Bo Nickal shows respect to Khabib Nurmagomedov and his team after RAF Moscow win

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Ever striving to improve, Bo Nickal has given Team Khabib their flowers following his winning performance at RAF Moscow.

Looking to bounce back from a losing effort in his opening match on the RAF stage, Nickal welcomed a meeting with Shirvani Gadzhikurbanovich Muradov. A training partner and friend of Khabib Nurmagomedov, Muradov is a highly decorated Russian freestyle wrestler and Olympic gold medalist. Despite being many years away from his prime, the 41-year-old is no slouch and a tough test for any credentialed wrestler.

Having to grind out a win, Bo Nickal secured an 11-8 decision victory against the crafty veteran. In the aftermath, Nickal was nothing but complimentary of Muradov, thanking the legend for pushing him to his limits.

“Yeah, Khabib Team coach. I have great respect for Shirvani,” Nickal said. “I think he’s, you know, an amazing competitor and Olympic gold medalist. So, you don’t get better than that in wrestling. So, I was grateful to compete against him, and he brought me a tough competition. It’s making me better, and I’m grateful for that.”

A student of the wrestling game, Bo Nickal often shows love to others who share his passion for the sport.

Khabib Nurmagomedov remains one man the NCAA Division I All-American is in awe of. Claiming to have watched all of his fights, Nickal has been studying the MMA icon in hopes of improving his own game.

“For me, I think that I like to compete against the best,” Nickal continued. “You know, I like wrestling really tough competition. I like to fight against tough guys. All of Khabib’s team, all tough guys.”

“I think this is great. They’re great for the sport. Khabib, I have a lot of respect for. I watch all of his fights. [I] study him, try to use some of his techniques for my own. And yeah, all respect.”