Daniel Cormier would have never admitted he was afraid of losing to any of his rivals during his time in the octagon and doesn’t understand how some fighters can. Earlier light heavyweight fighter Chris Curtis had claimed turning down a short-notice Alex Pereira fight due to the fear of being “destroyed“, something DC believes he should have kept to himself.
Cormier claims that it is sacrosanct to fighters and their livelihood. Unlike in professional wrestling, where a heel can admit being afraid of the babyface, fighters admitting fear of fighting is antithetical.
“Him [Chris Curtis] saying that… As a fighter, you don’t tell that there’s a guy walking around that you don’t think you can beat and that you’re unwilling to get in there with him.”
Cormier trained with the likes of heavyweight champions like Cain Velasquez and fought with Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic. So he understands the natural human instinct of not wanting to be cannon fodder to a superior fighter.
But he did it regardless and expects fighters of this generation to do the same- channel the fear internally and prepare, instead of making a public spectacle of their insecurities.
UFC middleweight fighter Bo Nickal is trying to do exactly that. However, it is too soon to say how far that is going to take him or if it is even the right path to be walked on at this point in his career.
Nickal’s Chimaev ‘callout’ impresses DC
After a rather arduous win against Paul Craig at UFC 309, NCAA wrestling phenom Nickal was severely criticized for the subdued development of his UFC career. With only 7 pro fights under his belt, and no UFC ranking to show for it, Nickal seems to have been left behind by his peers, despite an abundance of talent.
However, he has long been touted as an ideal opponent for title contender Khamzat Chimaev, something he’s finally paying attention to.
Nickal is being backed by UFC veteran Chael Sonnen, who has also been pushing for the matchup to become official, despite Chimaev already being at the top of the pecking order.
Since his jawbreaking performance against former world champion Robert Whittaker at UFC 308, Chimaev has been advertised as an unbeatable wrestling god.
So, Nickal claiming there is nobody at middleweight who could outwrestle him seems to have caught Cormier’s attention. However, the former UFC double champ insists that Nickal be more specific and take names.
“That is about as strong a statement in regards to Khamzat Chimaev that I’ve seen Bo Nickal make. Love you Bo, but be specific. Honestly, I agree with Bo….There’s not a guy in the UFC at 185 pounds that could make it one round with Bo Nickal in a wrestling match.”
—Today we discussed Bo Nickal and everything he is saying about Khamzat and a potential matchup. I like it but better be ready for what you’re asking for. Live right now at my YouTube channel https://t.co/cICeC5R93R pic.twitter.com/orMDhkezkK
— Daniel Cormier (@dc_mma) January 9, 2025
Interestingly, Nickal did take Chimaev’s name and claimed that the middleweight contender would not be able to crush him.
“I think that he’s good, he’s got skills, but his biggest thing that’s going to crush him, especially in a fight against me is, dude, you’re going to get tired. You’re going to go like this (down), and I’m going to go like this (up) as the fight goes on.”
Nickal’s confidence isn’t misplaced. He does have the talent to counter Chimaev’s pace and press in the first minutes of the fight and then drag him in for the long haul. But he has never fought a top MMA contender before. So is he shooting too high too soon?
