Bo Nickal suffered defeat in MMA competition for the first time at the hands and knees of former ONE champion Reinier de Ridder.
Reinier de Ridder violently put an end to Bo Nickal’s undefeated run.
It was an interesting clash of styles coming into the fight as de Ridder (20-2 MMA, 3-0 UFC) can certainly hold his own in the grappling department against a talented wrestler in Nickal (7-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC). However, striking would prove to be the difference maker.
The middleweight fight served as the UFC on ESPN 67 co-main event, which took place at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa. De Ridder left Nickal on the canvas after a brutal step-in knee at 1:12 of Round 2.
The 185-pounders didn’t waste much time before trading hard punches. Nickal then got to the clinch and began working for a takedown, but had to settle for a nice elbow on the exit. De Ridder came right back in with a takedown attempt of his own, although it wasn’t there for him. As the clinch battle continued, de Ridder dug in some nice knees to the body before Nickal eventually got the fight to the ground.
Nickal went for a guillotine choke, perhaps a little too quickly, and ended up on the bottom after a nice reversal. On top, de Ridder looked to isolate an arm for a submission, but Nickal did well to protect himself before scrambling to his feet.
In Round 2, de Ridder quickly pressured Nickal with strikes, prompting Nickal to look for the clinch. They wrestled for position for a moment, but de Ridder found home for a couple of big knees and clean punches in close. Nickal attempted to fire back with a left hand, but de Ridder stepped in with a big left knee to the body, causing Nickal to fold over for the stoppage.
With the result, de Ridder remains undefeated in the UFC, while handing Nickal his first professional loss. After the fight, the former ONE champ de Ridder turned his attention to a former UFC champion, Sean Strickland.
“The best American wrestler you have, right?” de Ridder asked during his post-fight interview with Michael Bisping. “Now, give me the best American striker. Strickland, you’re up buddy. Let’s go!”
That’s three fights and three finishes for de Ridder in the UFC. He stopped Gerald Meerschaert in the third round of his debut, followed by a first-round finish of Kevin Holland, and now a big upset win over Nickal.
Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN 67 results
- Reinier de Ridder def. Bo Nickal via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 1:53
- Daniel Rodriguez def. Santiago Ponzinibbio via TKO (punches) – Round 3, 1:12
- Montel Jackson def. Daniel Marcos via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Serhiy Sidey def. Cameron Smotherman via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
- Mason Jones def. Jeremy Stephens via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Yana Santos def. Miesha Tate via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Azamat Bekoev def. Ryan Loder via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 2:44
- Gillian Robertson def. Marina Rodriguez via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 2:07
- Quang Le def. Gaston Bolanos via technical submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 1:54
- Thomas Petersen def. Don’Tale Mayes via unanimous decision (30-25, 30-26, 30-26)
- Juliana Miller def. Ivana Petrovic via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)