On the day he debuted in the UFC, Bo Nickal was already one of the most accomplished wrestlers to set foot in the octagon as a three-time NCAA Division I National Champion and he’d like to see more of those athletes join him in the sport.

Ahead of his return at UFC 309, Nickal revealed his hopes that more high-level wrestlers start making the transition to fighting like 2020 Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson, who became a primary training partner for Jon Jones as he prepared for his fight against Stipe Miocic on Saturday.

“I would love that,” Nickal said during UFC 309 media day. “I would love to see as many high-level wrestlers as possible transition over to MMA. I think that the last decade or so, we really haven’t had the best collegiate wrestlers move into MMA. You have guys that have had success but we haven’t had the best of the best.

“So guys like Gable Steveson, it would amazing to see him transition over. I think that American collegiate style wrestling would take over the sport in short order.”

In addition to his comments about wrestlers making the move to MMA, Nickal also addressed his long layoff between fights and why he was OK with taking time off between his appearance at UFC 300 and returning at UFC 309 where he faces Paul Craig. Nickal also discussed Khamzat Chimaev’s recent win over Robert Whittaker and how far he has to go before he could potentially face the Chechen mauler.

THE HERD WITH COLIN COWHERD

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NEW YORK – Michael Chandler won’t set sights on a potential rematch with Dustin Poirier.

Chandler’s most recent outing came in a submission loss to Poirier in at UFC 281 in November 2022. Poirier was unhappy with Chandler’s antics during the fight and accused him of being a dirty competitor.

Poirier (30-9 MMA, 22-8 UFC) has hinted at one last fight before retirement, but Chandler (23-8 MMA, 2-3 UFC) doesn’t see “The Diamond” risking a potential loss.

“Yeah, I mean, not really,” Chandler told reporters on fighting Poirier during Wednesday’s UFC 309 media day. “I mean, Dustin’s got a win over me. He’s never going to take the chance in one of his last couple of fights to put that on the line and lose to me and have that stain on him the rest of his life. So, I know that for sure.

Chandler runs things back with Charles Oliveira (34-10 MMA, 22-10 UFC) in a co-main event Saturday UFC 309 (pay-per-view, ESPNews/Hulu/FX, ESPN+) at Madison Square Garden in New York.

He has bigger plans than trying to avenge his loss against Poirier.

“I’m not really worried about it,” Chandler continued. “I will be ranked ahead of him Saturday night at midnight when I beat Charles Oliveira. We’ve got other options: Max for the BMF belt, Islam for the title obviously. You’ve still got the Conor fight, still got ‘TUF 31,’ finishing that which needs to be finished.

“We had a contract signed. There’s a lot of options for me, and I don’t think he’s necessarily one of them at all. Maybe someday we’ll squash the beef, probably not. I think we will at some point. Right now, we’re just two dudes in the same division looking towards the same thing.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 309.

Conor McGregor’s long-awaited comeback might have to wait a little while longer than expected.

The Irish superstar, who last fought all the way back in 2021, has been teasing his return to the octagon for several months with hopes to compete again sometime in 2025. While next year is still the targeted timeline, UFC CEO Dana White revealed that he now believes McGregor’s return won’t be sooner than later.

White addressed the latest on McGregor during an appearance on The Jim Rome Show when he was asked about potentially rebooking the fight with Michael Chandler after he faces Charles Oliveira at UFC 309 on Saturday.

“That’s a fun fight,” White said. “I think Conor and Chandler both like that fight. When Conor comes back, which I see being sometime the later part of next year, we’ll see where everybody’s at and what’s going on and we’ll figure out who faces Conor.

“That’s why everybody was so excited about it. Chandler and Conor McGregor is a fun fight.”

Hearing that McGregor likely won’t return until late 2025 probably wasn’t the news anybody was expecting after a broken toe delayed his previously scheduled fight against Chandler back in June.

McGregor groused that he was gearing up to fight again but once it was clear that he wouldn’t return in 2024, Chandler eventually moved on. He now faces Oliveira in a five-round co-main event on Saturday’s card from Madison Square Garden in New York.

While Chandler has stated that he’s still interested in facing McGregor after sitting out for nearly two years waiting for that matchup to happen, it appears he might have to change his expectations about rescheduling the fight.

Despite the constant delays, White remains confident that McGregor will eventually return to the UFC but he also stands by the statement that all bets are off due to the absurd amount of money that the former two-division champion has earned during his career.

“It’s a fact that he does [want to come back next year],” White said. “He and I probably talk four or five times a month. He definitely wants to come back.

“We’ll just see. Every time I’m on here I tell you money — money messes everything up. So we’ll see.”

NEW YORK – Karine Silva has a theory about her fight Saturday, provided the outcome is the one she’s expecting.

Once Silva (18-4 MMA, 4-0 UFC) has her hand raised against fellow Brazilian Viviane Araujo (12-6 MMA, 6-5 UFC), she surmises, she’ll be installed as the proverbial next big thing in the women’s flyweight division. And that, she thinks, will leave the UFC no choice but to give her a title shot.

And part of that is because she said she has a hard time getting anyone else to take a fight with her.

“Obviously my focus is on Saturday, but I’ve looked at (the title picture) and the biggest difficulty, even though we’re not thinking that far ahead, is getting girls to accept fights,” Silva said. “That’s one of the difficulties we have: Who’s going to take the fight against me?”

Saturday, that is Araujo, who has dropped three of her past four fights. The women meet on the pay-per-view main card Saturday at UFC 309 (pay-per-view, ESPNews/Hulu/FX, ESPN+) at Madison Square Garden in New York.

And though Araujo may not have the same kind of stellar recent run as Silva, who comes in with nine straight wins, all by stoppage, the 30-year-old Silva said there’s no overlooking her.

“She’s a tough fighter, obviously – No. 9 in the ranking does her justice for everything that she’s done. But it’s my turn now. I think I’ve built a lot throughout camp, and on Saturday it’s my turn to grab that victory.”

Check out Silva’s full interview in the video above.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 309.

They are led by a Euro 2016 hero, have a Giggs in their starting line-up, and boast a goalscorer who is exciting many at Manchester United.

While Wales’ new era continues under Craig Bellamy, the country’s next generation is making a significant step in Scotland this week.

Containing some names that are already familiar to many and some that could yet prove to be household ones of the future, Wales Under-19s have begun their latest European qualifiers.

Managed by 109-cap defender Chris Gunter, their campaign started with a win against the hosts in Stirling.

They clearly impressed former Scotland midfielder Nigel Quashie – whose son, Arsenal’s Brayden Clarke, played at centre-back in the 1-0 win.

“This Wales squad showed signs that this group of players are only going to better,” he posted on X , externalof a team, many of whom – including Clarke – reached the Under-17s Euros finals last summer.

Clarke is not the only former professional’s offspring in the side; Zach Giggs had a hand setting up Wales’ only goal as he donned the same dragon worn 64 times by his father, Manchester United great Ryan.

But, as Wales look ahead to games against France (Saturday, 16 November) and Liechtenstein (Tuesday, 19 November) seeking to progress to the elite round qualifiers in spring and then possibly the first major finals at this age grade, they are not the only youngsters that Welsh football bosses are hoping could be senior stars in the not too distant future.