"He has to grow up" - Khamzat Chimaev dismisses Bo Nickal as "too young for the sport"

This weekend sees the UFC visit Abu Dhabi for UFC 294, and in the event’s co-headliner, Khamzat Chimaev, is set to return for the first time since September 2022 against former welterweight champ Kamaru Usman.

The last time fans saw ‘Borz’ in action, he dispatched Kevin Holland in an impromptu 180lbs catchweight bout at UFC 279.

The fight was put together after Khamzat Chimaev missed weight for a planned welterweight bout with Nate Diaz.

Based on what ‘Borz’ said today, however, some fans are now suggesting that the UFC itself planned the whole debacle.

Chimaev’s fight with Usman this weekend is set to take place at 185lbs, with the winner reportedly in line to fight Sean Strickland for the UFC middleweight title in the future.

However, while he may never return to 170lbs, that hasn’t stopped some of the UFC’s up-and-coming welterweights from challenging ‘Borz’. One such welterweight is prospect Bo Nickal, who has already reeled off two wins in the octagon.

‘The Allen Assassin’ has already claimed that he has “visualized” a fight with Chimaev. This week, meanwhile, has seen him claim that the UFC snubbed him for this weekend’s bout with ‘Borz’ for fear that he’d win.

When asked about this by influencer Nina-Marie Daniele, though, Khamzat Chimaev was largely dismissive, stating the following:

“What should I think about Bo Nickal? I don’t know. Why is it they didn’t pick him? Because they think the guy is too early for him, too young...I don’t know how old he is but in MMA it means like your age is not like, prepared to fight. The guy is too young for the sport and he has to grow up, and if we fight now, I smash that guy easy first round, but maybe later, when I become older, maybe going makes me a tougher fight for sure, but for sure going to win that time as well.”

Watch Khamzat Chimaev discuss Bo Nickal below.

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Khamzat Chimaev vs. Bo Nickal: Who would Chael Sonnen pick to win this fight?

While Khamzat Chimaev will officially be competing in a different weight class to Bo Nickal once he moves to middleweight this weekend, the two men could still face off in the future.

The possibility of this fight was explored by former UFC middleweight title challenger Chael Sonnen earlier this year, and ‘The American Gangster’ made some interesting comments.

Sonnen stated that given time, Nickal could “definitely” beat ‘Borz', but that he also wasn’t ready to state that ‘The Allen Assassin’ was “superior yet.”

Watch Chael Sonnen discuss this below.