Bo Nickal suffered his first career loss on Saturday night after being TKO’d by Reiner de Ridder at UFC On ESPN 67 and now his head coach Mike Brown has issued a lengthy statement giving his thoughts on what transpired.
“Was a tough weekend but maybe one that a was needed,” Brown wrote on Instagram. “Things have been moving fast for Bo Nickal and to this point he was been able to make things happen and secure six finishes and seven victories with the limited experience that he has. Bo has all the attributes that you want if your goal is to become a world champion in mixed martial arts. He has athleticism, a strong confident mind set, a great family support system, and he started combat sports (specifically wrestling) at a very young age. These are all the boxes that you want to check when developing an elite MMA fighter.
“But the one thing Bo doesn’t have is live fighting cage time and for this there is no substitution. MMA fight experience is crucial and actual time in the cage is extremely important. As a team we had our concerns about moving so fast and we realize the dangers of fighting such high level opponents so early, but Bo is a unique athlete and the UFC has him on a fast track.
“This past weekend Bo’s lack of experience showed, his wrestling and athleticism wasn’t enough to overcome what was in front of him. Reinier de Ridder now 20-2 was a multi-time 2 division world champion in OneFC a very reputable organization. Props to him for coming with a strong game plan and executing what was needed..
“This is the fight game and it’s cliche but this is where we learn. This is where we make changes and where we make the biggest gains. I’m confident that this is going to fuel Bo and it will help him direct his focus to another level.
“To all the critics dog piling, remember Bo is nothing more than a man in an arena trying to support himself and his family.“
As for Nickal himself, the 29-year-old has so far only issued a brief message to fans since the loss this past weekend in Des Moines.
“Grateful for the highs and lows,” Nickal wrote on Instagram. “I’ll be back.”
