Morning Report: Robert Whittaker not sold on Bo Nickal after UFC 300, says he has ‘work to do’ before fighting Top 10

Bo Nickal had the longest fight of his young MMA career at UFC 300 this past Saturday.

Eight minutes and 38 seconds is the longest fight the middleweight super prospect has had in six outings. Combine all of Nickal’s first five fights, and the length it took for the Penn State wrestling stand-out to finish them, is still less than his recent outing against Cody Brundage.

The historic event’s main card kicked off with Nickal’s third UFC appearance. After some strong grappling defense shown by Brundage in round one, he ultimately succumbed to a rear-naked choke from Nickal, who was none too pleased with his efforts. By comparison, it was easily the most adversity dealt to the 28-year-old thus far. Watching on the night with the rest of the MMA world was former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker, who saw nothing of note from the prospect. If anything, the hype train needs to slow down, says “The Reaper.”

“I don’t care,” Whittaker said of the fight on his MMArcade Podcast. “I don’t care for Cody Brundage very much. I think Bo Nickal … I think we saw some potential holes in Bo Nickal’s game. Bo Nickal finally got a guy that he couldn’t just do what he wanted with. Cody Brundage isn’t the best fighter in the world, but yeah, I think Bo Nickal fought a guy that can kind of wrestle, kind of strike, and he didn’t look as good as he has previously.

“He’s been running through shoe-ins for him. It is what it is. I think he’s got some work to do before he’s ready to fight top 10 dudes.”

Nickal has been vocal about what his future dream fight is: a matchup against his fellow undefeated middleweight star, Khamzat Chimaev. However, the timing for that possibility is nowhere close, especially as Chimaev gears up to face Whittaker in UFC Saudi Arabia’s main event on June 22.

A win for either Whittaker or Chimaev will likely secure them the next shot at 185-pound gold. Meanwhile, Nickal will continue to hone his craft and attempt to ascend the ranks.

TOP STORIES

Champs. Max Holloway mocks Ilia Topuria’s demands for potential fight: ‘That’s not a tone of a BMF’

Proclamation. Michael Chandler: Everyone has to buy UFC 303 because it may be Conor McGregor’s last fight

Fouls. Kamaru Usman questions how much Max Holloway’s eye pokes altered outcome of Justin Gaethje fight

Sequel. Jiri Prochazka wants Alex Pereira rematch as soon as possible, knows eating punches ‘will not work’

Foresight. Bo Nickal’s game plan for Khamzat Chimaev: ‘Take him down, rag-doll him, throw him around’

VIDEO STEW

Haney-Garcia pre-fight press conference.

At the buzzer.

Free title fight.

PFL Fight Week.

Lineker vs. Belingnon.

Pereira fight day BTS.

Strickland’s camp begins.

MORNING MUSIC

Impossible to say for certain, but always been arguably my favorite System song.

Go to Twitter, use the #MorningReport hashtag, or find one of my tweets with it, and drop me a jam you’re currently really into. I’ll pick the best one alongside my daily choice and give you a shoutout! You can also share in the comments below — those are just harder to sift through sometimes!

SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE

Bisping’s eye…

New gloves.

Throwback.

Counter.

Craig.

Bizarre…

Itsuki.

Oh, boy.

FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS

Adrian Lee (0-0) vs. Antonio Mammarella (1-0); ONE 167, June 8

FINAL THOUGHTS

It was definitely a bit of a reality check for Nickal, but he still managed to get a finish. Imagine had he gone to a decision.

Happy Friday, everyone. Thanks for reading! Enjoy the UFC-less weekend. See you on Monday.

EXIT POLL

If you find something you’d like to see in the Morning Report, hit up @DrakeRiggs_ on Twitter and let him know about it. Also, follow MMAFighting on Instagram and like us on Facebook.