UFC middleweight Bo Niccal is not backing down from his criticism of Olympic gold medalist Jordan Burrows following their recent heated exchange at the NCAA Wrestling Championships.
The altercation between the two champions ended with Penn State's Carter Starocci clinching his fourth title with a 2-0 win in the final, despite suffering a serious knee injury that many speculated was a torn ACL. It started when Burroughs served as a commentator on ESPN's broadcasts when the team was acquired. . During the match, Burrows told UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier that Starocci's opponent should definitely target his leg, which was injured in the fight.
After the match, Starocci turned his attention to the Olympic wrestling trials scheduled for April. There, he will compete in the same weight class as Burroughs, at 74 kilograms (163 pounds). Burrows reiterated his declaration that he would use Starocci's injury against him if given the opportunity.
“He said April 19th and 20th. I know people who are going to be there,” Burroughs said on the broadcast. “I'd love to meet him. I'm telling you, if he and I meet in the bracket, I'm going to go for his right foot.”
Nickal, who won three NCAA titles at Penn State, slammed Burroughs' commentary during the event. The UFC middleweight said it was “really classy” for Burrows to allow him to target Starocci's injured leg and accused Burrows of being “unprofessional.” Burrows fired back on social media, saying: “You guys punch men in the face for a living. Shut up.”
A few days later on his podcast, Nickal expanded on his thoughts on Burrows, but his biggest issue seems to stem from his comments about the upcoming Olympic trials. Rather than give Starocci a moment to celebrate becoming just the sixth person in Division I wrestling history to win four NCAA titles, Burrows once again turned the spotlight on himself.
“This is not his time,” Nickal said. “So why take a player's fourth national title, and one of the biggest moments in his career, and tell it about himself? To me, it shows his character. There is only.
“What bothers me is that no one is watching this. He's always trying to act like an ambassador for this sport and saying, 'Oh, Penn State, congratulations. I'm so proud of you guys and what you're doing.'' Brother, you're one hell of a fraud. You just want to make it about yourself. ”
It doesn't seem like Knickal is trying to mend his relationship with Burroughs, especially with the Olympic Trials starting just a week after his next fight at UFC 300 on April 13th.
Nickal expects a meeting with Burrows to happen sooner rather than later, hoping the six-time world champion continues to have the same energy towards him that Starocci had the night he won the title. There is.
“Please don't attack us or be friendly when you see me,” Nickal said. “I guarantee you, he'll look at me and try to stay calm and be like, 'What's up Bo, come on?' Like, no, we're not cool. I’m not really interested in being cool.”
