Can de Ridder Upset Bo Nickal?
A lot of top-level talent has come from Dana White’s Contenders Series. However, no prospect had more hype around his entrance into the UFC than the All-American Bo Nickal. He dominated his two fights in DWCS with two first-round finishes by submission. While he has looked like a future title contender, he has had some bumps in the road. Looking to his next fight against newcomer Reinier de Ridder, stylistically, this may be a difficult matchup for Bo. Will Bo Nickal continue his rise to the top of the Middleweight Division, or will Reinier de Ridder fraud check the All-American?
Unlike other hyped-up prospects who have joined the UFC, Nickal has taken the slow path to the top of the division. He has been more forced on learning and experience rather than fame and accolades. His toughest fight to date was his last matchup against Paul Craig. That fight showed a glaring weakness that we already knew was there. His striking is not up to par with a world-class athlete. Craig has always been known as someone who had low-level boxing mixed with incredible jujitsu, having a close boxing match with him means he could be in real danger with a lot of other fighters. This upcoming fight against Reinier de Ridder seems like it’s headed for a similar fight to his last one. If Nickal isn’t able to get this fight to the ground, he is going to be in real trouble. De Ridder has shown good wrestling and grappling in his career, but this will showcase the true level of Nickal’s wrestling. If he can rag doll de Ridder and control him, he will put the entire world on notice.
Reinier de Ridder has come into the UFC as a One Championship standout. He was the Middleweight champion and successfully defended his belt three times. His first fight in the UFC was a back-and-forth competitor fight against Gerald Meerschaert, and if it wasn’t for a late comeback submission, he could have lost that fight by decision. Questions were made if he was ever going to be as competitive in the UFC as he was in One, but after he ran through Kevin Holland in his last fight at UFC 311, the door is open for many possibilities. De Ridder has shown throughout his career and early on in the UFC that he is going to rely heavily on his wrestling and grappling. He has incredible takedown defense and much more experience than Nickal. If he can keep this fight on his feet, he will be able to pull away in the striking and potentially wear Nickal down enough to stun him and take him down himself. If he can get on top of Nickal, it will be a true test to see how well-trained Nickal is in grappling defense.
This is such a high-level fight between two guys who love to wrestle and grapple. These fights either play out as crazy scrambles and counters or a strict standup fight with two guys throwing down in an area they are not particularly comfortable. Whichever way this fight plays out, it is sure to be exciting and eventful. Don’t miss out on all the action on Saturday, May 3rd for UFC Fight Night: Cory Sandhagen vs. Deiveson Figueiredo with a start time of 10:00 p.m. EST.
