Bo Nickal claims he received a short notice offer to fight Robert Whittaker at UFC Saudi Arabia, but was unable to accept due to unfortunate circumstances.
Whittaker was originally scheduled to fight Khamzat Chimaev in the main event of Saturday’s UFC on ABC 6, but Chimaev pulled out of the bout nine days before the event due to health concerns, and Ikram Aliskerov was pressed into service in Chimaev’s place.
The fight was booked, but Nickal revealed that he was on the shortlist of candidates to replace Chimaev. Nickal claims that he received a call inviting him to compete at UFC Saudi Arabia, but was unable to answer due to lack of signal. After spending three days without internet in the mountains of Montana, Nickal responded to multiple messages asking for a call back. However, by that time it was too late, as UFC had already booked a new main event for Saudi Arabia. Furthermore, Nickal was not keen on traveling to Saudi Arabia for the fight.
“I got a call. Unfortunately, I got a call when I was in the mountains in Montana and I was offline for three days,” Nickal said on his YouTube channel. “And when I got back on my phone, there were a couple of text messages, like, ‘Call me back, call me back,’ but it was too late. I won’t give you the number, but the number was there. But it was too late. They already knew everything and they knew how to do it, so I didn’t even get to think about it. Because I was gone… Honestly, I don’t want to go to Saudi Arabia and fight. That’s total bullshit.”
Nikal is leaning towards Whittaker against Chimaev, but Aliskerov believes he has a stylistic advantage over the former middleweight champion.
“I [favoring Whittaker against Chimaev] “Too much so, given the scenarios and stuff,” Nickal said. “But it depends on how ready he is. [Aliskerov] Etc. Style-wise, I think Ikram will win.”
Aliskerov’s only career loss came when he was knocked out in the first round by Khamzat Chimaev in 2019. Aliskerov has finished nine of his 15 career wins, including back-to-back first-round knockout victories at the start of his UFC career.
Nickal, meanwhile, is fresh off a second-round submission win over Cody Brundage at UFC 300 in April, the only time he’s lasted longer than the first frame of his pro career.
