Bo Nickal gets major backing from Ariel Helwani after humbling UFC loss

Bo Nickal has been receiving a lot of flak from the mixed martial arts community following his first-ever pro MMA loss, but one of the biggest journalists in combat sports has not been joining in on the proverbial pile-on.

Ariel Helwani has offered his thoughts on the second-round TKO loss that Nickal suffered over the weekend to surging UFC middleweight contender Reinier de Ridder. Taking to his personal X account to reflect on the fallout, Helwani said:

"Reinier de Ridder showed there are levels on Saturday, but can we miss the 'fraud check' claims. To me, 'fraud check' is, you are not worthy of the attention that you receive. Bo Nickal was worthy and is worthy."

He added:

"But now we're gonna find out. We're gonna find out who Bo is and what he's made of. Maybe this is the breaking point, but I have a sneaking suspicion that he will bounce back."

Check out Ariel Helwani's comments below:

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Bo Nickal's head coach responds to critics

Bo Nickal has others defending him in the wake of criticism following his loss to Reinier de Ridder, and his coach is one of those individuals. Nickal's coach at American Top Team, Mike Brown, recently offered his thoughts on the three-time NCAA Division I national champion wrestler suffering his first loss in MMA.

Brown said:

"Was a tough weekend but maybe one that was needed. Things have been moving fast for Bo Nickal and to this point he has been able to make things happen and secure six finishes and seven victories with the limited experience that he has."

He added:

"Bo has all the attributes that you want if your goal is to become a world champion in mixed martial arts. He has athleticism, a strong confident mindset a geat family support system, and he started cobmat sports [specifically wrestling] at a very young age. These are all the boxes that you want to check when developing an elite MMA fighter."

Check out Mike Brown's comments below: