Bo Nickal had to go to the scorecards for the first time in his career to beat Paul Craig at UFC 309 in November, but it’s clearly not dented his confidence as he’s started 2025 by declaring that Khamzat Chimaev has no chance of beating him in the wrestling department.
”I don’t think there’s really a guy in the world at 86 kilos that can beat me in wrestling,” Nickal said on his YouTube channel. “I think that he’s (Chimaev) good, he’s got skills, but his biggest thing that’s going to crush him, especially in a fight against me is, dude, you’re going to get tired. You’re going to go like this (down), and I’m going to go like this (up) as the fight goes on.
“And you’re not going to take me down, which is your best attribute. So you’re going to have to strike with me. I’m probably going to be able to take you down. Maybe I don’t hold you down on the ground forever, but I can hold you down there for a little bit, and the longer the fight goes, the worse it’s going to get.”
It would certainly be intriguing to find out if Nickal’s claims are true, but after watching his striking ability during his win on points over an opponent in Craig (whose own stand-up skills have been much maligned) it’s clear that the still-unranked wrestling ace still needs more time to round out his game before he’s ready to go up against a leading contender like Khamzat.
