Daniel Cormier advises Bo Nickal’s career with insights from his fights against Jon Jones.
Daniel Cormier drew upon his experiences fighting Jon Jones to counsel Bo Nickal, advising the promising middleweight prospect to prioritize gaining experience before challenging top contenders.
Nickal recently mentioned that he received an offer to step in on just nine days’ notice to replace Khamzat Chimaev at UFC Fight Night Saudi Arabia after “Borz” withdrew from the upcoming event due to illness.
The UFC contacted several fighters, including Nickal, as potential replacements before ultimately selecting Ikram Aliskerov.
The 28-year-old former NCAA wrestling standout, currently in his second year competing in the UFC, has experienced significant success in the Octagon. He secured victories in his three UFC fights, submitting Jamie Pickett with an arm-triangle choke at UFC 285, finishing Val Woodburn with strikes at UFC 290, and most recently submitting Cody Brundage with a rear-naked choke at UFC 300.
Nickal’s well-rounded and dominant fighting style has significantly boosted his standing in the middleweight division. However, UFC Hall of Famer Cormier believes the wrestling specialist requires more refinement before fighting top-tier challenges…
Cormier Urges Nickal To Build Experience Before High-Stakes Fights
During a recent episode of ESPN’s Good Guy / Bad Guy with Chael Sonnen, “DC” evaluated Nickal’s prospects if he had agreed to fight Whittaker on short notice.
The former UFC two-division champion acknowledged Nickal’s dominant performances to date but expressed uncertainty about whether the Dana White’s Contender Series alum is ready to face such high-caliber opponents just yet.
“I think he could compete with anyone, but I don’t know that this would have been good for him right now,” Cormier said. "Val Woodburn and Jamie Pickett were not wrestlers; they were essentially hand-picked for him. Cody Brundage had a little bit of a wrestling background, but in those moments, he made Bo Nickal work a little bit harder than he usually worked for takedowns; you could sense a little bit of panicking in Bo Nickal.
“He needs to go through that panic with someone that’s less experienced before he fights someone like Robert Whittaker.”
Daniel then drew parallels to his own career, noting that before he faced a highly touted fighter like “Bones,” he had already gone up against several formidable opponents, which provided him with valuable experience.
He suggested that Nickal should follow a similar path to adequately prepare for top-tier competition.
"I went through my whole career before I got to Jon Jones, and I dealt with no issues. I fought Dan Henderson, ‘Bigfoot’ [António Silva], and Josh Barnett, I had very few instances where I struggled. When I got in there with a guy who knew how to handle struggle, it became very difficult for me.
“I believe if Bo doesn’t learn to struggle a little bit before getting to a Robert Whittaker, it becomes really difficult to deal with when you’ve never experienced it.”
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Because Hendo and Barnett had no idea how to handle struggle. That was their problem. 
Seems like everytime I hear from Cormier, he’s cucking for daddy Bones.