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The Bo Nickal hype train quickly became derailed last weekend at UFC: Fight Night in Des Moines with a second-round TKO loss at the hands of Reinier De Ridder. But while Nickal’s coaches and UFC veterans have rushed to his defense, the 29-year-old isn’t making life any easier on himself.
De Ridder praised Nickal after the fight, claiming that he’d be a future star in the sport. As did UFC veteran Matt Brown, who said that fans claiming Nickal got “fraud checked” have no idea what they’re talking about. But Nickal himself is doing little to endear himself to those very fans.
Nickal took to his
“It’s interesting, of course… there’s a lot of positive and a lot of negative,” Nickal said in a since-edited episode on YouTube. “All the negative, to me, I look at that and all I say is like, suck my d—.
“At the end of the day, say what you want. But when I get back on top, and when I’m the freaking champion of the world, you all will come crawling back. They always do. They always do, and I will spit right in your face.”
Nickal began his UFC career 4-0, although he was a heavy favorite in each of the first three fights and underwhelmed expectations at UFC 309 against Paul Craig. But he says he fully expects to bounce back, and when he does, he won’t have time for those who spoke out against him.
“As soon as you crawl back and are like, ‘Bo, come give me an interview,’ where were you?,’ Nickal said. “And guess what? I’m going to say, ‘Hey, come over here, loogie right between the eyes. That’s how I’ll treat you guys.
“And every one of you guys that says a bad thing, I have the memory of an elephant.”
Maybe it works out for Nickal. He appears to be following the Chael Sonnen and Conor McGregor plan of saying the most audacious things possible to elicit a response. But if you back that up with results, it’s easy to become someone who fans view as a sideshow.