Henry Cejudo imparts words of wisdom to Bo Nickal following UFC Des Moines upset: "Wrestling word has taken a hit"

Henry Cejudo recently shared some encouraging words with Bo Nickal, after the middleweight prospect suffered his first defeat at UFC Des Moines last weekend.

Nickal, who had previously been tipped as a future champion, faced off against Reinier de Ridder in the co-main event on Saturday night. The Dutchman had called for a bout against the surging American after defeating Kevin Holland at UFC 311.

Much had been made about the fight before-hand, as 'The Dutch Knight' had regularly stated he believed his wrestling and grappling was far superior to Nickal's, despite the 29-year-old having the accolades from his wrestling career before he switched to MMA.

The pair then engaged in a back-and-forth opening round which saw both men demonstrate their credentials. de Ridder, however, had been focusing many of his strikes and knees on Bo Nickal's body, which would prove to be the key, as he landed a devastating knee to the American's body in the second round, dropping him to the canvas to end the fight.

Watch the finish here:

Following the fight, Henry Cejudo took to social media to offer some words of encouragement to Bo Nickal. 'Triple C' pleaded with the 29-year-old to pick himself up, comparing the defeat to his own loss at the hands of Demetrious Johnson. He wrote:

"The wrestling world has taken a hit today. Keep your head up @NoBickal this is not the end. I got finished by Demetrious Johnson with a similar body shot and I went on to avenge that loss and become champion. You are capable of doing the same. Get back on your horse brother #UFCDesMoines"

Check out Cejudo's tweet below:

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Henry Cejudo shares major retirement update

Henry Cejudo has revealed that his next fight will be the final time he walks to the octagon.

The 38-year-old is currently on a three-fight skid, most recently suffering a controversial defeat at the hands of Song Yadong. During their clash at UFC Seattle earlier this year, 'Triple C' suffered a devastating eye-poke in the third-round, leading to the fight being called off.

It has since taken the former champ a number of months to recover, with Cejudo later revealing the injury had nearly cost him his eye. Speaking in a recent interview with Helen Yee, the veteran discussed the after-effects of the injury as well as reveal he's only fighting one more time. He said:

"It's my last one. I want to leave this sport unscathed. At the age of 33, I did it right, retired young, did the whole thing, left unscathed. Coming back, I almost lost an eye. I’m bruised, I see double when I lay down still. As you can notice, It's still red. I got one more in me. Then, make some money and that's it, I'm out."

Check out Henry Cejudo's comments below: