Prediction: Bo Nickal via Decision<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Reinier de Ridder vs Bo Nickal is an extremely interesting stylistic matchup on paper because both guys are dominant grapplers, but when you look closely at the details, it becomes clear why Bo Nickal should be the winner\u2014and at a moneyline price around -300, it\u2019s the kind of opportunity bettors should be all over. De Ridder is dangerous with his jiu-jitsu and strong in grappling exchanges, but his success has largely come against fighters who either aren’t elite wrestlers or don\u2019t have the positional discipline Nickal brings to the table.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
De Ridder\u2019s biggest problem in this fight is that he doesn\u2019t have the striking defense, the footwork, or the transitional awareness to deal with a true elite-level wrestler who can also hit him on the feet. His striking is serviceable at best, but it\u2019s slow, it\u2019s linear, and it\u2019s wide open defensively. He tends to stand tall and plod forward without any real head movement, relying way too much on his ability to force a clinch or dive on a body lock when things get uncomfortable. Against someone like Nickal, that\u2019s a death sentence. Nickal\u2019s striking is still developing, but what he already has is enough for this matchup: good straight punches, athletic explosiveness, and a willingness to throw with commitment when he sees openings. De Ridder, with his flat-footed style and lack of defensive reactions, is the perfect opponent to get touched up clean by Nickal’s early hands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Where De Ridder usually succeeds is forcing ugly grappling situations and dragging opponents into deep water with his upper-body strength and slick submissions. But the problem is, Nickal won’t be there to be forced into anything. Nickal\u2019s footwork is built around controlling when and where grappling exchanges happen. He can easily stay just outside of De Ridder\u2019s reach, punish him on the way in with strikes, and then decide when he<\/em> wants to engage in the wrestling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nickal doesn\u2019t rush his work either, which is important here. He\u2019s shown he can stay composed, not burn himself out trying to force finishes, and stay dominant through multiple phases of a fight. Even if De Ridder tries to pull guard or initiate desperate submission attempts, Nickal has the positional awareness and technical sharpness to stay safe, land ground-and-pound, and keep himself ahead on the cards\u2014or just find a clean opening for a finish.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Prediction: Bo Nickal via Decision Reinier de Ridder vs Bo Nickal is an extremely interesting stylistic matchup on paper because both guys are dominant grapplers, but when you look closely at the details, it becomes clear why Bo Nickal should be the winner\u2014and at a moneyline price around -300, it\u2019s…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-250","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/capmma.com\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/250","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/capmma.com\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/capmma.com\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capmma.com\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capmma.com\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=250"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/capmma.com\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/250\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/capmma.com\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=250"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capmma.com\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=250"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capmma.com\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=250"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}