Bo Nickal wants to teach Colby Covington a lesson.
This past Saturday, both Nickal and Covington were supposed to compete at RAF 5, with Covington wrestling Luke Rockhold, and Nickal taking on Yoel Romero. In the lead-up to the event, Covington and Nickal exchanged heated words at the pre-match press conference
, and then, after Nickal withdrew from the event when Romero missed weight, Covington continued to take shots at him. And Nickal is ready to settle this the old-fashioned way.“Honestly, after
that, I thought there was a chance for Colby to come in, keep it classy, keep it professional, and every wrestler would have respected him,” Nickal told Ariel Helwani on Monday. “He didn’t have to try to play those games, but obviously he did. He brought up the Penn State, Sandusky stuff, which I wasn’t even at Penn State when that was going on. I came five years plus after that. So he’s just totally trying to troll.
“At the end of the day, I think that guy’s a bum. He’s an idiot. I would love to get in the cage with him, and for me, that fight would be personal. It’s not something for me that — up to this point, every single fight has been for sport. This one would be a little different, because I would love to cave that guy’s head in. I think he’s an idiot.”
Covington has been one of the biggest lightning rods in MMA for nearly a decade, stoking interest through a combination of personal attacks on other fighters and political alignment. Given that, it would almost be fitting for Covington’s next fight to come at UFC White House against the latest focus for his trash talk.
“When everything happened with Yoel not making weight, I said I’d wrestle Colby, and I’ll give him my entire purse to take the match. I’ll do it for free, and I’ll give him my entire purse,” Nickal said. “He obviously knows how bad I’d embarrass him, and it’s not worth it for him, so I think we do it in the UFC in June [at UFC White House]. I can just absolutely rip that guy apart and send him packing, and end his career. That’s what I’m looking forward to doing, because I don’t think that he would ever in a million years wrestle me. But as far as fighting, I don’t think the UFC is super happy with him, so there’s a chance they’ll make him fight me. …
“As we were doing the press conference post-event, he said he was coming up to middleweight. So all the wrestling people there asked him, ‘Why don’t you fight Bo?’ He was like, ‘Uh, I don’t know, he’s not on my level.’ Alright, bro. I’m not on your level. I’m an easy check, so let’s get in there, and I’ll embarrass you in front of the entire world.”
A career welterweight, Covington has previously courted specific fights at 185 pounds, but it’s unknown if he would entertain a bout against a rising contender like Nickal. Almost 38 years old, Covington has not won a fight since 2022 — his grudge match with Jorge Masvidal — and has been out of action for over a year. But if he does accept the fight, Nickal promises a quick evening at the White House.
“I think that guy’s a fake. He’s a phony,” Nickal said. “… This guy’s a fraud. He’s a JUCO bum. He couldn’t hack it in wrestling. He was fortunate to get into MMA at a time where a lot of people didn’t have the wrestling skills to stand up to him. But he hasn’t won — other than beating Luke the other night — he hasn’t won anything in seven years. So, I think the guy sucks, and I would love to end his career. I don’t think he gets out of the first round with me.”
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VIDEO STEW
Justin’s journey.
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Beatdown.
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SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE
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OK.
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41 years young.
Goals.
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FINAL THOUGHTS
Rising middleweight contender calling for washed former welterweight title challenger. Elite career management from Bo Nickal.
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