The problem is they don't want names. Their new business model is the UFC brand is more important than the fighters.
I can't imagine spending months training for a fight just to be choked out in 2 minutes. It actually makes me sad thinking about it.
It’s one of those things where Gane is from a country with no wrestling background, and he’s probably been pushed too fast in MMA because HW is always the thinnest division.
Anderson Silva is the greatest Middleweight of all time. Is it too early to start talking about Bo Nickal as #2?
I didn't know what to make of Nickal. That kick he threw looked awful. Landing on the ground, and giving your back to your opponent like that seems risky. That knee around the groin looked questionable too. Khamzat chokes him out in under a minute imo I dont think he was impressive enough to give him a big jump. He needs a few more jobbers to work out the kinks in his striking
As a Nickall fan that fight left me a bit underwhelmed. Thought pretty much everything went to plan vs a tomato can but he looked sloppy trying to lock in the arm triangle and it took him too long. Rather than going palm to bicep or palm to palm he tried some finger lock for a while. Maybe he gets people to tap from that in practice but he'd have to be Lesnar level strong to get a tap in a real fight. That being said, he's well on his way. There are 111 fighters in UFC's middleweight division, plenty for him to feast on. And a formerly 170 pounder Chimaev will never make Nickall tap.
Watching Dana White's post fight PC: "Cain Velasquez fought for a title at 8-0" regarding Nickall's near term future
Robert Whittaker is the Nickall kryptonite. Dude has great takedown defense but can grapple his ass off it gets to the ground, and his stand-up is light years ahead of Bo. Nickall matches up better with Izzy and Peireira, but I imagine Poatan will move up to LHW after defending against Izzy. edit: also agree with others that Khamzat would fuck him up, too.
A former champ is the kryptonite for a guy who has one UFC fight where he beat Jamie Pickett after kicking him square in the dick?
A lot of Top 10 guys would fuck him up. He needs another 3-4 fights moving up the ranks before even considering a ranked opponent.
I’m in no hurry to see him face the upper echelon of the division. I’m simply pointing out the danger that awaits him should the UFC rush him and throw him into the deep end quickly. He should be brought along slowly, like O’Malley.