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Bo Nickal was considered one of the hottest prospects in the UFC regardless of weight class. Then the three-time NCAA wrestling champion stepped into the cage with Reinier de Ridder for the co-main event of UFC Fight Night: Des Moines. De Ridder easily dispatched of Nickal, eventually finished the deal with a second-round TKO against a clearly stunned opponent.
The result came to the delight of several MMA fans who felt Nickal, who had just seven career pro fights prior to the event, was being unfairly pushed by the UFC and president Dana White. Nickal also hasn’t done much to help his cause, brazenly discussing his plan to climb up the rankings and how many high-level opponents he could beat with wrestling alone. That led to fans celebrating his loss to de Ridder, with many claiming that Nickal is a “fraud.”
Those comments didn’t sit well with UFC legend Matt Brown.
Matt Brown claps back at UFC fans throwing dirt on Bo Nickal after his first MMA loss. Agree?
(Via @damonmartin) pic.twitter.com/T2eJwQiGGW
— MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting) May 6, 2025
Matt Brown Lays Into UFC Fans Calling Bo Nickal A ‘Fraud’ After One Loss
“It really frustrated me and almost upset me hearing all these people say ‘fraud check,’” Brown said on the latest episode of The Fighter vs. The Writer. “I’m sure you’ve seen this. I’m like, get the f— out of here.
“Give credit where credit is due: de Ridder looked f—ing awesome. He looked great. He looked like a two-weight world champion coming from ONE should look like. He looked like a guy that has a bright future and has a lot of big things to do.
“Bo Nickal looked like a guy fighting a two-weight world champion he was just not ready for yet. That’s the downside of a guy like Bo Nickal coming into the UFC with very little experience and being tossed to the wolves. He’s had some somewhat favorable matchups before, not totally favorable, but matchups that were very winnable. De Ridder, we finally found out where Bo Nickal needs to improve. He’s not a fraud at all. The motherf—er’s going to be a top five guy in the future, I can almost guarantee it.”
Brown has a point. De Ridder came in with a far better resume than Nickal and far more experience. He was also the far larger of the two fights. Nickal isn’t necessarily a fraud for losing a fight that he probably had no business winning.
But Nickal also did a lot of talking. And he took the fight to begin with. So when you lose, you have to expact there will be backlash. Is that backlash overblown? Perhaps. But welcome to the world of MMA and MMA fans.