Bo Nickal believes Sean Strickland should have left UFC 297 with middleweight gold still wrapped around his waist.
Returning to the mysterious land of Toronto, Canada, Strickland was determined to defend his title for the first time since taking it off former two-time champ Israel Adesanya in a performance of a lifetime in September. Unfortunately, ‘Tarzan’ left The Great White North empty-handed as two of the three judges scored the bout in favor of his opponent, Dricus Du Plessis.
In the wake of the somewhat controversial decision, multiple members of the MMA community have come out in support of Strickland who they say is the rightful winner. That includes UFC CEO Dana White and longtime commentator Joe Rogan who both scored the contest for Strickland.
You can now add Bo Nickal’s name to the list.
In a video on his YouTube channel, the three-time NCAA Division I National Champion favored Strickland with one round in particular making all the difference.
“I had it 3-2 Sean,” Nickal said. “I thought Sean won [rounds] one, two, and five. I thought two was the most questionable round to me. It really could have gone either way, but I felt like Sean edged him out and I think he clearly won one and five. I think Dricus clearly won three and four.”
All three judges awarded the second round to Du Plessis, but Nickal believes that Strickland’s striking in the round negated the single takedown and 22 seconds of control time that ‘Stillknocks’ scored during those five minutes.
“I do think in round two, Sean’s striking was more effective overall than the takedowns Dricus got,” Nickal continued. “That’s why I gave him round two. He was more effective in the round when you look at everything. The takedown is valuable, but it’s not as valuable if you’re getting beat up in the strikes. I feel like he was losing the striking and he got one takedown with limited control.”
#UFC297 Official Scorecard: Sean Strickland vs Dricus Du Plessis 👇
All Scorecards ➡️: https://t.co/Dgf6RIXYJN pic.twitter.com/RdzXOrtCV6
— UFC News (@UFCNews) January 21, 2024
Despite siding with Strickland, Nickal was surprised at the defending champ’s cardio, or lack thereof when compared to the pace he put on against ‘The Last Stylebender‘ in September.
“Strickland didn’t put the pace on that he normally does for whatever reason,” Nickal added. “Maybe it’s the pressure of being a champion. Maybe he didn’t have a good camp. I don’t know why, but he didn’t have that pace that he normally has.”
Bo Nickal Isn’t Buying Sean Strickland’s Headbutt Argument
During the later rounds of their UFC 297 title tilt, Sean Strickland was noticeably busted open over his left eye. Repeatedly wiping at it, it was apparent that the cut was bugging the outspoken star. Later, Strickland revealed that the injury was the result of an accidental headbutt, something that was not picked up during the live broadcast.
We all know I won… The only reason why it wasn't one sided for 5 rounds is the headbutt took my eye….. Wasn't touched till the blood took my vision.. pic.twitter.com/CLvcURLzWT
— Sean Strickland (@SStricklandMMA) January 22, 2024
Looking back, the footage certainly appears to support Strickland’s claim, but Nickal isn’t interested in excuses.
“He was bleeding a lot,” Nickal acknowledged. “It was a good cut. That’s definitely not fun, but I think with that being one of the first things he said in his interview, that that was in his mind during the fight which, if you’re there to win, that doesn’t matter.
He continued, “I think that when your first answer out of your interview is, ‘Ah man if I didn’t have this cut on my eye from a headbutt…’ Dude, it’s a fight. It’s gonna happen. That says to me he was thinking about it in the fight. It affected his performance. At the end of the day, I’m not gonna be like, ‘You’re wrong. You shouldn’t do that.’ It’s just a good learning lesson. It’s a fight. Things happen. You get headbutted. Whatever. You’re there to win. Don’t let that sway your focus from what you need to do.”
Watch the full episode below:
