Jon Jones, Floyd Mayweather Dragged In to Give Bo Nickal a Lifeline After Championship Dream Shattered Even Before Khamzat Chimaev Fight

Bo Nickal just ran into the kind of moment that can make or break a fighter. Undefeated, hyped, and full of confidence, he went into UFC Des Moines expecting to dominate again. Instead, he was defeated in the second round by a devastating knee to the body from Reinier de Ridder. The dream abruptly veered off course. The same person who once spoke about running through Khamzat Chimaev is now facing his first major MMA dilemma. So, what’s next? Well, Brendan Schaub has stepped in, providing Nickal with what could be the most honest, life-changing advice he’s ever received. What did he say?

In a reel posted to his Instagram, Schaub laid it all out, no filter. “Well, for Bo, it’s either this breaks him, and he’s like, holy f—, I’m not gonna have what it takes… or he goes, Okay, time to figure this out,” Schaub said. Then he got straight to the point: forget attempting to strike like a pro. “F— your striking. We’re going to do just enough so you don’t look like a m—-.” What’s his message? Stick to what makes you dangerous: wrestling, ground and pound, and submissions. Become the monster that he was at Penn State. He even brought some legends of the sport into the mix, asking 29-year-old to focus on his best traits, rather than trying to imitate elite punchers such as Jon Jones and Floyd Mayweather Jr. “Not everybody’s Jon Jones, not everybody’s Floyd Mayweather. It’s MMA. Losses do not end your career. But you’ve got to stop the BS,” he warned Bo Nickal.

And the supposed “BS” was on full display against de Ridder. For the first time in his brief career, Bo Nickal seemed lost. His stand-up was shaky, his mobility awkward, and his wrestling never really took off. De Ridder did more than just survive; he took control of the bout, bullied Nickal in the clinch, and broke him with body pressure. A fight intended to be a tune-up turned into a wake-up call. This wasn’t just a bad night; it was a reminder of all that still has to be fixed.

The timing couldn’t be much worse. Nickal has been seeking a bout with Chimaev for months, throwing jibes at his wrestling and calling him out as if it were already set in stone. He even claimed that in a straight-up wrestling match, he could defeat ‘Borz’ in less than a minute. But after this loss, all the noise sounds empty. Chimaev termed Nickal’s wrestling “big BS,” and the focus is now on Bo Nickal to prove him wrong. He still feels he can defeat him—perhaps even outlast him in a three-round fight—but first, he must rebuild. Schaub’s advice? That might just be the blueprint to do it. And Nickal is willing to do so, as he recently revealed his intent to bounce back.

Bo Nickal makes a promise to his fans

And just like that, Bo Nickal ended his silence. There was no dramatic speech or excuses, just one simple sentence that carried the weight of everything he was going through. “Grateful for the highs and lows. I’ll be back.” That’s all he wrote on his Instagram in a recent post. But for those who have followed his rise from college wrestling hero to UFC hype train, those few words felt authentic. This was not the loud, confident Nickal we’d seen shouting out Chimaev or dismissing doubters—it was a humbled, but not defeated, version. There was clarity in the silence. He’s not finished—not even close.

Nickal’s training team, American Top Team, echoed his message with their own post. They reminded fans that Bo has been in the sport for less than four years and is already co-headlining UFC events. Most fighters spend a decade fighting for such opportunities; Nickal did it in a fraction of the time. That quick climb wasn’t without flaws, and now he has an opportunity to fix them. They wrote on Instagram, “Less than four years in the sport, and already on the biggest stage. Setbacks are part of the journey. Learn, grow, and come back stronger. Bo Nickal will be back.”

What happens next will be more important than what Bo Nickal has done thus far. The hype brought him here, but it will not carry him farther. He has to earn that respect now, one hard round at a time. Now, it would be interesting to see if he follows the blueprint provided by Brendan Schaub or ends up finding or creating one of his own. What do you think? Was the roadmap provided by Brendan Schaub the best one? Let us know in the comments.

The post Jon Jones, Floyd Mayweather Dragged In to Give Bo Nickal a Lifeline After Championship Dream Shattered Even Before Khamzat Chimaev Fight appeared first on EssentiallySports.