UFC middleweight Bo Nickal has reportedly edited out portions of his podcast that showed a stark contrast to his public persona after his recent defeat to Rainer De Ridder.
The controversy centers around footage that allegedly was originally included in Nickal‘s podcast but was later removed — footage that shows a dramatically different tone than what he presented during his interview with Ariel Helwani following the loss.
In his Helwani interview, Nickal portrayed himself as unbothered by critics, stating:
“I’m totally okay with it. Totally comfortable with it,” regarding negative comments. He even went as far as saying: “I just honestly like pray for those people and hope that they aren’t just like… they’re full of that. And I would pray that they find a better path.”
However the allegedly deleted segment from his own podcast tells a different story. In this portion, Nickal reportedly said:
“Suck my… at the end of the day like you know say what you want but when I get back on top and when I’m the freaking champion of the world. They’re all crawling back… And I’ll spit right in your face as soon as you crawl back.”
Nickal claimed to have “the memory of an elephant” regarding his critics, and that he had “screenshotted every single post” made about him following his loss.
This apparent discrepancy between Nickal‘s public facing humble persona and his alleged comments has raised eyebrows in the MMA community. The podcast also allegedly included segments where Nickal and his co-hosts discussed his performance against De Ridder in terms that many might consider revisionist, with claims that Nickal may have won the first round — despite judges scoring it unanimously for his opponent.
Nickal, a highly decorated NCAA wrestling champion who had been fast-tracked in the UFC, suffered his first professional MMA loss against De Ridder at UFC 300. Prior to this defeat, he had maintained an undefeated record and had been vocal about his abilities relative to top stars in the division.
