Chael Sonnen recently offered his analysis on the collapse of hype surrounding Bo Nickal following Nickal’s latest loss in mixed martial arts. Bo Nickal recently suffered his first professional MMA loss. A standout wrestler at Penn State, he was a three-time NCAA Division I national champion and 2019 Dan Hodge Trophy winner, recognized as one of the most dominant collegiate wrestlers of his era.
After transitioning to MMA in 2022, Nickal quickly made an impact, winning his first seven professional fights, including four in the UFC, mostly by first-round finishes. His rapid rise set high expectations, but at UFC on ESPN 67 in May 2025, Nickal lost by knockout to former ONE champion Reinier de Ridder, marking his first professional defeat.
UFC Veteran Weighs In: What Bo Nickal’s Loss Means for MMA’s Rising Star
Sonnen noted the unique scrutiny that comes with MMA, stating, “What happened with Bo? It’s a very interesting microscope that we live under. Bo Nickal has had so many experiences in his life, but MMA is different than wrestling.” He contrasted the frequency of competition in wrestling with MMA, explaining, “I have one resentment in MMA, only one. And it was that we only got to do it three times a year. I was used in wrestling to having four and five matches in a day, and that was every Saturday.”
Sonnen highlighted the psychological differences between the two sports, saying, “If you lose in a wrestling match, there is no sit around and be depressed and see what social media says. Forty minutes later, the consolation bracket is up.” He added, “You recover quickly and your mind is only as good as your last match.” In MMA, however, fighters like Nickal must deal with public reaction after a loss. “Bo and guys in this case are in very different positions, where they’ve got to come back and hear from the public who is currently rejoicing in their defeat,” Sonnen said.
He also addressed the emotional impact of defeat, remarking, “Guys that look and it doesn’t do anything to them, that’s an act. It does something to them.” Sonnen discussed the importance of space in wrestling versus MMA, saying, “Wrestlers don’t want space. Wrestlers take space away. Space is illegal in wrestling.” He emphasized the effectiveness of traditional wrestling training, of which Bo Nickal is accustomed to, stating, “The absolute best way to make an Olympic team in wrestling is to do a college wrestling workout and then stick around 15 or 20 minutes after practice. This is the single greatest training you’ll find anywhere in the world, and it’s a formula that works 100% of the time.”
Chael Sonnen warned against training methods that do not translate to MMA, saying, “If you’re doing anything in practice that is a motion or movement that does not happen in the octagon, you are wasting your time.” He reflected on Nickal’s approach, noting, “I have never seen Bo Nickal in competition want to create distance. I only see Bo in competition taking distance away.”
Sonnen concluded by referencing Nickal’s instinctive wrestling style, “Since Bo was 15 years old, there’s been times in battle that he realizes: I need to grab this guy and throw him down. Nothing else. Nothing pretty, nothing technical, nothing set up. Grab a guy and throw him down. And in all of the times over all of the years that Bo grabbed a guy and threw him down, good things happened. It’s something to consider.”
