Daniel Cormier is surprised to see Bo Nickal upset at him over his UFC 309 commentary.
During Nickal’s fight with Paul Craig this past Saturday at Madison Square Garden in New York, Cormier said Nickal showed that he’s not ready for someone like Khamzat Chimaev. Nickal won the fight by unanimous decision, but did not attempt a single takedown.
Nickal (7-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) didn’t appreciate Cormier’s comments, but the former UFC dual-champion explains that the standout wrestler just needs more work before competing against the upper echelon at middleweight.
“Bo Nickal is a bit upset with the commentary during the fight last week,” Cormier said on his YouTube channel. “This one kind of took me a little bit by surprise because I do like Bo, and I do believe that at some point he’s going to be a champion. I just think that he’s a respectful guy. So, he’s trying to say things in the nicest way he possibly can, but I think he may have misunderstood what I’m trying to say. What I was more trying to say in this fight is, let’s not rush him into fights with people who are much more experienced. That is how good he has done in a short period of time.
“You know what’s the craziest thing? After this weekend, right after the fight, people called me and said I was a Bo apologist. I was being apologetic for his performance, almost making excuses for him. That’s crazy because it’s odd that a fighter can interpret it so much different than other people in the world. I thought he did really good. I have no problem with Bo Nickal. I believe he’s going to be fine. I don’t have a problem with the performance. I thought he fought really well, but there’s room for improvement. Let’s just take our time – we don’t need to rush him.”
In his win over Craig, Nickal saw the judges’ scorecards for the first time in his career. He was personally pleased with his performance, labeling it as “picture-perfect.”
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This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Daniel Cormier responds to Bo Nickal’s discontent with UFC 309 commentary: ‘There’s room for improvement’
