UFC Champion Dricus du Plessis Shares Hard Truth on Bo Nickal

Everyone seemingly has something to say to or about Bo Nickal following his humbling loss to Reinier de Ridder at UFC Des Moines on May 3. In case you missed it, Nickal lost via second-round TKO to RDR after a series of nasty knees to the midsection. Because Nickal was so hyped and since the American was never seemingly short on confidence (bordering arrogance in the eyes of some), many people took some satisfaction in seeing him lose. 

Reigning UFC middleweight champion, Dricus du Plessis was one of those people and he sent a message to Nickal on the SIAS podcast.

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When asked about Nickal's loss, du Plessis said: "I have no problem with Bo Nickal's hype, what I do have a problem with was he was talking about people who has done what he has never done. He became a three-time NCAA champion, if I'm not mistaken, well, I mean, this is not wrestling. This is not wrestling, my good man.
And he found that out the hard way. I think he thought he was going to walk through Reinier, and I thought Reinier had a beautiful game plan. You got to be careful how you talk in this game.
You start talking when you get there. You start talking, you know, the guys that he fought, he's fought nobodies. In terms of being able to talk and then going and saying the championship fight was shit.
These guys can't wrestle. That's not that impressive, that win. Well, I mean, Humble Pie does wonderful things for a man.
And I think he got served four pies, full pies, full of them. It was satisfying. It was satisfying to watch because you can't just disrespect the people who've done what you wish you could do.
You know, he had this aura of, I am champion. Nobody can out wrestle me. I cannot wrestle anybody. I'm just so and he was talking about wrestling, wrestling, wrestling, just not wrestling. This is fighting. And in my honest opinion, that knee, it was a proper knee, Bo Nickal gave up.
Bo Nickal was broken mentally. That's why I took a knee. He wasn't dropped by the knee, the knee caught him, it was a good knee.
But if you're going down for knees like that, hmm, good luck at the top because the shots are a lot harder."

It wasn’t just criticism—it was a public reality check from one of the division’s most respected voices. Du Plessis’ words went beyond the performance. He took aim at what Nickal represents to many veterans in the sport: a symbol of hype outpacing merit. By questioning Nickal’s mindset and calling out his comments about other fighters, du Plessis was holding the mirror up to a system that sometimes crowns contenders before they’re fully tested.

In some ways, it appears people are beginning to be a little too hard on Nickal, but the 29-year-old was definitely high on himself from the outset. He was also seemingly handpicked by the UFC brass and that usually places a target on a fighter's back. Well, on May 3, RDR hit the bullseye.

For fans who felt Nickal skipped the line, the result—and du Plessis’ takedown—was validating. For those still rooting for Nickal, it’s a moment that could humble him into becoming the fighter many believe he could be. But either way, he’s no longer just a phenom. He’s a prospect who’s been cracked open, and what comes next will tell us everything about his staying power in MMA’s most unforgiving division.