Dricus du Plessis weighed in on the recent defeat suffered by promising prospect Bo Nickal.
Prior to the UFC Des Moines event, Nickal boasted an undefeated 7-0 professional MMA record and the impressive credentials of a three-time NCAA wrestling champion. He entered the fight as the favorite against the more seasoned Reinier de Ridder. However, it was de Ridder who secured the victory via second-round knockout, having initially hurt Nickal with a knee strike to the body.
Du Plessis expressed little surprise at de Ridder handing Nickal his first loss. He suggested that the satisfaction some felt regarding Nickal`s defeat stemmed as much from how Nickal presented himself leading up to the fight as from his performance in the cage.
Speaking on The Sias du Plessis Show, Du Plessis commented on Nickal`s limited experience, noting he`d only had a few fights in the UFC. He advised that fighters should be cautious with their words early in their careers, especially when they have only faced less challenging opponents. Du Plessis felt Nickal had been overly critical and dismissive of established fighters and champions, stating that “humble pie does wonderful things for a man,” and he believed Nickal received a significant helping. He found it satisfying to witness someone disrespecting those who have achieved more face a setback. He added that Nickal projected an image of being unbeatable, particularly in wrestling, but stressed that MMA is “fighting,” not just wrestling.
Offering his honest assessment of the finishing sequence, Du Plessis contended that while de Ridder`s knee was a legitimate strike, Bo Nickal “gave up.” He elaborated that Nickal was “broken mentally,” which led him to take a knee, rather than being physically knocked down solely by the impact. Du Plessis warned that if fighters are affected to that degree by such strikes, they will struggle against top-level opponents who deliver harder shots.
Recalling Nickal`s confident statements during his rise, including suggestions he could easily handle top contenders like Khamzat Chimaev, Du Plessis pointed out that Nickal`s previous wins, even against opponents like Paul Craig and Cody Brundage, showed signs of inexperience and were far from flawless performances.
According to Du Plessis, Nickal`s loss highlighted that succeeding in mixed martial arts requires more than just being elite in a single discipline.
While acknowledging Bo Nickal`s promotional hype was acceptable, Du Plessis reiterated his issue was with Nickal speaking disparagingly about fighters who have achieved things Nickal hasn`t yet. He emphasized once more that despite Nickal`s three-time NCAA wrestling championship pedigree, MMA is a different sport, a reality Nickal learned the hard way.
Du Plessis speculated that Nickal expected to easily overcome Reinier de Ridder. He praised de Ridder`s “beautiful game plan” and described him as a “very good fighter” who could pose significant challenges for future opponents.
De Ridder, a former two-division champion in ONE Championship, improved his record to 3-0 in the UFC with this upset win. Du Plessis spoke highly of “The Dutch Knight,” particularly impressed that de Ridder demonstrated superiority both standing and in the grappling exchanges.
For Du Plessis, the moment he sensed Nickal was in trouble was when he failed to exert his dominant wrestling game in the opening round.
He observed that after de Ridder successfully defended takedowns and even managed to take Nickal down briefly, Nickal looked exhausted and out of his element (“like a fish out of water”) once they returned to their feet. Du Plessis concluded that Nickal`s over-reliance on wrestling was exposed when that primary weapon wasn`t working against a more well-rounded fighter. He described Nickal`s striking as “terrible” and differentiated his skill set as primarily being a great *wrestler*, not necessarily a great *grappler* overall.
