Bo Nickal names Khabib Nurmagomedov and others as his top three MMA wrestlers

Undefeated middleweight Bo Nickal entered the UFC as one of Pennsylvania State University's best wrestlers.

Nickal also appears to be a fan of Russian wrestling in MMA, as he named three from that region as the best during a Q&A session on X. Khabib Nurmagomedov, Khamzat Chimaev, and Islam Makhachev were the three Nickal named.

"Khabib, Khamzat, Islam."

Even though the cumulative one loss among the three in MMA could be said to prove Nickal's point, some might find it surprising considering the American left out his fellow countrymen.

While none of Nurmagomedov, Chimaev, or Makhachev have competed in the Olympics, Daniel Cormier, the former light heavyweight and heavyweight UFC champion, contested in two, with his best record being 4th in 2004. Moreover, Henry Cejudo, the former flyweight and bantamweight champion, was the youngest American Olympic gold medalist when he won in 2008.

Nonetheless, Nickal was asked about MMA wrestlers, and it's fair to claim the Russian style translates well. Islam Makahchev is the pound-for-pound king, a position Nurmagomedov once held.

Moreover, Chimaev's high-level wrestling helped him claim a relatively easy first-round victory over former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker. He has also opened as a betting favorite over Dricus du Plessis, the current champion, for their potential title fight.

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Bo Nickal claims Penn State wrestling is superior to Dagestani style

2024 NCAA Division I heavyweight wrestling champion Greg Kerkvliet was the guest on episode 67 of Nickels and Dimes, Bo Nickal's podcast, with Anthony Cassar and Ronan Bell.

On the podcast, Kerkvliet, a fellow Penn State alumni like Nickal, claimed the wrestling culture in their alma mater is second to none. The UFC middleweight elaborated that their style is superior to Dagestani wrestling, which many MMA fans believe to be the best.

The 29-year-old even claimed the difference between the two is similar to that of major leagues and Triple AAA.

Nickal said:

"In UFC, everybody has this crazy I guess view of Dagestan and like, the way they do things. I mean, they're really good, great fighters, I'm impressed. But like people have no idea what we do. The system that we have, what we're used to at Penn State, it's not even comparable. It's like, bro, we're talking like AAA baseball to the Major Leagues. Like It's different. We're part of a legit, organized. I look at it like the military. It's like we're the U.S. military."

Check out Bo Nickal's comments below (52:46):