Daniel Cormier is sticking to his stance that the UFC shouldn’t rush blue-chip prospect Bo Nickal into big fights just yet.
Penn State wrestling icon Nickal improved his career record to a perfect 7-0 with a decision win over Paul Craig at last weekend’s UFC 309 in New York City in what was effectively a kickboxing matchup between the two experienced grapplers. Afterwards, UFC commentator Daniel Cormier expressed a desire to Nickal to not be fast-tracked into high profile fights with the likes of Khamzat Chimaev.
“To hear things like ‘DC’ say, ‘Oh, he’s not ready for Khamzat’ — I think he was trying to be respectful, but also trying to like, I dunno, maybe set me down a peg,” Nickal said to Ariel Helwani this week.
But in a video posted to Daniel Cormier official YouTube channel on Wednesday, the former two-division UFC champion and captain of the USA Olympic wrestling team stuck to his guns.
“Bo said he took offense to the commentary, but I think he’s a little misguided,” Cormier said, as noted by MMA Fighting.
Absolutely agree. I have of room for improvement and I appreciate the clarification @dc_mma thank you 🙏🏻 https://t.co/8CqhoYzwcJ
— Bo Nickal (@NoBickal) November 20, 2024
“I think he may have misunderstood what I’m trying to say. 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.
“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 later added: “People have already started to compare him to Khamzat Chimaev, how do they stack up, can he wrestle him, can he do this? That’s not a real thing! It’s not a real thing! 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.”
Soon afterwards, Nickal responded to Cormier’s video on social media, saying: “Absolutely agree. I have of room for improvement and I appreciate the clarification.”
