Bo Nickal is well aware of UFC Des Moines opponent Reinier de Ridder’s promise he will force the Penn State wrestling legend to grapple with him.
Nickal gets his biggest test to date against the former ONE Championship two-division titleholder in the co-main event of UFC Des Moines this Saturday. While Nickal is certainly looking forward to grappling exchanges with de Ridder, the undefeated mixed martial artist thinks there’s more to it than what de Ridder told MMA Fighting — especially the comment that nobody “wants to see us strike.”
“I think he’s saying that because he doesn’t want to get knocked out,” Nickal told MMA Fighting. That’s kind of my view of it. I think he knows that I’m a better striker than him, that I hit hard, and, not to say he doesn’t have skills because he absolutely does, and there’s a lot of things that he does really well on the feet, but I think I have an advantage there.
“Wherever the fight goes, I’ll be ready to compete, and if it goes to the ground, which, you know, I would hope it does because I think we’re both very talented there, that we’ll get to see some exciting scrambles. But like I said, regardless of where it goes, I’ll be prepared.”
Ever since Nickal got into the UFC, the MMA community has looked to his bright future: Matchups with big-named divisional opponents, fighting for the title, and becoming a major face at middleweight.
As he prepares to face the ranked de Ridder — who is unbeaten in the octagon since signing with the UFC — Nickal isn’t thinking about any of those future thoughts. He’s solely focused on getting his hand raised at UFC Des Moines, no matter how Nickal needs to go about it.
“I expect to win this fight,” Nickal explained. I don’t know if it’ll be a finish or if it’ll be a decision. Regardless of the result, I’m focused on giving 100 percent effort from the first bell to the last, and really, that’s all I can control, right?
“I can’t control my opponent. I can’t control anything else. I can’t control the crowd, can’t control the ref. All I can control is me. So the only thing I can go do is come to this opportunity with a lot of gratitude and maximum effort.”
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