Bo Nickal Wants to Fight Khamzat Chimaev in UFC

Khamzat Chimaev’s first and foremost goal will be to get back his lost gold from Sean Strickland. Defending his UFC middleweight title, the audience was shocked when ‘Tarzan’ claimed the victory via a split decision. At the moment, while Dana White and company have not yet confirmed the rematch, there is a new opponent that wants to face ‘Borz.’ 

Bo Nickal Wants UFC Showdown with Khamzat Chimaev Ahead of RAF

Nickal was recently caught up with The Schmo. During the interview, Nickal pointed out that a bout in the RAF does sound interesting. But he would be happier if the duo first crossed paths in Dana White’s promotion. 

Nickal said, “I think probably UFC first. I'd love it if it was in the RAF. I think he'd probably be game to face me. I would expect to be in the UFC first. When I watched that fight, it was a super close fight. Definitely, Khamzat pulling guard and things like that changes the perspective of him, but he's still one of the best in the world."

For context, Real American Freestyle  (RAF) is the world’s first professional wrestling platform that is unscripted. Chimaev is a popular name in the promotion, where he has beaten the likes of Dillon Danis recently. Given Nickal’s wrestling background, it is speculated that both wrestlers showing their elite wrestling would be an interesting matchup. 

Interestingly, Nickal alone is not the only opponent waiting for Chimaev. Recently, Kamaru Usman too proposed an interesting fight for the former UFC champion. 

Kamaru Usman Wants Khamzat Chimaev to Move Up to Middleweight

The Chechnya native struggled against Strickland during their championship bout. Now, despite ‘Borz’ looking easy to have a go again, Usman has a completely different roadmap in his mind. Speaking on the ‘Pound 4 Pound Show’ podcast, the former UFC champion opined that cutting weight for Chimaev in the middleweight division looks a bit difficult. On the contrary, a move to the light heavyweight division will allow Chimaev to feel comfortable in his own weight. 

Usman said, “Are you skilled enough to still be there and be the champion?  You've already proven that. You've been the champion. Why not move up? Listen, Paulo Costa has moved up. That's a heat of a fight. That's a heater. Still waiting on that. He moved up to light heavyweight and looked great. So, why not?"

A lot of alternatives have suddenly appeared for Chimaev. Now it is up to him whether he will choose any one of these at all.