Daniel Cormier concerned after top UFC prospect suffers first loss

Daniel Cormier has some concerns after a once-unbeaten UFC star suffered his first loss.

UFC Des Moines featured a flyweight main event between Cory Sandhagen and Deiveson Figueiredo, but the co-headliner showcased a top prospect going one-on-one with a former two-division ONE Championship titleholder. Bo Nickal tried his hand against Reinier de Ridder, and it proved to be too much too soon. Nickal was stopped via second-round TKO.

In the aftermath of UFC Des Moines, Cormier finds something a bit worrisome about Nickal’s future.

RELATED: FORMER MMA CHAMPION ADVISES THE UFC TO CUT TIES WITH BO NICKAL FOR A LITTLE BIT: “YOU NEED TO GO, YOU NEED TO TIGHTEN UP EVERYTHING”

Daniel Cormier Worried About Bo Nickal’s Future

Bo Nickal garnered a ton of hype ahead of his fight with Reinier de Ridder. With the attention comes scrutiny, as fans have bashed Nickal for his performance at UFC Des Moines. Cormier believes the narrative of Nickal being overly confident is overblown.

With that said, the UFC Hall of Famer admitted on ESPN’s “Good Guy/Bad Guy” that he is concerned about Nickal’s development (via MMAJunkie.com).

“He never said he would beat Khamzat Chimaev. He can’t beat Khamzat Chimaev. That was never a thing, at least not now. I remember when I was fighting Stipe Miocic, we were going to try to get Bo Nickal to sign with Zinkin Entertainment, so he came on that recruitment trip. That was 2019. If anything is worrisome to me, it’s that he hasn’t developed further in terms of his skillset. That, to me, is what’s concerning a little bit.”

Where Nickal goes from here remains to be seen. Former UFC and Strikeforce standout Josh Thomson recently suggested an eight-month plan for Nickal to step away from UFC to tighten up his skills. Whether or not the promotion would be willing to put Nickal on ice for a while remains to be seen.