The 28-year-old Penn State legend Bo Nickal recently made some intriguing remarks on Islam Makhachev again. Nickal mentioned that Carter Starocci, who is an NCAA champion, would easily pin down the UFC lightweight champion. Also, the way he sarcastically wrote it makes it more interesting.
Nickal is generally regarded as one of the finest collegiate wrestlers of his generation. In his college career, โThe Animalโ has won several NCAA Division I national championships. His recent comments might follow a few assessments of Makhachevโs wrestling style. As such, Nickal claimed that the lightweight champion wonโt be able to sustain against 23-year-old Starocci.
Heโs got tons of competition experience, strength, endurance, and great technique, and a high IQ. Heโs taken down everyone put in front of him with relative ease. With that being said, Carter Starocci wins by pin 1st period.
Bo Nickal via X
The comments from Nickal were made following the viral discussions on how Makhachev would do in Division I wrestling. Nickal doesnโt believe he would have much to offer in a traditional American wrestling environment. Interestingly, Starocci also competed under the same Penn State banner as Nickal. This might be one of the reasons why the 28-year-old is supporting a fellow Penn State wrestler.
Interestingly, a few months ago, Nickal also made a few remarks on wrestlers like Khamzat Chimaev and Islam Makhachev. Per the 28-year-old, the UFC lightweight champion is an average wrestler. Not only that, but several UFC legends thought that Nickal could be a threat to Chimaev.
Meanwhile, a few fellow fighters gave Nickal some fruitful advice following his highly buzzing remarks on others. Former UFC champion Kamaru Usman in particular, wanted the 28-year-old to stop pleasing his fans online. Nickal, however, as it seems, didnโt listen to that. Interestingly, there were even several backlashes from the fans. However, another UFC middleweight fight came in to defend Nickal.
Apart from his notorious activities, Bo Nickal has been quite impressive in his UFC career till now. The Penn State legend made his way to the UFC through the Dana White Contender Series. Interestingly, he is yet to be defeated in the division. Nickalโs most recent victory came against Cody Brundage at UFC 300 via rear naked choke. Following that, the 28-year-oldโs social media antics have caused quite a stir.
Fellow UFC middleweight fighter Chris Curtis comes in to support Nickalโs views. Curtis was seemingly displeased with how the netizens reacted. One must note that Curtis always quarrels with fans on X. As a result, he even slammed them for not respecting the views of a top athlete like Bo Nickal.
Lol, look at the people in the comments talking down to this man like they have ANY of the accolades Nickal has in the sport. Some of y’all are absolutely wild…
Chris Curtis via X
As for Nickal, the 28-year-old appreciated Curtisโ support for him later on X itself. However, it remains to be seen how the UFC lightweight champ reacts to this. As of now, Makhachev has been seen enjoying his time off the cage doing boat rides with his friends in Dagestan.