News Bo Nikal to return Sept 27th on CONTENDER SERIES;Manager tells fans to chill

[JustOnce]

I dont really get the hype on this guy. This guy is not a better wrestler than Ed Ruth.
He's not much better wrestler than Aaron Pico if at all. Hendricks was as good of a wrestler in my opinion. So was Askren. And the list goes on like Cejudo, Romero, Davis and etc.

If you have been following MMA, you know he's nothing we haven't seen before.But for whatever reason, outside Pico, this guy has the biggest hype. There wasnt half as much hype for Cejudo in comparison for example.

Wierd.

 

[JustOnce]

Only wrestlers who would justify this much hype at this point are Gable Stevenson and Sadulaev. And that Bilyal guy back then. And to a lesser degree, other number 1 guys obviously. All this hype I really don't understand.

 

[TempleoftheDog]

I’d like to see if he can take a punch by a good striker. Some people just can’t no matter how good of an athlete they are. There is still so many unknowns with this guy. Looking forward to seeing the whole thing play out.

 

[brackis1]

Maybe he’s being used as a “contender series star”

fans of the show will tell their casual friends, “you gotta see this guy!”

Bingo.

It's all theater; not sport.
This would be like putting Kevin Durant in professional matches in the WNBA coming out of college.

 

[Hellowhosthat]

I dont really get the hype on this guy. This guy is not a better wrestler than Ed Ruth.
He's not much better wrestler than Aaron Pico if at all. Hendricks was as good of a wrestler in my opinion. So was Askren. And the list goes on like Cejudo, Romero, Davis and etc.

If you have been following MMA, you know he's nothing we haven't seen before.But for whatever reason, outside Pico, this guy has the biggest hype. There wasnt half as much hype for Cejudo in comparison for example.

Wierd.

He trains with the same team as Johnny Eblen who's the Bellator champ and credentials wise he's basically the uber Johnny Eblen.

 

[brackis1]

I’d like to see if he can take a punch by a good striker. Some people just can’t no matter how good of an athlete they are. There is still so many unknowns with this guy. Looking forward to seeing the whole thing play out.

Why does he need to take clean punches from good strikers?
He just needs to not get hit by those; and even then odds are decent he has an ok chin.

Guys with bad chins/bad reactions to getting hit include Askren and Lesnar, and both of those dudes became household names in the sport headlining cards with 10+ year careers.

 

[FIghtxIQ]

Know any regional guys that fit the bill???

No, I don't really know much about the regional scene but that's the type of test I think he should have on his next fight. Can't put him in over his head too early, but you would want to see how he does in the other aspects of mma and how he handles a bit of adversity.

 

[Safton]

I agree with LFA contract. I even stated that in the PBP for that Contender Series event, but I'm also aware they need ratings and only hardcore fans are tuning into DWCS episodes, and he knows we know about Bo. It's smart if unnecessary.

Yeah. It's just annoying to see what's obviously Dana's interest in leeching Bo's popularity for DWCS taking precedence over his professed position "The kid needs more experience".

I think the only issue with TUF is the housing environment and weight cuts in quick succession which could really hurt a younger fighter and derail someone.

Agreed, it's flawed and decidedly non-ideal. I just think the system has a few novel merits in that it's essentially weeks of nothing but non-stop fight camp (typically under quality coaching that a fighter may or may not otherwise have access to and with tips provided by a veteran fighter in their corner), followed by tournament-style bouts that are at least theoretically progressively increasing in intensity and challenge. Plus the show does still have a few fans and winning it generates some hype for one's self. I just have this self-indulgent alternate reality in my head where a Season 31 of TUF happened with Colby versus Dustin or Jorge and Bo is one of the contestants... and I'm not even one who normally buys into the drama.

 

[JustOnce]

He trains with the same team as Johnny Eblen who's the Bellator champ and credentials wise he's basically the uber Johnny Eblen.

Most wrestler do have better credentials than Johny Eblen.

 

[UFCIsNOTRigged]

I'm gonna predict his opponent will be Donovan Beard.

If they wanted to give him a real test, against an opponent he could legitimately lose too, Alfonso Levya would make for a good test?

 

[The XL]

In order for the experience to mean something, he needs a meaningful step up in competition. Running over a curtain jerker on a local card caliber fighter isn't going to help him outside of padding his record.

 

[Hellowhosthat]

If they wanted to give him a real test, against an opponent he could legitimately lose too, Alfonso Levya would make for a good test?

Leyva is a welterweight. I think they would want to set him up to win anyway. I can't imagine a Mexican 2 time Olympic wrestler in a division they don't really have any Mexicans doesn't get signed.

 

[Siver!]

I dont really get the hype on this guy. This guy is not a better wrestler than Ed Ruth.
He's not much better wrestler than Aaron Pico if at all. Hendricks was as good of a wrestler in my opinion. So was Askren. And the list goes on like Cejudo, Romero, Davis and etc.

If you have been following MMA, you know he's nothing we haven't seen before.But for whatever reason, outside Pico, this guy has the biggest hype. There wasnt half as much hype for Cejudo in comparison for example.

Wierd.

Feels like the hype is legit, whereas normally I'm thinking it's partially bogus.

I like exciting prospects, but I've no idea why there is this idea that he's a world beater - the Olympic gold medal winner went to WWE, not DWCS lol

 

[Grappler111]

If they wanted to give him a real test, against an opponent he could legitimately lose too, Alfonso Levya would make for a good test?

Vs Chimaev could be interesting...

 

[Vogg]

So Izzy turned down the fight lmao

 

[JustOnce]

Feels like the hype is legit, whereas normally I'm thinking it's partially bogus.

I like exciting prospects, but I've no idea why there is this idea that he's a world beater - the Olympic gold medal winner went to WWE, not DWCS lol

Yeah David Taylor wiped floor with Nickal too.

 

[Siver!]

Yeah David Taylor wiped floor with Nickal too.

I'm not saying he isn't elite in his field - but for sure other elite wrestlers have had to take a considerable amount of time to adapt to MMA.

Some never do; Nickal is a good prospect with a superb wrestling game, but that's not unusual for MMA.

The main difference seems to be Nickal going to the UFC rather than Bellator.

 

[JustOnce]

I'm not saying he isn't elite in his field - but for sure other elite wrestlers have had to take a considerable amount of time to adapt to MMA.

Some never do; Nickal is a good prospect with a superb wrestling game, but that's not unusual for MMA.

The main difference seems to be Nickal going to the UFC rather than Bellator.

Yeah really the only difference lmao.

So there's hype I guess. It's really good for Bo since UFC stopped signing wrestling prospects since God knows when. Maybe Covington is the last? Not sure.

 

[JKS]

Yah, let's cool it with the "He beats Izzy now" threads lol

 

[ZaphMMA]

Maybe he’s being used as a “contender series star”

fans of the show will tell their casual friends, “you gotta see this guy!”

This is indeed a thing. I would bet he's being paid very well to remain fighting on DWCS. He's bringing eyes to the show.