Brendan Schaub urges Bo Nickal to focus on becoming "Khabib of 185" after Reinier de Ridder loss

Brendan Schaub recently advised Bo Nickal to focus on his wrestling skills following the Reinier de Ridder loss. Schaub went on to say that Nickal's chances of advancing in the promotion are slim if he tries to improve his striking.

Nickal took on de Ridder in the co-main event of UFC Des Moines this past weekend. The Dutch fighter effectively foiled Nickal's grappling attempts and won via devastating knee to the body in the second round.

In reaction to the fight night event, Schaub posted a video on his YouTube channel, asking Nickal to concentrate on his wrestling prowess. The former UFC heavyweight believes Nickal could take inspiration from Khabib Nurmagomedov and use his ground and pound style to dominate the middleweight division.

''You've got to become that dominant wrestler like you were at Penn State. But if they tell me, 'Schaub, take it easy, his striking is really good in the gym, we're going to focus on striking, forget about wrestling,' I'll tell you he won't last long. If his whole mentality doesn't change and goes, 'OK, I've got to become the Khabib of 185 and absolutely break everybody with my grappling, f*ck striking'... If his team wants him to last and be a contender, we've got to focus on his grappling and wrestling.''

Schaub added:

''When he's forced to strike – you guys know I love Bo, (but) his striking, I've seen better guys on the regional level, on the Contender Series. It's just not there. That's OK. If this was a video game, his striking is a 1 at the UFC level, and his grappling is at 10. Why the f*ck are we trying to win with the 1?"

Check out Brendan Schaub's comments below (26:16):

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Reinier de Ridder believes in Bo Nickal's comeback

Bo Nickal received a lot of criticism after Reinier de Ridder's performance against him at UFC Des Moines left everyone amazed.

In a recent interview with MMA Fighting, de Ridder extended his support and voiced his belief in Nickal's strong octagon return, saying:

''It’s up to him now... it’s up to him to see if this can be a negative thing or a positive thing. He can make this into a positive thing. He can look at this as being a big lesson... He’s a very strong guy. He’s a very strong individual, and I think he’s going to take some time off from planning a fight, and we’ll see him back in six months, and he’s going to tear through a lot of guys.”

Check out Reinier de Ridder's comments below (10:39):