Bo Nickal expressed disappointment in not being considered as a replacement opponent for Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 294, with Kamaru Usman ultimately stepping in and Nickal speculating that the UFC likely didn’t want him to potentially defeat Chimaev in front of his home crowd.
Bo Nickal expressed his disappointment at not being considered as a replacement for Paulo Costa to face Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 294. Despite several fighters potentially being contacted for the opportunity, Nickal revealed that he wasn’t even asked. He shared his thoughts on his YouTube channel, stating, “I was disappointed they didn’t ask me to step in there. I was expecting at least an ask like, ‘Hey, you want to do this?’ But, no. Just nothing. Nothing from the UFC. It is what it is.”
Nickal speculated as to why he might not have been considered, suggesting that the UFC perhaps didn’t want him to “roll over into Abu Dhabi” on short notice and defeat Chimaev in front of his home crowd. He acknowledged that there were likely multiple factors involved in the decision, but remained optimistic about the future. He commented, “I’m guessing they didn’t want me to roll over into Abu Dhabi on 10 days’ notice and smash their boy in front of his home crowd or something. They didn’t even ask, it wasn’t an option. Like I said, there was probably a lot that went into that decision so we’ll do it another time.”
Despite not getting the opportunity to face Chimaev, Nickal believes that a showdown between them is inevitable. He understands the promotion’s desire to build up the fight and showcase it at the right time. With two impressive first-round finishes in his UFC career, he has shown great potential. Regarding Kamaru Usman stepping in to face Chimaev, Nickal finds the matchup intriguing, although he questions how long Usman will stay in the middleweight division. He stated, “[Usman’s] not going to stay at middleweight. I’ll bet any amount of money he doesn’t stay at middleweight.”
In summary, Bo Nickal admitted his disappointment at not being considered as a replacement for Paulo Costa, sharing his thoughts on his YouTube channel. He speculated as to why he wasn’t asked, believing that the UFC might have had their reasons. However, he remains optimistic about a potential future fight with Khamzat Chimaev. As for the current matchup between Chimaev and Kamaru Usman, Nickal finds it intriguing but doubts Usman will stick around in the middleweight division for long.