Michael Bisping says Bo Nickal backlash exaggerated: 'People are coming after him so hard'
Michael Bisping believes all the hate toward Bo Nickal is unwarranted.
Nickal (7-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) was finished by Reinier de Ridder in this past Saturday's UFC on ESPN 67 co-main event. The former NCAA Division I champion wrestler has never been short of confidence, resulting in plenty of backlash after he suffered his first-career loss.
Bisping thinks the overwhelming reaction by fans has been too much.
"Bo Nickal is getting slaughtered online. He's getting so much sh*t," Bisping said on his "Believe You Me" podcast. "We both met Bo Nickal. He's a really nice guy, he's respectful. Of course, he was confident and rightly so given his wrestling credentials, what he has accomplished in one of the toughest sports on the planet. And yeah, when you put yourself out there and you say you're going to do this, that, and the other, and that I'd be a favorite against Khamzat, OK, you're allowed a little bit of backlash, but holy sh*t, people are coming after him so hard."
Bisping disagrees with the notion that Nickal has been getting preferential treatment in the UFC.
"He's come through the UFC. He was undefeated, and I think some of the backlash is because people perceive that he was getting 'Dana White privilege,' right? But I disagree," Bisping said. "He went on the Contender (Series), they didn't give him a contract because it was too early in his career, he had to come back twice. ...This (De Ridder) was a bad matchup. This is a really bad matchup, and he chose to jump the gilly.
"He's learned, he's just so inexperienced. I think also when you look at the size of them both, Reinier de Ridder is gigantic. He's 6-4 I heard it on good authority, and I won't mention the name, they wanted this matchup. They called out Reinier de Ridder. They were offered another matchup, but no, we want Reinier. It's like, bro, the guy's now 20-2 with world-class jiu-jitsu. You might have sh*t the bed on that one."
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USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
UFC on ABC 9: Robert Whittaker vs. Reinier de Ridder odds, picks and predictions
In a 5-round middleweight bout in the main event, Robert Whittaker and Reinier de Ridder meet Saturday at UFC on ABC 9 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The prelims begin at noon ET (ESPN / ESPN+) with the main card at 3 p.m. (ABC / ESPN+). Their fight is expected to start at approximately 5:45 p.m. ET. Let's analyze BetMGM Sportsbook's UFC odds around the UFC on ABC 9: Whittaker vs. de Ridder odds, and make our expert UFC picks and predictions. Records: Whittaker (27-8-0) | de Ridder (20-2-0) Whittaker is looking to bounce back after a Round-1 submission loss to Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 308 last time out in late October. He is just 3-3 in his past 6 fights, but losses to Chimaev, former division champ Dricus Du Plessis (July 2023) and Israel Adesanya (February 2022) is not embarrassing in the least. Whittaker's last win, 2 fights ago, was a Round-1 KO/TKO win over Ikram Aliskerov in a Fight Night main even in late June 2024. Six of his past 9 bouts went the distance, with 5 wins via unanimous decision and the title fight loss to Adesanya at UFC 271. For de Ridder, he is viewed as a fighter on the rise. Since joining the company, he has 3 consecutive victories. The most impressive might have been a Round-2 knockout of Bo Nickal last time out in early May, handing the prospect his first UFC loss. He also has submission wins over veterans Kevin Holland (Jan. 18, 2025) and Gerald Meerschaert (Nov. 9, 2024), so he hasn't exactly been fighting tomato cans to get to this point. The southpaw de Ridder has a 4.5-inch reach advantage, although Whittaker has a 4.54-to-3.25 significant-strikes-landed-per-minute advantage. The "Dutch Knight" de Ridder, who is from the Netherlands, has been much more accurate with those strikes, though, landing at a blistering 78.66% pace in his 3 bouts with the UFC, as opposed to just 45.99% for Whittaker. He also likes to get the fight to the canvas early and often, posting a 4.74 takedown average, and a 38.89% mark on takedown accuracy, while posting a 1.36 submission average. Watch this card with ESPN+ by signing up here. UFC on ABC 9: Whittaker vs. de Ridder odds Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 12:14 a.m. ET. UFC on ABC 9: Whittaker vs. de Ridder picks and predictions Fight result (2-way line or moneyline) This is going to be a pretty good fight, and it's tough to pick a winner. Whittaker was once on the precipice of a title, but he is just 3-3 in his past 6 fights. He's looking to get a victory here to get back onto the path for another title shot. However, DE RIDDER (+120) is the better value at plus-money. He is on the rise. To get to this point, he disposed of veterans Holland and Meerschaert, while stunning the division with a knockout of previous middleweight golden boy Nickal. de Ridder is a top-notch wrestler, but he also has tremendous punching power, and he can get the job done in a number of ways. Play our free daily Pick'em Challenge and win! Play now! Over/Under No (-285): "Fight will go the distance" will set you back nearly 3 times the potential return. There's no value there. The only way to excuse laying so much is to toss this into a multi-leg parlay, perhaps of at least 5 or 6 legs. The better value is to take a look at UNDER 2.5 ROUNDS (-105). The past 2 fights against Aliskerov and Chimaev have ended in Round 1 for Whittaker, and he has finished Under 2.5 Rounds in 3 of his past 4 outings. For de Ridder, his past 2 fights have ended prior to the midway point of Round 2, and he has 3 finishes in 3 fights at the UFC level. Visit MMA Junkie for more fight news and analysis. For more sports betting picks and tips, check out and BetFTW. Follow Daniel Dobish on Twitter/X. Follow SportsbookWire on Twitter/X and us on Facebook.
Forbes
an hour ago
- Forbes
UFC Tonight: What Time Does The UFC Abu Dhabi Fight Card Start?
ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - JULY 25: (L-R) Opponents Robert Whittaker of New Zealand and ... More Reinier de Ridder of The Netherlands face off during the UFC Fight Night ceremonial weigh-in at Etihad Arena on July 25, 2025 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC) The UFC Abu Dhabi fight card goes down today at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. The main event of the UFC Fight Night card features a middleweight matchup between former UFC champion Robert Whittaker and the fast-rising contender Reinier de Ridder. The co-main event of the UFC on ABC card is a bantamweight bout between ex-UFC champ Petr Yan and the surging Marcus McGhee. The UFC Abu Dhabi main card airs on ABC following prelims on ESPN. Below, we look at details for the top two fight and the start time for each portion of the UFC Abu Dhabi fight card. UFC Abu Dhabi Fight Card: Date, Time, Location, How To Watch Or Stream Date: Saturday, July 26, 2025 Location: Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, UAE Main Card Start Time: 3:00 p.m. ET on ABC Preliminary Card Start Time: Noon ET on ESPN, ESPN+ UFC Abu Dhabi Fight Card: Main Card Robert Whittaker vs. Reinier de Ridder - Middleweight Petr Yan vs. Marcus McGhee - Bantamweight Sharabutdin Magomedov vs. Marc-André Barriault - Middleweight Asu Almabayev vs. Jose Ochoa - Flyweight Nikita Krylov vs. Bogdan Guskov - Light heavyweight UFC Abu Dhabi Fight Card: Preliminary Card Bryce Mitchell vs. Said Nurmagomedov - Bantamweight Muslim Salikhov vs. Carlos Leal Miranda - Welterweight Davey Grant vs. Da'Mon Blackshear - Bantamweight Amanda Ribas vs. Tabatha Ricci - Strawweight İbo Aslan vs. Billy Elekana - Light heavyweight Mohammad Yahya vs. Steven Nguyen - Featherweight Martin Buday vs. Marcus Buchecha - Heavyweight UFC Abu Dhabi Fight Card Main Event Preview: Robert Whittaker Vs. Reinier De Ridder ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - JULY 25: (L-R) Opponents Robert Whittaker of New Zealand and ... More Reinier de Ridder of The Netherlands face off during the UFC Fight Night ceremonial weigh-in at Etihad Arena on July 25, 2025 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Mike Roach/Zuffa LLC) Whittaker (26-8) is the No. 5 fighter in the official UFC middleweight rankings. Whittaker is 15-4 with the UFC since June 2014. His only losses have come to Israel Adesanya, Dricus du Plessis, and Khamzat Chimaev. Adesanya is a former UFC middleweight champ. Du Plessis is the current UFC 185-pound champion, and Chimaev is scheduled to face Du Plessis in a title fight at UFC 319 in August. In short, the 34-year-old is the gate keeper to the elite of the division. Whittaker is coming off a nasty submission loss to Chimaev at UFC 308 in October 2024. De Ridder (20-2) has been climbing the UFC middleweight ladder since he joined the promotion after holding the ONE middleweight and light heavyweight titles. The 34-year-old is No. 13 in the UFC 185-pound division. He is 3-0 with the promotion with stoppage wins over Gerald Meerschaert, Kevin Holland and Bo Nickal. His win over Nickal was his most recent victory, coming in May of this year. When the betting odds opened for this matchup, Whittaker was a -145 favorite over the +120 De Ridder. That betting line has held. With fight night approaching, Whittaker has picked up 51 percent of the bets, while De Ridder has earned 54 percent of the handle. There are a couple of burning questions about this fight to ponder before making a pick. Has a career of facing the best of the best at middleweight caught up with Robert Whittaker leading to a decline in his skills? Is Reinier de Ridder ready to face someone as well-rounded as Robert Whittaker? We won't know the answers to those questions until after Saturday's fight. What we do know is that Whittaker is one of the best middleweight fighters in the history of the UFC and that he is the more well-rounded fighter in this matchup. The betting pick is Whittaker to beat De Ridder via decision. UFC Abu Dhabi Fight Card Co-Main Event Preview: Petr Yan Vs. Marcus McGhee ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - JULY 25: (L-R) Opponents Petr Yan of Russia and Marcus McGhee face ... More off during the UFC Fight Night ceremonial weigh-in at Etihad Arena on July 25, 2025 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC) Former UFC bantamweight champion Petr Yan looks to hold onto his No. 3 ranking when he faces the No. 12 ranked Marcus McGhee in the co-main event of Saturday's UFC Abu Dhabi fight card. Yan is 3-4 dating back to his March 2021 title-losing DQ setback to Aljamain Sterling. However, the ex-champ has back-to-back wins heading into Saturday's fight card. As for McGhee, he is 4-0 in the UFC and looking to make a move against a former titleholder. When the betting line opened for this 135-pound scrap, Yan was a -325 favorite over the +275 McGhee, those odds have shifted. Today, Yan is listed at -400, while McGhee is +310. McGhee has 68 percent of the bets for this contest, while 52 percent of the money is on Yan. McGhee has struggled with leg kicks, expect Yan to look to land those kicks as soon as this matchup begins. The pick is Yan to win via decision. UFC Abu Dhabi Fight Card Preview: Shara Magomedov Vs. Marc-André Barriault ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - JULY 25: (L-R) Opponents Shara Magomedov of Russia and Marc-Andre ... More Barriault of Canada face off during the UFC Fight Night ceremonial weigh-in at Etihad Arena on July 25, 2025 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC) We have a middleweight matchup between two fighters trying to find a spot in the division. In one corner we have Shara Magomedov, who the UFC seems to favor, but who had been handed some friendly matchmaking in his first four UFC fights. He won all of those bouts, with two victories coming via knockout. In his most recent outing, Magomedov dropped a decision to the more experienced Michael 'Venom' Page. As for Barriault, a member of the UFC since 2019, he has never won more than two fights in a row with the promotion. Barriault is coming off a May knockout win over Bruno Silva. When the betting odds opened for this fight, Magomedov was a massive -455 favorite over the +340 Barriault. That line has shifted more in favor of Magomedov. Today, he is listed at -650, while Barriault is +475. With the lopsided odds, 59 percent of the bets have been on Barriault, but even with the lines being what they are, Magomedov has 79 percent of the bets. Magomedov is the better overall striker in this contest. With that, look for Magomedov, who also has the better chin, to win. Barriault has been knocked out in his past two losses, look for Magomedov to make that three on Saturday. UFC Abu Dhabi Fight Card Preview: Betting Odds, Line Movement And Predictions - Asu Almabayev Vs. Jose Ochoa ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - JULY 25: (L-R) Opponents Asu Almabayev of Kazakstan and Jose Ochoa ... More of Peru face off during the UFC Fight Night ceremonial weigh-in at Etihad Arena on July 25, 2025 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC) The flyweight matchup between Asu Almabayev and Jose Ochoa came together late. Almabayev was initially booked against Ramazan Temirov, but a failed drug test forced Temirov off the card. When the betting line opened for this late replacement contest, it was a pick 'em with both fighters listed at -110. Today, it's still a pick 'em, but Almabayev is -115 to Ochoa's -105. Almabayev has 74 percent of the bets and 51 percent of the handle. The pick is Almabayev to win via decision. UFC Abu Dhabi Fight Card Preview: Betting Odds, Line Movement And Predictions - Nikita Krylov Vs. Bogdan Guskov ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - JULY 25: (L-R) Opponents Nikita Krylov of Ukraine and Bogdan ... More Guskov of Uzbekistan face off during the UFC Fight Night ceremonial weigh-in at Etihad Arena on July 25, 2025 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC) Opening the UFC Abu Dhabi main card is a light heavyweight matchup between Nikita Krylov and Bogdan Guskov. Both men are ranked inside the top 15 of the 205-pound division, with Krylov at No. 10 and Guskov at No. 13. When the betting line opened, Krylov was -185 to Guskov's +150. Today, Krylov is -200 and Guskov is listed at +165. Bettors are favoring Guskov, who has earned 79 percent of the bets and 81 percent of the handle. The pick is Guskov to win via knockout. *Odds via BetMGM Stay tuned for more coverage from the UFC Abu Dhabi fight card. Including live UFC Abu Dhabi results, reactions, recaps and video highlights during tonight's event.
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
UFC on ABC 9: Shara Magomedov vs. Marc-Andre Barriault odds, picks and predictions
In a 3-round middleweight bout on the main card, Shara Magomedov and Marc-Andre Barriault meet Saturday at UFC on ABC 9 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The prelims begin at noon ET (ESPN / ESPN+), and the main card at 3 p.m. (ABC / ESPN+). Their fight is expected to start at approximately 4:15 p.m. ET. Let's analyze BetMGM Sportsbook's UFC odds around the UFC on ABC 9: Magomedov vs. Barriault odds, and make our expert UFC picks and predictions. Records: Magomedov (15-1-0) | Barriault (17-9-0) The 31-year-old Magomedov is looking to rebound from a unanimous-decision, February loss to Michael Page, the first loss of his MMA career across 16 bouts since December 2017. He was 4-0 in his first 4 fights at the UFC level, including a pair of KO/TKO wins, and 2 victories by way of unanimous decision. His signature win was against Armen Petrosyan at UFC 308 last October with a KO/TKO in the second round. The Canadian Barriault -- a.k.a. "Powerbar" -- was able to record an opening-round KO/TKO against Bruno Silva at UFC 315 May 10, halting a 3-bout losing skid. Each of his past 3 fights ended via KO/TKO, winning once and losing twice. In his past 9 fights, Barriault has gone the distance just twice. In those decisions, he lost to Chris Curtis at UFC 297 in January 2024, while topping Eryk Anders at UFC 289 in June 2023. Barriault has a 1-inch reach advantage, while holding a slim 6.02-to-5.87 significant-strikes-landed-per-minute advantage, according to Magomedov is much more accurate with those strikes, however, posting a 68.76% mark, while Barriault checks in at 51.00%. Watch this card with ESPN+ by signing up here. UFC on ABC 9: Magomedov vs. Barriault odds Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated Friday at 7:04 p.m. ET. UFC on ABC 9: Magomedov vs. Barriault picks and predictions Fight result (2-way line or moneyline) Magomedov (-650) will cost 6½ times the potential return. That's way too much risk for not enough reward. Even as part of a multi-leg parlay, including Magomedov sucks all of the value from your ticket. If you want to take a side in this potentially lopsided fight, you need to get more specific. Barriault's last 3 fights ended via KO/TKO -- he went 1-2 in those fights. Magomedov has 2 KO/TKO wins in the past 4 outings. Off these trends, I like MAGOMEDOV BY KO/TKO OR DQ (-140) on the 7-way line. Play our free daily Pick'em Challenge and win! Play now! Over/Under No (-210): "Fight will go the distance" is just a little too expensive for a standalone bet, costing more than 2 times the potential return. Let's take a chance on UNDER 1.5 ROUNDS (+135) at plus-money. Barriault's past 3 fights have each ended in Round 1 via KO/TKO, with him winning against Silva last time out (May) after dropping the previous 2 bouts in the first round. Since we're banking on a short, sweet victory for Magomedov, consider BARRIAULT: UNDER 0.5 TOTAL TAKEDOWNS (-135) ... especially since Magomedov has never had a win or loss via submission. Visit MMA Junkie for more fight news and analysis. For more sports betting picks and tips, check out and BetFTW. Follow Daniel Dobish on Twitter/X. Follow SportsbookWire on Twitter/X and us on Facebook.
