"I would've beaten Jon Jones 10-0" - Former UFC champion issues brutal reality check to Bo Nickal on Khamzat Chimaev callout and wrestling skills

Khamzat Chimaev's wrestling skills and overall fighting ability were recently diminished by Bo Nickal. However the latter's sense of superiority regarding a potential matchup with 'Borz' hasn't has drawn the attention of Daniel Cormier, who took to YouTube to share his thoughts on Nickal's remarks.

In short, Nickal believes that because Chimaev is primarily a wrestler-grappler, his skill set is useless against him given his greater set of traditional wrestling credentials. However, Cormier, a former Olympic wrestler who has been outwrestled by less accomplished foes in MMA, begs to differ.

"I will say this from experience. In theory, when you're the better wrestler, you expect to be able to control the wrestling. In reality, it's not as clear a line to define as one would think. I was that. I was that, because I came over as the Olympian, the guy that could outwrestle anybody, and I could. I would've beat Jon Jones 10-0. I would've beat Alexander Gustafsson 10-0, no problem. Yet, they both took me down."

The former UFC two-division champion goes on to break down the difference between traditional wrestling and MMA wrestling.

"They both took me down, because at the end of the day in MMA wrestling, it's not just about shooting double-legs, single-legs, high-crotches, and snap-downs. It's also clinch wrestling, clinch positioning, learning to wrestle along the octagon side, defending takedowns against the octagon. I got taken down by 'Rumble,' I got taken down by Jones, I got taken down by Gustafsson. I don't know if those guys can score a takedown on me if we put on wrestling shoes and we stood in the middle of a mat in a wrestling stance."

Check out Daniel Cormier's response to Bo Nickal's Khamzat Chimaev talk (2:36):

Cormier makes a fair point, as he was taken down and even outwrestled by a less credentialed wrestler in Jon Jones. Similarly, Henry Cejudo, an Olympic gold medalist in freestyle wrestling, was outwrestled by Merab Dvalishvili. So, high-level wrestling credentials don't always translate in the expected manner in MMA.

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Khamzat Chimaev and Bo Nickal are worlds apart

Khamzat Chimaev is currently the next title challenger at middleweight, awaiting the winner of the Dricus du Plessis vs. Sean Strickland championship headliner at UFC 312. He earned his spot by running through former 185-pound champion Robert Whittaker in one round.

Meanwhile, Bo Nickal's most recent outing was a disappointing and muted performance against Paul Craig, against whom he was hesitant to wrestle.