UFC invitational and Gordon Ryan could make Khamzat Chimaev vs. Bo Nickal a reality, says MMA insider

A UFC veteran suggested how a grappling matchup between Gordon Ryan, Khamzat Chimaev, and Bo Nickal could be possible in the current landscape.

Robert Whittaker recently became the latest victim of Chimaev's grappling prowess. The Chechen-born fighter submitted him in the first round, leaving his teeth misaligned. Meanwhile, Nickal, a former three-time NCAA Division I national champion, is also undefeated in the UFC, just like Chimaev. Within the MMA community, debates are ongoing about who the best grappler among them is.

On his YouTube channel, Sonnen proposed an intriguing idea to settle the debate over the best grappler among Chimaev, Nickal, and Ryan. He highlighted the similarities between Chimaev and Nickal in terms of weight class, age, and skill set, suggesting that the only difference lies in the opportunities they've had.

Sonnen proposed organizing a round-robin grappling event featuring the three, using platforms like Polaris Pro Grappling or the UFC Invitational as ideal venues. He emphasized that instead of debating their abilities through MMA, the focus should shift to pure grappling to determine the best combatant. Sonnen said:

"The same weight class and they're almost the same age. The only thing different between those two is opportunity… Polaris is a great place to do it. UFC Invitational is a great place to do it. I'm telling you guys right now, if you like this idea, if you want to get Bo and Gordon and Chimaev, and you want to figure this thing out, all you have to do is support what I'm saying—make it known that you like this three-way, this round robin.

“Instead of always looking at MMA and talking about MMA while trying to figure out who the better grappler is and who's the best grappler, why don’t we just have them grapple?"

Check out Chael Sonnen’s comments below (6:04):

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Chael Sonnen expresses his excitement for a potential fight between Khamzat Chimaev and Bo Nickal

Khamzat Chimaev and Bo Nickal are arguably the best grapplers on the UFC middleweight roster, with many fans and pundits demanding a fight between them. During his appearance on Nickal’s YouTube channel, Chael Sonnen expressed that he would love to see a fight between the two:

"Bo Nickal’s next fight will reignite the conversation of Bo Nickal vs Cosmic Chimaev. There is nothing I enjoy speaking about more than what would happen with Bo and Chimaev, and I just don’t wanna talk about the fight or three rounds vs. five rounds."

He continued:

"I want that specific takedown, who’s going to go for it? Who is going to get the other one there? Are they going for a double leg? Is it going to be over, under? I like that entire argument... Everything about Bo vs. Chimaev is exciting to me. Somebody’s 0 has got to go."

Check out Chael Sonnen’s comments below (1:18:35):