Cory Sandhagen shares honest take on Bo Nickal catching heat from fans after UFC Des Moines loss

Bantamweight Cory Sandhagen recently weighed in on the criticisms towards Bo Nickal after his loss against Reinier de Ridder at UFC Des Moines.

Known to possess elite-level wrestling, the former NCAA champion failed to secure the victory against de Ridder this past weekend. The backlash from the MMA community was severe, with an entire social media tirade of abuse against him. Videos of Nickal calling out Khamzat Chimaev resurfaced following his brutal loss.

Speaking to Ariel Helwani, the UFC Des Moines headliner Sandhagen shared his perspective on the matter. Claiming that he is unsympathetic towards Nickal due to his previous hubristic statements, 'The Sandman' had this to say:

"I don't ever feel bad for guys that make big claims and then get shit on from the internet because that's the gamble that you're taking. Bo Nickal is still a badass fighter, but that fight just kind of showed that he's still really green, which is okay."

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He continued:

"The problem is that Bo was talking a lot and he made some really big claims, and that's karma a little bit. You don't get to talk like that and then have things not go that way and then have some people come out of the woodworks and say some stuff to you. I don't like watching people get trashed like that, but I also don't feel too bad for him either."

Check out Cory Sandhagen's comments below:

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Daniel Cormier weighs in on Bo Nickal's performance against Reinier de Ridder

UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier recently shared his perspective on Bo Nickal's performance against Reinier de Ridder at UFC Des Moines. 'DC' believes that the latter outclassed Nickal, who was supposedly underprepared to fight the elite guys in the division. He said:

"When they walked out there, [Reinier de Ridder] was big. He was just walking him down. Honestly, he made Bo [Nickal] look like a guy that isn't that good and not ready for the highest level of competition."

Check out Daniel Cormier's comments below (3:40):

About the author

Sunil holds a Bachelor of Science degree in visual communication. He started his professional career in 2023 and has previously worked with FirstSportz and Levitate Studios, among other organizations.

Sunil was drawn to MMA by Conor McGregor, especially the Irishman’s crossover boxing bout with Floyd Mayweather Jr. in 2017. His favorite fighter is Jorge Masvidal for his wild and unorthodox approach.

Surprisingly, ‘The Notorious’ and ‘Gamebred’ do not find a place in his Mt. Rushmore, which includes Chuck Liddell, Anderson Silva, Alex Pereira, Daniel Cormier, and Khabib Nurmagomedov. He feels ONE Championship’s Rodtang Jitmuangnon has the ability to succeed in the UFC due to his power.

Sunil is of the opinion that the UFC is not doing enough to prevent eye pokes and does not mind soccer kicks in MMA.

In his free time, he likes to watch anime and films in general. He’s also a boxing historian, having gotten into the sport watching videos of fighters like Sugar Ray Leonard and Roberto Duran.

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Edited by Sunil Krishnan