't mean that your age [determines if] you're prepared to fight. The guy is too young for the sport. He has to grow up, and if we fight now, I'm gonna smash that guy easily in the first round. Maybe later, when I'm older, he’ll give me a tougher fight, but I’m for sure gonna win that time as well."
Check out Khamzat Chimaev's comments below:
Nickal is coming off a second-round submission victory over Cody Brundage at UFC 300 in April, improving his promotional record to 3-0. He is slated to face Paul Craig at UFC 309, set to take place on Nov. 16 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
When Bo Nickal outlined his game plan for potential fight with Khamzat Chimaev
During an appearance on The MMA Hour in April, Bo Nickal stated that a fight with Khamzat Chimaev is probably a long way off. However, he is confident that he can handle 'Borz' just as effortlessly as he did Cody Brundage when they finally face off inside the octagon:
"I think I’d do very similarly to him what I did to this last guy — take him down, rag-doll him, throw him around. He’s not a big '85er [middleweight]. He gets tired. So, is his first round going to be a little better and more competitive? Probably. But if that fight’s five rounds, I don’t think he makes it five rounds if we’re being honest."
Check out Bo Nickal's comments below (52:38):