Bo Nickal believes Reinier de Ridder is scared of getting knocked out by him

UFC star Bo Nickal believes that the reason why Reinier de Ridder wants to grapple with him so badly is because he’s afraid of getting knocked out.

Tonight, Bo Nickal will return to action with his toughest test yet in mixed martial arts. He will go head to head with Reinier de Ridder at UFC Des Moines, and there’s a lot of intrigue surrounding this contest. If Nickal can pick up the win, and do so convincingly, it could swing the door wide open for him to really make a move up the division.

Recently, de Ridder said that he will force Bo Nickal to grapple with him – which, obviously, prompted a response.

Bo Nickal’s view on Reinier de Ridder’s grappling desire

“I think he’s saying that because he doesn’t want to get knocked out,” Nickal told MMA Fighting. That’s kind of my view of it. I think he knows that I’m a better striker than him, that I hit hard, and, not to say he doesn’t have skills because he absolutely does, and there’s a lot of things that he does really well on the feet, but I think I have an advantage there.

“Wherever the fight goes, I’ll be ready to compete, and if it goes to the ground, which, you know, I would hope it does because I think we’re both very talented there, that we’ll get to see some exciting scrambles. But like I said, regardless of where it goes, I’ll be prepared.”

Quotes via MMA Fighting

Regardless of whether you love or hate him, Bo Nickal knows how to get people’s attention. Hopefully, both men bring their very best tonight – because if they do, this has the potential to be one of the most interesting fights of the year so far.

In equal measure, it also has the potential to be a dud.