‘The Wrestling World Has Taken A Hit Today'
Wrestlers stick together.
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) super prospect Bo Nickal suffered his first professional loss when Reinier de Ridder delivered a devastating knee to the liver in the co-main event of UFC Des Moines last night (Sat., May 3, 2025) from inside Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa (watch highlights).
Advertisement
While some fans mocked Nickal's 'humbling' setback, former UFC two-division champion and fellow elite wrestler Henry Cejudo offered words of encouragement to the three-time NCAA Division I national champion from Penn State University via social media.
'The wrestling world has taken a hit today,' Cejudo wrote. 'Keep your head up @NoBickal, this is not the end. I got finished by Demetrious Johnson with a similar body shot, and I went on to avenge that loss and become champion. You are capable of doing the same. Get back on your horse, brother.'
Indeed, Cejudo's own journey mirrors Nickal's setback. At UFC 197, 'Mighty Mouse' destroyed him with knees in his first title shot (watch it); however, Cejudo rebounded to become the fourth simultaneous two-divisional champion.
The difference is that Cejudo had 11 fights under his belt when he faced his first loss, bringing more experience than Nickal, who is still raw and early in his mixed martial arts (MMA) career.
Advertisement
As 'Triple C' emphasized, Nickal's journey is far from over. He is a phenomenal athlete with untapped potential in mixed martial arts and has the tools to rebound stronger.
To accelerate his growth, Nickal should aim to compete more frequently than his current pace of two fights per year, gaining the experience needed to sharpen his skills.
Maybe he should fight 'cans' again?
For complete UFC Des Moines results, coverage, and highlights click HERE.
More from mmamania.com:
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
ESPN names Ohio State as a college basketball team that could 'make a jump' this season
We are all getting ready for the start of the college football season now just a little over a month away, but the college basketball season won't be too far behind. In fact, we're now within 100 days of the Ohio State basketball season, and ESPN took a big look at previewing hoops for 2025-2026 by looking at many different angles and storylines. One of the things Myron Metcalf and Jeff Borzello touched on was ten teams that "could make a jump" this coming season. And, if you are an Ohio State fan, then you have to like what the ESPN duo things of the Buckeyes this season because they were named as one of those ten teams. OSU was able to retain some key pieces of its core group, but outside of that, there's been a major overhaul of the guys suiting up in the scarlet and gray this season. The mix of old and new will have to come together for the Buckeyes to get back to the NCAA Tournament, but there's good reason to believe that it could happen. Here's what Borzello says about Ohio State this winter: "The Buckeyes showed flashes of their potential last season but couldn't quite string together a consistent run of form. With a terrific trio back in Bruce Thornton, Devin Royal and John Mobley Jr. -- plus the additions of Christoph Tilly and Brandon Noel up front -- Jake Diebler's team should find itself in the NCAA tournament." It sure seems like Ohio State hasn't had a shortage of talent over the last few years, but getting the team to come together and play as a team has been an issue that seems to be a problem in today's day and age of the transfer portal and name, image and likeness. Here's to hoping ESPN is right and that the Buckeyes make it back to meaningful games late and on into the postseason this basketball season. Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes and opinion. Follow Phil Harrison on X. This article originally appeared on Buckeyes Wire: Ohio State basketball could make a jump this season according to ESPN
USA Today
3 hours ago
- USA Today
Arman Tsarukyan: 'You gotta delete' Paddy Pimblett from UFC rankings
Paddy Pimblett shouldn't get the next title shot, or even be in the rankings, according to fellow UFC lightweight contender Arman Tsarukyan. After Ilia Topuria won the lightweight title by knocking out Charles Oliveira at UFC 317, Pimblett (23-3 MMA, 7-0 UFC) entered the cage for an intense faceoff. The interaction has led many to believe Pimblett will jump the queue in the lightweight division to get the next title shot, given the bad blood between him and Topuria. Tsarukyan (22-3 MMA, 9-2 UFC) believes the next shot is his, and doesn't believe the moment in the cage will change that. "Nobody said he's getting the title shot," Tsarukyan said on "Overdogs Podcast." "So, they are still figuring out who's fighting for the title – me, (Justin) Gaethje, or Paddy. But I know they got to put me because I'm the No. 1 contender right now." Tsarukyan is currently ranked No. 2 in the promotion's official lightweight rankings. The No. 1 spot is held by Islam Makhachev, who recently vacated the title and is expected to fight Jack Della Maddalena for the welterweight title soon. While making a case for his own shot at the title, Tsarukyan torched Pimblett's UFC resume and doesn't even view him as a top-ranked fighter. "You gotta delete him from the rankings, even," Tsarukyan said. "He's not even deserving to be in top 10." Tsarukyan went down the list of recent names that Pimblett has faced, criticizing the strength of schedule. "He beat the last three guys, it was (Michael) Chandler, he had three losses," Tsarukyan said. "It was Bobby Green, he had three, four losses. It was Tony Ferguson, he had eight losses. That's crazy, and like, you want to bring that guy and fight for the title? I don't know. You shouldn't even mention his name, you know? He doesn't even deserve even mentioning his name." Pimblett's last three opponents have a combined UFC record of 30-26-1, while Tsarukyan's last three, Charles Oliveira, Beneil Dariush, and Joaquim Silva, are 46-22-1. To Tsarukyan's point, Pimblett's recent opposition experienced rough stretches before he fought them. Chandler was 1-4 over his previous five, Green fared better at 3-2, but Ferguson was on a six-fight skid, which extended to eight before his exit from the UFC. Tsarukyan was set to challenge Islam Makhachev for the lightweight title at UFC 311 in January, but withdrew during fight week due to an injury. Topuria recently stated he would vacate the title before facing Tsarukyan.
USA Today
4 hours ago
- USA Today
Stephen Thompson responds to Muslim Salikhov's 'old guys' callout at UFC on ABC 9
Stephen Thompson is down for a matchup of the oldest active fighters in the welterweight division after being called out at UFC on ABC 9. Following a 42-second upset knockout of Carlos Leal on Saturday's card in Abu Dhabi, Muslim Salikhov called for a showdown against Thompson (17-9-1 MMA, 12-9-1 UFC) in what would be a pairing of two of the division's most decorated strikers. It didn't take long for the 42-year-old "Wonderboy" to respond to the callout from 41-year-old Salikhov (22-5 MMA, 9-4 UFC), and he seemingly obliged immediately (via X): Thompson is coming off a controversial split decision loss to Gabriel Bonfim at UFC on ESPN 70 this month in what was the second-to-last fight on his current UFC contract. Although Thompson admitted in a pre-fight interview with MMA Junkie that he's unsure if he'll be signed to a new deal, a clash with a fighter of similar age and style would be fitting matchmaking.
