Bo Nickal shouldn’t even be featured prelim at UFC 322, says MMA analyst

MMA analyst Josh Thomson doesn’t believe Bo Nickal should even be the featured prelim at UFC 322 later this month.

As we know, Bo Nickal has long since been viewed as a real prospect in mixed martial arts. After making his way over from amateur wrestling, he was able to make some real noise in the early stages of his UFC run. However, in his last outing, he was beaten and finished pretty convincingly by Reinier de Ridder.

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Ever since then, fans and critics alike have been questioning how far Nickal can go in the sport. At UFC 322, he will have a chance to prove his doubters wrong when he squares off with Rodolfo Vieira. The contest was initially set to be part of the main card, but in a notable change, the promotion decided to push him down to the featured prelim spot instead.

The aforementioned Josh Thomson had some interesting thoughts on this move as Nickal attempts to get back to winning ways.

Thomson’s honest view on Nickal

“There were other fighters on the prelims that people were like, ‘What are you doing? Why is this guy on the main card and these other fighters are not?’

“Beneil Dariush and (Benoit) Saint-Denis, that fight was apparently not scheduled for the main card. Now that fight got bumped up. Good! Because that fight is a fantastic fight.

“You were scratching your head (about Nickal),” Thomson continued. “This card is stacked from beginning to end. I don’t even know if I would have put Bo as the featured (prelim) fight.

“That is not a dig at Bo, it really isn’t. But you have got some really good fights that are on here.”

Quotes via Bloody Elbow

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