There’s much to learn from Bo Nickal, but losing De Ridder to Reinier doesn’t mean the unworthy outlook he’s getting is exaggerated.
That was heard about Nikkar after he was dropped at UFC Des Moines last Saturday night and ended with a vicious body shot that cleaned him up in the second round, according to UFC legend Matt Brown. After a furious start to his career with a perfect 7-0 record, Nikkal experienced defeat for the first time, struggling through his battle with De Ridder’s much more experienced opponents.
“It really irritated me and almost upset me to hear all these people say “scam checks,” Brown said in the latest episode of Fighter vs. Writer. “I’m sure you saw this. I’d get the f*ck from here.
“Give me the credit that gives me credit. DeRidder looked great. He looked great. He looked great. He looked like a double-heavy world champion coming from one. He had a somewhat favorable matchup before, but he won very well.
Brown believes that targeting Nikkal for poor performance will negate everything De Ridar did to defeat him in the fight.
He is best known for his world-class grappling skills, but De Ridder is constantly working tirelessly on impressive improvements, showing off those weapons by constantly banging Nikkar into his body throughout the fight. Hard Work really paid off when De Ridder cleared Nickal in the middle of his knee in the second round.
“The Reinier de Ridder is a great fighter,” Brown said. “He has experience. He knows how to fight. Bo Nikkal learns how to fight. Bo Nikkal knows how to fight like a motherf*cker.
“On the other hand, Bo Nikkal revealed that if you want to say something exposed or something, he is still a rookie. He’s still a beginner in the sport. He still has a way to go.”
Now Nikkal was able to argue that after making bold claims about the future before he really proved himself in the present, he brought some of this to himself.
Shortly after the fight ended quotes from previous interviews, Nikkal claimed that he defeated Kamzachmaev and that De Ridder wanted to work with him to avoid a potential knockout of the foot.
However, Brown realizes that Nikkal has done nothing, in meeting the expectations that had already been stacked on his shoulders after he chose to compete in MMA following the end of his wrestling career. Plus, Brown says that loss to De Lidar at this stage of Nikkal’s career might actually benefit him more than adding some more wins to his record.
“Bo Nikkal, stop with a fraud check,” Brown said. “The hype train has ended as he was exposed, overrated or exaggerated.
“When people say that shit, it was really frustrating, and I think a lot of people do it for the headlines and make it do it for people to read things. But in reality, Bo Nikkal’s hype is true and if he sticks to it, I might not be in trouble himself. As far as he can have.