Fans were calling it a “fraud check” after Bo Nickal suffered a brutal knockout loss to Reinier de Ridder. Once hyped alongside elite wrestler Khamzat Chimaev, Nickal is now facing heavy trolling from fans following his performance at UFC Des Moines. Despite the loss, the American fighter admitted he wasn’t fully prepared for RDR.
de Ridder handed Bo Nickal his first career loss with a TKO via knees at 1:53 of Round 2 at UFC Des Moines. Nickal, who had an impressive 7-0 start, struggled against the more seasoned de Ridder. Recently, Nickal opened up for the first time about the loss in a conversation with Ariel Helwani. The American fighter acknowledged that his lack of experience played a big role in the outcome. In the interview, he said,
“Knowing the danger of the fight going in, I thought there were a lot of opportunity and chances for me to have weaknesses of my game exposed, and that’s exactly what happened. I think going in, there was maybe a little of, maybe more than like being overconfident, just being naive.”
Bo Nickal admits his inexperience caught up to him in his first loss vs. Reinier de Ridder. pic.twitter.com/N7dKB3mHgk
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) May 7, 2025
Meanwhile, after experiencing the first loss of his professional MMA career, the American fighter admitted that there are still areas he needs to improve. Nickal is likely eyeing a comeback fight to rebound from the setback.
Matt Brown Backs Bo Nickal, Applauds Reinier de Ridder’s Dominant Performance
Nickal, once seen as a top middleweight contender and elite wrestler, suffered his first career loss via TKO to Reinier de Ridder at UFC Des Moines. The defeat sparked doubts about his hype, but MMA veteran Matt Brown defended him on The Fighter vs. The Writer, saying,
“Bo Nickal looked like a guy fighting a two-weight world champion he was just not ready for yet. That’s the downside of a guy like Bo Nickal coming into the UFC with very little experience and being tossed to the wolves.”
Brown praised de Ridder’s striking and dominance but emphasized that Nickal still has top-five potential—he simply faced a tough opponent too early. With questions now swirling around him, Nickal’s next fight is sure to draw even more attention.
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