Longtime UFC middleweight fighter Chael Sonnen stumped for Bo Nickal to get the next shot at the UFC middleweight title.
Nickal returns to the Octagon next Sunday at UFC Freedom 250 when he battles Kyle Daukaus in a pivotal middleweight bout between two fighters on the rise.
Nickal is 5-1 overall in the UFC and is coming off a brutal head kick KO win over Rodolfo Vieira in his last fight. As for Daukaus, he is 4-4, 1 NC in the UFC, but he is 2-0 with two first-minute finishes since he returned to the Octagon last year after three years away from the promotion after being cut his first time around.
The winner of this Nickal vs. Daukaus bout will no doubt put themselves in a great position to contend at 185 lbs, so much so that Sonnen believes that Nickal, in particular, can jump the line and get the next middleweight title shot if he has a spectacular win over Daukaus.
Chael Sonnen Wants Bo Nickal to Get 185 lbs Title Shot
Speaking to Nickal in a sit-down interview ahead of UFC Freedom 250, Sonnen made his case for why Nickal should be next in line to fight for UFC gold at 185 lbs.
Should he win against Daukaus, Sonnen said that Nickal should call out UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland.
“I think it’s time. I do think it’s time. Yes. I think your record alone, the setback that (Reinier de Ridder) caused is very minor, and if you look at other people’s careers — and I can even use Islam Makhachev for example — he also had one setback (against Adriano Moraes) that was a little bit unexplainable,” Sonnen said.
“Yes, yes, the time for you and the world championship at some point in 2026 is very appropriate.”
Who Will the UFC Give the Next Middleweight Title Shot To?
It is going to be very interesting to see who the UFC grants the next middleweight title shot.
Strickland beat rival Khamzat Chimaev last month at UFC 328 in an all-out war. After the fight, UFC president Dana White announced that Chimaev would be moving up to 205 lbs after a brutal weight cut to 185 lbs.
Chimaev, however, changed his mind, and he called Strickland out for a rematch. The UFC has not yet granted him that fight, with White recently saying that he was still thinking about what to do at 185 lbs.
The other top contender at middleweight is Nassourdine Imavov, who has won his last five fights in a row and who has been waiting for a title shot for quite some time. But Imavov might unfortunately get lost in the shuffle, especially if Chimaev gets the rematch.
As for Nickal, he is not currently ranked at 185 lbs, but he is a massive name in the weight class, and with the opportunity to fight at the White House, it’s a massive chance for Nickal to show the entire world that he is one of the best middleweights in the world.
Should Nickal get the next UFC middleweight title shot? Probably not, since there are other more deserving contenders. But that might not stop the UFC from giving it to him if he shows the world how good he is at UFC Freedom 250.
Like HEAVY’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
The post Chael Sonnen Stumps for Bo Nickal UFC Middleweight Title Shot appeared first on HEAVY.