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Despite showing clear promise in the early stages of his career, former UFC title challenger Kevin Lee believes Bo Nickal is overhyped and hasn't done enough to prove himself yet.
The elite-level wrestler burst onto the scene with a couple of fantastic performances in the popular Dana White Contender Series, which has earned him a UFC contract. Throughout his short career in the sport, he has showcased his ability to stand and bang, wrestle, and lock in submissions.
While discussing Bo Nickal in a recent interview with James Lynch, Kevin Lee insisted that the prospect isn't as good as he's made out to be. Lee insisted that Nickal has a lot of work to do:
"I ain't paying no attention to him [Bo Nickal]. Some of these guys are just hype, you know. You don't have no experience, you ain't done nothing yet, you ain't fought anybody yet. A couple [of] people in the gym have asked me about him too."
Lee went on to downplay Nickal and stated that the elite wrestler isn't worth his time:
"I haven't seen one fight of him yet, and I don't really think there's much to see just yet. He's a low-level guy...he's one of these [Dana White] Contender Series guys that I don't even know if they can really fight yet. It's hard to have an opinion on somebody that shouldn't even really be talked about."
Kevin Lee left the UFC over a year ago after enduring a rough patch in his career, losing four of his last five bouts and suffering from injuries.
He landed on his feet with Eagle FC—a promotion run by Khabib Nurmagomedov—and opened up the company's new 165lbs division by defeating Diego Sanchez earlier this year.
Check out what 'The Motown Phenom' had to say about the UFC's newly acquired prospect in the video below:
When is Bo Nickal's UFC debut?
Bo Nickal was originally scheduled to fight at UFC 282 on December 10 before suffering an unfortunate injury and being forced to withdraw from the middleweight contest.
It didn't take long before the UFC rescheduled his bout and the NCAA Division I wrestler now has a few more months to get into the best shape possible. He will likely make his UFC debut on March 4.
At UFC 285, the vastly experienced Jamie Pickett will welcome debutant Nickal into the octagon and showcase to the world whether the hype behind the prospect is real.
