Bo Nickal responds to comments from Michael Chandler

Bo Nickal's UFC debut went about as well as he could have hoped for. The middleweight prospect opened up the main card of UFC 285, which also marked Jon Jones' return to the sport. Nickal picked up an impressive first-round submission victory over Jamie Pickett in his debut.

Following the victory, No.5-ranked lightweight Michael Chandler shared that he believes Nickal's confidence could be deemed arrogant by fans. The Dana White's Contender Series graduate has now responded to those comments while speaking with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour:

"I think there’s a lot of wisdom in that statement. I think Michael Chandler is a fan of me. I think Michael Chandler wants me to win. First off he said my potential is exponential... He’s talking about it in the perspective of the fans. If I say, ‘give me Khamzat, I’ll violate this guy,’ 99 percent of MMA fans are going to say, ‘Bo Nickal is an idiot.’ They don’t know what they’re talking about."

Nickal continued to give his thoughts on the matter by saying:

"He’s not hating on me at all. He’s not even a guy that I don’t think would do that because he’s always been cool to me. He’s always been nice to me. He’s a wrestler... I don’t really feel like he’s trying to put me down. I think that’s just how he sees it. He’s not saying, ‘Bo, slow your roll, Khamzat would smash you.’ He’s saying if you say these things, the fans are going to perceive it in a certain way, which is true."

Watch Nickal's response to Chandler below (starting at the 13:00 mark):

While Nickal has been criticized for his perceived arrogance, particularly due to his call-out of Khamzat Chimaev, he seemingly took the high road in regard to Michael Chandler's comments. Nickal has angled for a bout against 'Borz' since receiving a UFC contract in 2022.

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Following Bo Nickal's UFC debut, Henry Cejudo believes the new prospect will "struggle" if rushed

Bo Nickal's promotional debut ended with a first-round submission victory of Jamie Pickett. Following the bout, Henry Cejudo shared that he believes the middleweight prospect should not be rushed as he could struggle if he is suddenly put in the octagon with a tougher opponent:

"Obviously, he did win, but I also saw a little difference in him too because he did struggle to get that takedown. MMA wrestling, it is different than NCAA Wrestling. They have to continue to keep building Bo Nickal. If they don’t build Bo Nickal and they give him somebody tough, Bo Nickal is going to struggle."

Watch Henry Cejudo's full comments below (starting at the 8:05 mark):

Cejudo added that Nickal should take about six fights before facing a top-ten opponent. 'Triple C' used his early struggles as a cautionary tale, noting that he was given a title opportunity after just four fights in the promotion. He was defeated by flyweight GOAT Demetrious Johnson in his first title opportunity. However, he went on to eventually capture the flyweight and bantamweight titles later on in his career and became one of just four double champs in UFC history.