Dana White felt compelled to intervene following Bo Niccal’s UFC 300 win.
The 6-0 Uber prospect was extended to the second round for the first time in his career before tapping out Cody Brundage on Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
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Nickal gets the submission and looks dominant Credit: Getty
Knickal was clearly disappointed in himself and immediately reacted to his win at UFC 300 with two thumbs down.
The 28-year-old headed to White and Facebook billionaire Mark Zuckerberg and sat cageside with the UFC director.
Afterwards, he looked surprisingly sombre in his post-match interview.
“I’m a little embarrassed by that performance,” Nickal told Joe Rogan.
“I expect to go out there and completely dominate this guy and shut him down. I gave him too many chances.
“At the same time, I’m grateful to have made it through the first round. I was able to pull off a look like that with just a few seconds left, so in a way it was ideal.”
As the disappointed American left the Octagon and headed backstage, he was stopped by the UFC boss to give him a pep talk.
White got up to chat with Nickal. Nickal was joined in the line of fire from his fans after being given a main card slot at UFC 300 ahead of many former champions.
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Despite the impressive win, Nikkal branded his performance “embarrassing” Credit: Getty
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White tried to cheer him up Credit: @tntsport – x
In the post-game press conference, White revealed exactly what was said during his conversation with Nickal.
“We think he’s going to be a star,” he began.
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“I said, ‘Boy, you need to stop putting that pressure on yourself. Just go out there and do what you have to do. Keep winning and get rid of all this bullshit and all this loud noise. Please block everything.
Earlier this week, former middleweight champion Michael Bisping predicted he could become as dominant as retired lightweight legend Khabib Nurmagomedov.
“Bo Niccal has the potential to go down as one of the greatest champions we’ve ever seen,” Bisping told MMA Fighting.
“The American version of Khamzat Chimaev, Islam Makhachev, Khabib Nurmagomedov. That’s kind of his pedigree and what he’s shown so far.
“When you reach a level like Bo Nickal in wrestling, you become a special person.
“Bo Nickal has the ability to be the Khabib Nurmagomedov of America and is a great guy. He’s phenomenal. He’s undefeated.
“The UFC knows what they have.”
