diff --git a/src/nouveau/compiler/nak_nir.c b/src/nouveau/compiler/nak_nir.c
index 9bdd405ff02..83d80bc20c4 100644
--- a/src/nouveau/compiler/nak_nir.c
+++ b/src/nouveau/compiler/nak_nir.c
@@ -1330,6 +1330,8 @@ nak_postprocess_nir(nir_shader *nir,
       UNREACHABLE("Unsupported shader stage");
    }
 
+   /* sink memory loads once before we add our own bound checking */
+   OPT(nir, nir_opt_sink, nir_move_load_ssbo | nir_move_load_ubo);
    if (OPT(nir, nak_nir_lower_load_store, nak))
       OPT(nir, nir_opt_constant_folding);