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A former UFC champion recently shared his thoughts on Bo Nickal suffering his first career loss and confessed that he wasn't happy about being correct with his prediction. He noted Nickal's bout was apparent that it could be a sign of what's to come should he continue competing at 185 pounds.
Nickal was on the receiving end of a second-round TKO loss to Reinier de Ridder at UFC Des Moines last Saturday, which was definitely an upset as it pertains to oddsmakers. Nickal was unable to impose his will with his wrestling like he has done in the past and was forced into a striking exchange that resulted in his defeat.
Ahead of the bout, former UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling highlighted the size discrepancy between Nickal and de Ridder. He also mentioned that the former NCAA champion would have difficulty against larger middleweights as a result.
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Following UFC Des Moines, Sterling took to his X account and responded after a fan tagged him in a post crediting him for his correct assessment prior to the event. 'Funk Master' acknowledged that he was wasn't proud of being proven right and mentioned that Nickal is undersized for the middleweight division:
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"I hate that I was right but the size disparity for Nickal at 185 is very apparent."
Check out Aljamain Sterling's comments below:
Aljamain Sterling shares his thoughts on Bo Nickal's future at middleweight
Aljamain Sterling also doubled down on his assessment regarding Bo Nickal's future in the middleweight division.
After the aforementioned post sparked a debate, Sterling responded and mentioned that Nickal needs to have an honest conversation about his future. He wrote:
"Anyone saying otherwise needs to really have their eyes checked. I'm a huge wrestling and Nickal fan, but that conversation needs to be had and it's not an easy choice by any means."
Check out Aljamain Sterling's post regarding Bo Nickal below:
