Bo Nickal responds to Khamzat Chimaev's criticism of 'big bullsh*t' wrestling in UFC 300 win

LAS VEGAS – Bo Nickal was his own biggest critic at UFC 300, but that didn’t stop one of his most dangerous peers from piling on.

Nickal (6-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) dominated Cody Brundage in a smothering performance to open the UFC 300 pay-per-view main card. The national champion collegiate wrestler experienced a few striking exchanges for the first time in his career, but ultimately remained undefeated by submitting Brundage (10-6 MMA, 4-5 UFC) in the second round.

Immediately after the stoppage, Nickal gave himself two thumbs down and expressed his disappointment with his performance on the microphone when speaking with Joe Rogan. Khamzat Chimaev, who will be fighting for a No. 1 contender spot against Robert Whittaker in June, added some criticism to Nickal’s win.

“This wrestling was big bullsh*t,” Chimaev tweeted after Nickal’s win.

During a post-fight news conference, Nickal was asked about Chimaev’s comment and took it in stride while offering an early prediction of what a fight a future fight with the undefeated “Borz” would look like.

“This guy’s crazy, man,” Nickal laughed. “Obviously, like I said, I’m not happy with the way I performed either, so it’s easy to be critical. It’s easy to be critical of me, a guy who has less experience, but at the end of the day, I’m getting finishes, this guy is winning decisions. He’s gassing out at the end of rounds, I’m widening the gap.

“If we ever fight, he’s coming out hot, but I’m probably winning the first round, second round, third round against this dude and widening the gap. Every day I’m widening the gap on that guy, to be honest.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 300.