According to Bo Nickal, the UFC granted his desire to face Reinier de Ridder next.
On May 3, Nickal will make a thrilling comeback to the Octagon in the co-main event of UFC Des Moines. Nickal said he believed de Ridder was the ideal next step forward for him. Additionally, it’s an opportunity to demonstrate that he is a serious middleweight contender.
“This is a matchup that I asked for. And I feel like it’s a matchup that’s exciting for a lot of reasons,” Bo Nickal said to Ariel Helwani. “He’s had a lot of success in other organizations and success in the UFC, and it’s a natural step up for me. I want to keep fighting better and better guys. This is a guy who has a proven track record and many, many finishes. It’s an interesting matchup. It’s a similar matchup to the Paul Craig fight, where he’s got more of a jiu-jitsu style. I think, obviously, with him being on a win streak and also having a different type of style on the feet, it will prove to be an interesting fight. I’m pumped up.”
Nickal claims he wanted to fight de Ridder but gave the UFC over a dozen names. But he claims that getting into fights has become more difficult. He claims that he is a high-risk, low-reward bout for the best middleweights, although he is not ranked.
Reinier de Ridder didn’t want to fight him, according to Bo Nickal
The unbeaten finger believes the former ONE Championship double-champ wasn’t initially delighted with the idea, even if Reinier de Ridder accepted the battle against Bo Nickal.
“In reality, there are only about half a dozen people I can fight because of what makes sense for my career and my progression. At the end of the day, I asked for this fight. It was a fight that I wanted and I don’t know he wanted it. But, the UFC is the one who makes the decisions. They like it, so we will do it,” Nickal added.
Nickal might be able to obtain a top-10 opponent after defeating de Ridder at UFC Des Moines.
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