Bo Nickal is one of the UFC’s most highly touted prospects. Following a superb showing in the Contender Series, the American finally made his way into the UFC. Since then, he has managed to make a lot of enemies, both near and far.
For those unaware, Bo, is a former freestyle and graduated folkstyle wrestler who now competes in the UFC’s middleweight division. A three-time NCAA Division I National Champion, and a three-time Big Ten Conference champion out of Pennsylvania State University, Nickal has a lot of accolades to his name already. As a result, he carries himself with a certain confidence and swagger as well.
Since his arrival in the UFC, Bo Nickal has often professed his willingness to fight Khamzat Chimaev. Although he has yet to reach the required level, Bo remains very confident in his abilities. At the same time, recent events would suggest that Bo is still connected to his wrestling roots, which had led to the emergence of his squabbles with Jordan Burroughs.
Bo Nickal slams Jordan Burroughs on his podcast
Recently, Bo Nickal went off on Jordan Burroughs in a recent episode of his podcast. Whilst the two have had their back and forth in the past, Jordan’s recent comments did not sit well with the UFC fighter. Notably, Burroughs, an Olympic gold medallist, provided commentary for the ESPN broadcast of the NCAA Wrestling Championships.
During the event, Penn State’s Carter Starocci won his fourth title with a 2-0 victory in the finals. As it turns out, Starocci managed the feat despite a serious knee injury. Strangely enough, Burroughs brought up what is expected to be a torn ACL, numerous times and suggested that Starocci’s opponents should target it.
Naturally, the comments did not sit well with Bo Nickal who blasted Burroughs on his podcast:
“To me, it just shows his character. And the thing that bothers me is that nobody sees this. He always tries to act like he’s an ambassador of the sport and, ‘Oh, congratulations to Penn State. I’m so proud of you guys and what you’re doing.’ Bro, you’re a freakin fraud. You just want to make it about yourself.”
“So relax, don’t come at our guys, and don’t act friendly to me when I see you because I guarantee you, he’ll see me and try to be like, ‘What’s up Bo? Dap it up. Be cool.’ I’m like, ‘Bro, no. We’re not cool.’ Like I don’t really care to be cool with you.”
At the same time, it must be noted that Nickal’s outburst is the result of prolonged back-and-forths with Burroughs that have been going on throughout the NCAA Wrestling Championship.
How did Bo Nickal’s beef with Jordan Burroughs start?
For the most part, Bo Nickal was initially perturbed by Jordan Burroughs’ commentary at the start of the NCAA Wrestling Championship earlier this month. As mentioned previously, he was particularly surprised after Burroughs brought up Carter Starocci’s injury, calling for his opponents to target it.
At the same time, Burroughs, who is in the same weight class as Carter Starocci, suggested that he himself would target the injury during the upcoming Olympic trials later this month. Naturally, with Bo being a Penn State alum like Starocci, he was irked by Jordan’s comments. As such, he took to Twitter stating:
“Really classy Jordan Burroughs as a commentator saying you’d target Starocci’s injury in competition. Sad that you think that way and even if you do you should keep that to yourself it’s unprofessional. For all your accomplishments I’d expect more.”
You punch guys in the face for a living. Shut up. https://t.co/O9pQtYcozt
— Jordan Burroughs (@alliseeisgold) March 24, 2024
In his response, Burroughs wrote, “You punch guys in the face for a living. Shut up.”
All things considered, Carter Starocci remains confident and for the most part unbothered by the comments made by Burroughs. Reposting a clip of Bo Nickal’s podcast, the four-time national title winner vowed to end Burrough’s wrestling career at the upcoming Olympic trials.