Bo Nickal: Khamzat Chimaev is 'a good matchup for me'

Bo Nickal says he is serious about fighting Khamzat Chimaev – but he knows he has a long way to go first.

The Dana White‘s Contender Series star’s second attempt at trying to win a UFC contract saw him lock horns with CFFC middleweight champion Donovan Beard.

And it was all over in under a minute as he wrapped up a tight triangle choke submission forcing the tap at 52 seconds of the first round.

Victory over Beard was Nickal’s third of the year and arguably his most impressive.

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The confident Nickal, who had signed a development deal, was on cloud nine after his latest triumph and revealed in his post-fight interview that he’s open to fighting the undefeated Chimaev in the future despite only having a grand total of three fights to his name thus far.

However, if you thought he was joking, think again.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about as far as kidding,” he said at his post-fight press conference per MMA Junkie. “I feel like that’s a good matchup for me.

“He’s obviously a high-level grappler, high-level fighter. He’s one of the top fighters not only in his division, but in the UFC. I have a lot of respect for his skills but I also know what I’m about.

“So yeah. At some point. I’m making my UFC debut.

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“He’s probably fighting for the title soon. So am I going to get that fight? Probably not.

“But I’m ready to go. It will happen in the future. I’ll be more than prepared then.

“He’s good without a doubt. You can’t take that away from him. He’s got skills and he does a lot of things really well.

“That being said, ask