Bo Nickal wasn’t happy about Daniel Cormier’s commentary during his scrap with Paul Craig at UFC 309 in New York City.
Nickal returned to the Octagon for a main card clash with ‘Bearjew’ inside Madison Square Garden, and while he secured his sixth straight win in MMA, it was a performance that left a lot of pundits underwhelmed.
Instead of utilizing the world-class wrestling that made him a three-time NCAA Division I national champion, Nickal opted to stand and trade with Craig, eeking out a fairly uneventful unanimous decision. During the three-round affair, fans inside the world’s most famous arena lambasted the former Nittany Lion, calling him overrated and showering him with boos.
Cormier was also critical on commentary, noting that Nickal had a long way to go before he’d be ready for someone like Khamzat Chimaev — a fighter Nickal has called out since his days on Dana White’s Contender Series.
Nickal voiced his frustration over Cormier’s pro-Khamzat commentary which sparked a response from the UFC Hall of Famer.
“Bo Nickal is a bit upset about the commentary during the fight last week,” Cormier said on his YouTube channel. “I’ve got to be honest, this one took me a little bit by surprise, because I do like Bo, and I do believe that at some point he’s going to be a champion. Bo said he took offense to the commentary, but I think he’s a little misguided. I think he may have misunderstood what I’m trying to say.”
Daniel Cormier responds to Bo Nickal’s criticism of his commentary during his fight:
“I thought [Bo] did really good… but there’s room for improvement. Let’s just take our time. We don’t need to rush him. That’s all I’m saying.”
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) November 20, 2024
“What I’m more trying to say in this fight is let’s not rush him into fights with people that are much more experienced, much more battle-tested, much more ready to compete at the highest level,” Cormier continued. “Because it feels like one of those situations where a young guy who has shown so much promise gets a little bit fast-tracked. We have seen this time and time again, where an athlete comes onto the scene, they do so well initially that they get overwhelmed because you don’t know what to do with him.”
Cormier went on to clarify his stance on a potential showdown between Nickal and Chimaev in the future, noting that his criticism doesn’t mean Nickal won’t ever be ready to fight ‘Borz.’ He just isn’t ready right now.
“People have already started to compare him to Khamzat Chimaev, how do they stack up, can he wrestle him, can he do this? I’m not saying he’s not ready for Khamzat because I don’t think he ever will be ready for Khamzat, right now he just isn’t,” Cormier added. “Bo Nickal has now seen the opposite side of fame. I wonder how he’s going to handle negativity coming his direction. I wasn’t negative.
“I have no problem with Bo Nickal. I believe he’s going to be fine. I don’t have a problem with the performance. I thought he fought really well, but there’s room for improvement. Everybody said it! Let’s just take our time. We don’t need to rush him, that’s all I’m saying.”
Bo Nickal Responds to Daniel Cormier’s Explanation
To Nickal’s credit, he was quick to squash any beef he had with Cormier after getting a detailed explanation from the former champ-champ.
“Absolutely agree,” Nickal said on X while sharing Cormier’s comments. “I have of room for improvement and I appreciate the clarification @dc_mma thank you.”