Things have started to quake in the middleweight kingdom. The UFC has released an updated top 15 list for the middleweight contenders following UFC Fight Night 252. While the top 5 remained as such, the list witnessed the entry of a new name and the exit of a veteran. Well, to accommodate the rise of Anthony Hernandez, 3 fighters had to move down, and Bo Nickal had to leave the list. After defeating Brendan Allen at the co-main prevent of UFC Seattle, Hernandez jumped 3 spots and landed at the 9th rank in the middleweight athlete rankings. Allen dropped from #9 to #10. Roman Dolidze dropped one spot and found himself in the 11th position. Paulo Costa also went down and landed on the 12th pedestal. And after 2 back-to-back wins in the UFC, Reinier de Ridder found his way to the rankings. His last bout against Kevin Holland got him the 15th place in the middleweight rankings. And this removed Nickal from the list. The news was shared by John Morgan on X. He tweeted, “Lot of middleweight moves after #UFCSeattle, including Anthony Hernandez cracking the top-10, moving up three spots to No. 9. The man he beat, Brendan Allen, slides just below him at No. 10. Additionally, Bo Nickal departs list and is replaced by Reinier de Ridder at No. 15.” Well, this certainly put the bout between Nickal and Khamzat Chimaev at a risk. ‘Borz’ wouldn’t fight a non-ranked fighter, don’t you agree?Lot of middleweight moves after #UFCSeattle, including Anthony Hernandez cracking the top-10, moving up three spots to No. 9.The man he beat, Brendan Allen, slides just below him at No. 10.Additionally, Bo Nickal departs list and is replaced by Reinier de Ridder at No. 15. pic.twitter.com/PbQHS5JBzH— John Morgan (@JohnMorgan_MMA) February 25, 2025Well, Bo Nickal has been targeting Khamzat Chimaev for quite some time now. The duo have even exchanged a few words on the internet. And the Chechen Wolf had already dismissed him as a viable opponent to take on. Let’s see what ‘Borz’ had to say about Nickal’s challenge. Khamzat Chimaev won’t fight Bo Nickal?During a conversation with Chael Sonnen on YouTube, Nickal claimed that he would most likely meet Chimaev in a title fight. And when a fan asked him about his top three favorite wrestlers, he included the #3 middleweight contender in his list. Needless to say, this created quite an uproar in the fighting community. But before that, Nickal had to climb up in the rankings and reach the top 5 list. On top of that, Chimaev didn’t really deem him worthy of an opponent. Well, the world of mixed martial arts has been wondering why Chimaev never got paired against Nickal. When Nina Marie Danielle asked this question to ‘Borz’ following his win over Robert Whittaker, Chimaev said, “The guy is too young for the sport. He has to grow up, and if we fight now, I’m gonna smash that guy easily in the first round. Maybe later, when I’m older, he’ll give me a tougher fight, but I’m for sure gonna win that time as well.”But now, things might not work out well for the matchup. While the Chechen Wolf continued to rise, it wouldn’t be too long before he claimed the championship title. However, Nickal would need a lot more time to get back on the athlete rankings and rise to the top. Till then, we’d have to wait and watch as the MW story progresses. What are your thoughts on the new middleweight ranks? Is there a fighter who you think should be placed higher on the list? Do you think the match between Chimaev and Nickal can still happen? Let us know what you think in the comments down below. The post Bad news for Bo Nickal vs. Khamzat Chimaev as UFC Middleweight Rankings Released appeared first on EssentiallySports.