Although Nickal does have one of the strongest bases of all-time coming into an MMA debut, Meerschaert is a little hesitant to call him championship caliber yet. His wrestling is going to be ahead of everybody in the division but there’s still some question when it comes to opening up his game.
“Until he gets somewhere bigger with a higher level of competition it’s kind of an open question,” Meerschaert said. “I think he can beat most people with wrestling. I don’t know if it will be easier to take higher-level guys down, but if you get into a clinch with him or lock up in any way, shape or form, you’re going to have a rough time getting him off you.” Despite having (Chris) Weidman and (Derek) Brunson in the division, Meerschaert has no problem theorizing that if Nickal were to walk into the UFC today, he’d have the best wrestling in the history of the division. It’s not simply because it’s Bo Nickal, but because the division as a whole has never seen a specialist quite like the Nittany Lion.
“For having a lot of guys that are really good at one thing or another, ’85 seems to be full of pretty well-rounded fighters,” said Meerschaert. “Even the guys that are supposed to be just good at one thing, they’re still good enough at everything else.”
If Gianni The Greek put out odds for future bouts for Nickal, Meerschaert’s past alone would put him as one of the early frontrunners and he’s not exactly one to back down. He’s the exact fighter that gets Meerschaert excited, and whether the fight does happen or not, Nickal is going to be must-see TV for the King of Racine.
“His mindset isn’t, ‘Ok, I’m going to get in there and double-leg some people and try to hold them down and throw hammer fists or see if I can get to a good spot to elbow,’” Meerschaert explained. “He’ll be able to implement submissions really, really well. He’ll be able to incorporate it into his game and not just lay and pray. And he’s got length where if he gets his striking up to par, he’s going to be a problem for a lot of people.”
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