Bo Nickal has nothing but praise for Khamzat Chimaev even though they could be on a collision course in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Chimaev made a case for middleweight title contention with a first-round submission win over Robert Whittaker at UFC 308 last month. The undefeated Chechen-born Swede has has relied on his elite grappling during his rise to prominence, but Nickal, a former three-time NCAA Division I champion, could be the answer to Chimaev’s suffocating style.
Nickal himself has also been impressed with Chimaev’s wrestling since he first saw “Borz” choke out John Phillips in Abu Dhabi in his UFC debut in 2020.