Although Bo Niccal has suffered losses during his wrestling career, he has never faced the same amount of criticism as he did after suffering his first loss in mixed martial arts, a body shot knockout to Reinier de Ridder in May.
Of course, part of that is due to being able to compete on a much bigger stage like the UFC, but it’s also due to the huge amount of hype that has rested on Nickal’s shoulders since making the transition to martial arts. Nickal has clearly heard words like “overrated” being thrown around a lot since his loss, with some even saying that Nickal is not able to fully focus on the fight due to his other endeavors outside of the sport.
In response, Nikkal didn’t lash out or insult his biggest critics, instead taking what he could from the comments and reflecting on getting better before his next appearance at UFC 322 on Saturday.
“I think whenever there is criticism, you can either take it personally and let it hit your ego, or you can look at it and analyze it and try to be unbiased,” Nickal said at UFC 322 media day. “I feel like there’s some truth to a lot of things. You might be able to see it that way or perceive it that way, and there might be a little bit of truth in it. But I feel like we’re really missing the big picture.
“At the end of the day, I’m going to live my life the way I want to live it. So no one’s going to tell me what to do or how to do it. I’m going to make those decisions and do what I personally think is best. That being said, I don’t care about the critics and their views on what they say. I don’t think they’re trying to be malicious, or I feel like it’s me who’s attacking them. It’s more of an open-minded way of looking at it, and maybe there’s some truth to it.”
It seemed like Nickal was just bombarded with negative comments after losing his first match, but he happily revealed that was not the case.
While he’s certainly not obsessive about checking social media, the 29-year-old wrestler from Pennsylvania was surprised at how many people reached out to him with words of encouragement rather than rooting for his continued downfall.
“In fact, I received a lot more love and support after my last loss than I did after my last win,” Nickal said. “I was surprised by this. I thought everyone would be happy to leave me alone. The support and love I’ve received has resulted in probably 50% more text messages. Some people have told me things like ‘brace yourself’ and ‘I’ll be back.’
“I have more people email me than email me after I win a game. I really appreciate that, and I appreciate that.”
Losing is always difficult, but one loss doesn’t define Nickal’s entire career. That’s why he didn’t necessarily try to reinvent the wheel before his return fight against Rodolfo Vieira at UFC 322.
That doesn’t mean he didn’t address some shortcomings, such as staying focused on his own preparation instead of always paying attention to his opponents. More than anything, Nikal wanted to get his mind right before returning to the Octagon and see if he was truly ready for his next fight.
“I think for me it felt like a lot of changes because I just changed a lot mentally and had a lot of focus and intensity and motivation in my training,” Nickal explained.
“I think this loss was very good for me. I’m grateful for it. The tough thing is, it feels like a long time right now. I’ve been waiting, just working, trying, and I’m excited to get back out there this weekend.”
Nikkal forgets the past and promises he won’t change anything about his martial arts journey…well, maybe just one thing.
“I made a pretty arrogant comment (in the interview) that of course it would be on the main card (of UFC 322),” Nickal said. “A lot of people said bad things to me about that. Your wish has come true. I’m going to headline the preliminaries. Congratulations everyone.”