You can say Shavkat Rakhmonov has a certain “aura” or call him the “boogeyman” of the division – Belal Muhammad is ready to shut all that down.

At UFC 310, Muhammad (24-3 MMA, 15-3 UFC) puts his recently acquired 170-pound title on the line against undefeated Shavkat Rakhmonov. It’s a quick turnaround, as Muhammad won the belt at UFC 304 in July by soundly winning a unanimous decision over Leon Edwards.

Rakhmonov (18-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) is viewed as one of the scariest fighters in the division, if not the entirety of the sport. He’s fearless and aggressive, and has never needed the judges to determine the winner of a fight. However, Muhammad believes Rakhmonov hasn’t been in there with someone like him, who can force him into difficult situations.

“He’s mentally tough, he’s mentally strong, and if it comes down to grit for grit, he’s going to beat a lot of these guys based off of his toughness and his will to win,” Muhammad told MMA Junkie. “Now you’re going against someone with a stronger will. Now you’re going against somebody that’s  tougher. Now you’re going against somebody that won’t back down, won’t fold.

“So now, it’s how he’s going to react now, and I don’t think that he’s really had to face that type of adversity in the UFC yet. He really hasn’t. He’s always been in the lead. Now he’s going to be falling behind. Now you’re going to be getting to later rounds. Now when it starts getting tougher and you can’t breathe, and you’re getting tired and this is not working, and that’s not working, how do you make your adjustments?”

The champ says he’s been through those trials and tribulations under the bright lights already, so he’s prepared for those moments. To his point, Rakhmonov has not been scheduled for a five-round fight in the UFC. In fact, he’s only reached Round 3 once, in a Fight of the Night against Geoff Neal last March.

Muhammad doesn’t like the assumption that just because Rakhmonov hasn’t been into deep waters, he can’t perform well.

“I just think that he doesn’t get tired, this, this and this – he hasn’t been in front of me,” Muhammad said. “No matter who you are, who’s in front of me, you’re going to get tired fighting me. I don’t care what your path was like, what your cardio regiment is, I’m a different fighter. I’m a different pace than anybody you’ve ever seen.”

Muhammad believes he will present new challenges for his undefeated opponent. He’s confident his approach and his experience as a perennial underdog will carry him to victory against another undefeated opponent that some see as unbeatable.

Just like Sean Brady, who was undefeated before Muhammad got a hold of him in 2022, the champ sees a path to putting a blemish on another pristine record.

“We see weaknesses in these guys,” Muhammad said. “He may have a zero next to his name, but we see holes. That’s what we see in those zeros, those are the holes that we see, and we’re going to walk through those holes.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 310.

Alexander Volkanovski would love a title fight at UFC 312 in Australia.

The UFC returns to Sydney on Feb. 8 for a pay-per-view event at Qudos Bank Arena, and Volkanovski (26-4 MMA, 13-3 UFC) is hoping for an opportunity to reclaim the featherweight belt on home soil.

Champion Ilia Topuria defends his title against Max Holloway in the UFC 308 main event on Oct. 26. Volkanovski says he’s been promised the winner, but if the champion can’t make a relatively quick turnaround for UFC 312, he’s open to facing Diego Lopes for the interim title if that’s on the table.

“Anything with gold in it, I’ll be happy,” Volkanovski said during a media day in Sydney (h/t Submission Radio). “That will just lock me in for whoever wins that anyway. So, even if it’s the interim, that’s still a big one. I’d say it’d be an exciting one with Lopes I’d say, if that was going to happen, if not it’s Max or Ilia.”

Volkanovski plans on being in attendance for Topuria (15-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) vs. Holloway (26-7 MMA, 22-7 UFC) at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.

“Of course – that’s the best way to build up your next fight,” Volkanovski told Submission Radio. “Especially when you’re pretty much guaranteed. There’s only very little things that could get in the way. I doubt that happens, so get me in there, let’s amp it up and call the date here in February, as well.”

If Holloway dethrones Topuria, Volkanovski will be looking at a title fight with a man he’s already defeated three times. But despite being up big on Holloway, Volkanovski is confident a fourth fight would sell.

“I’m in a position now where I want to fight in Sydney, and I want fights that excite me,” Volkanovski said. “Fighting for a belt excites me. Find some contender for just for a contender fight? Not exciting. What excites you? Money, big fights and gold.

“So if he’s wearing the gold, cool. He’s done an incredible job, obviously, in his last fight, so right now, he’s in an incredible position. Yeah, it’d be a big fight. Even though we’ve already had three fights, I feel like the fourth fight will even be bigger, which is a blowout. You would never have thought that a year ago.”

Weir’s goal set the tone for what turned out to be a difficult evening for Elena Sadiku’s Celtic side, as they continued in their first ever Champions League group campaign.

It’s now no points and no goals after opening with a home defeat by Dutch champions FC Twente, and this sore one in Madrid.

There was no doubt Real were the dominant side and probably should have made more of their chances early on, but Celtic battled until the final quarter when the dam broke and the hosts added three late goals.

Sadiku though, insisted 2-0 would have been a fairer reflection of the game.

“I think how we played football was amazing against a team like Real Madrid,” the Swede said.

“I’m very proud of the team. First half, we defended well and had energy from the girls.

“Second half, we created chances and that could’ve changed the game. We need to be executing those better.”

“For me, how we played football and how we attacked shows what I want with this team.”

Crichton agreed Celtic’s performance was an improvement on the defeat by Twente, where the Scottish champions struggled to create chances.

And, had Murphy Agnew and Emma Lawton made more of their opportunities, things might have been different.

“In my opinion it’s really harsh,” the former Scotland defender said of the scoreline.

“When you go up against top sides you expect to be without the ball and your goalkeeper to be worked and to have to put bodies on the line.

“When you look at Real’s 31 shots and 14 on target, they were lucky if a quarter of them tested [goalkeeper]Kelsey Daugherty.

“Celtic can keep their heads high and hopefully they will dust themselves down and give a better account of themselves against Chelsea.

“The Celtic manager said they were better equipped after the Twente game, and watching them for the 93 minutes I would agree.”

LAS VEGAS – Kyler Phillips has had his eye on Rob Font prior to drawing him at UFC Fight Night 245.

Phillips (12-2 MMA, 6-1 UFC) meets Font (20-8 MMA, 10-7 UFC) in Saturday’s co-main event (ESPN+) at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Phillips, who’s coming off a win over Pedro Munhoz at UFC 299 in March, would have preferred a quicker turnaround, but likes his matchup against perennial contender Font.

“I did initially, but we got a good opponent. We got one of the names we wanted,” Phillips told MMA Junkie and other reporters at a UFC Fight Night 245 pre-fight news conference Wednesday. “So it’s an honor to be able to do that and step into the octagon with such a decorated fighter.”

Phillips has won seven of his past eight, and is expected to continue his ascent up the bantamweight ladder if he can get past the higher-ranked Font.

“I see myself matching up very well against anybody in the division, just because of my elusiveness and able to adapt on the fly at any given moment, but still have that basis of a strong fighter,” Phillips said.

You can watch Phillips’ full pre-fight interview in the video above.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 245.

In recent years, there’s typically been a quarterback or two that have established themselves as the best or one of the best prospects at their position for the ensuing NFL Draft. Caleb Williams entered the 2023 season as a clear favorite to be the No. 1 overall pick in 2024 while Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud were battling for that honor during the 2022 season, eventually going Nos. 1 and 2 in the 2023 NFL Draft.

As the 2024 college football season reaches its halfway point, there doesn’t appear to be a similar consensus formed among the quarterback prospects for the 2025 NFL Draft. However, Colin Cowherd believes there’s one quarterback who’s already emerged from the pack: Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders. 

“I think it’s pretty obvious: That’s the No. 1 pick,” Cowherd said of how he felt watching Sanders in Colorado’s loss to Kansas State last Saturday.

While Sanders wasn’t able to get the win, he had another impressive performance in Week 7. He completed 34 of 40 passes for 388 yards, three touchdowns and an interception against the Wildcats. He’s completed 72.6% of his passes for 2,018 yards, 17 touchdowns and four interceptions this season.

As Sanders is in the midst of another impressive campaign, Cowherd thinks his play, along with concerns he has about the other top quarterback prospects in the draft, make Sanders the top quarterback in the 2025 NFL Draft.

“First of all, Quin Ewers, like him, [but he’s] hurt again, don’t love that,” Cowherd said. “Cam Ward, feels small. I’ve fallen for [that] before. Shedeur Sanders, same height, I never think about his height. It may not [make sense], but when I look at Shedeur Sanders — [Patrick] Mahomes and Shedeur Sanders are the same size. They play big. I think [Ward] comes across as a mover and a playmaker. I think Shedeur Sanders is easily the best quarterback in college. I think he’s separated [himself from the rest]. … Carson Beck without Brock Bowers is not the same.”

Cowherd isn’t alone in thinking that Sanders is the top quarterback prospect in the 2025 NFL Draft. FOX Sports NFL Draft expert Rob Rang has Sanders as the first quarterback being selected in his most recent mock draft. He has the Las Vegas Raiders selecting Sanders with the fourth overall pick.

[Read more: 2025 NFL mock draft: Ashton Jeanty surges up board, Travis Hunter remains No. 1]

FOX Sports lead college football analyst Joel Klatt is also a fan of Sanders’, thinking he can be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. 

“I think Shedeur Sanders is such a better player than he gets credit for because everybody loves to hate on Colorado, Shedeur Sanders and his dad,” Klatt said on “The Herd.” “He didn’t have his two best receivers and they’re going against Kansas State and they have a lead with two minutes to go. I felt like the coaching staff for Colorado fumbled the game at the end. 

“He’s fabulous. He’s accurate. He’s tough — you talk about tough, there’s no one in the last two years in college football who’s been hit more than Shedeur Sanders and he gets right back up. He continues to stand in the face of pressure and throw dimes. I love that about him. He’s an anticipatory thrower. He’s smart. He understands defensive structure. His game translates.”

Is Shedeur Sanders the best QB in College Football?

However, Klatt disagreed with Cowherd’s notion that Sanders has “separated” himself from the rest of the quarterback prospects. He believes that Ward has been “sensational” enough to possibly be the first quarterback taken in next year’s draft while poinitng out a couple of flaws in Sanders’ game. 

“[Sheduer’s] got to quit holding onto the football,” Klatt said. “He’s allergic to incompletions, so he doesn’t want to throw the football away. You’ve got to throw the football away, particularly at the next level, or you’re going to get hurt. The next thing is, he’s got this — and it’s happened twice this year — weird, ‘I’m going to take the fade’ and it’s not the situation to throw the fade.

“Fourth-and-6 on Saturday night against Kansas State, they’ve got to drive down and kick a field and he throws a fade. Dude, you got blitzed from the wide side of the field, you’ve got an in-breaking route that’s got inside leverage on the support defender. Throw the in-breaking route!”

Sanders has been sacked more than any other quarterback since he transferred to Colorado in 2023. He was brought down for 52 sacks last year and has been sacked 23 times this season, just one short for the most in the nation. 

As for Ward, Klatt didn’t touch on why he’s a big fan of his during his appearance on “The Herd.” But he’s raved about Miami‘s quarterback for much of the season on “The Joel Klatt Show,” recently ranking him third on his Heisman ballot ahead of any other quarterback. Ward has thrown for 2,219 yards, 20 touchdowns and five interceptions this season to go with 11 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns. 

Still, Klatt believes Sanders is a strong quarterback prospect and might be the first player whose name is called at the NFL Draft next April. 

“There are things that frustrate me about Shedeur, namely those decisions in critical moments and that he holds the football,” Klatt said. “But everything else, this guy is fabulous. He’s accurate, he’s tough. He absolutely could be the first pick in the draft.”

[Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily.]

Get more from College Football Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more

The PFL will host back-to-back events in Saudi Arabia.

During Thursday’s PFL: Battle of the Giants press conference, PFL CEO Peter Murray announced that their annual World Championship card will take place in Riyadh on Nov. 29. Six fighters will walk away with season championships, along with the grand prize of $1 million.

It will be the first time the event will be held outside of the United States.

For the women’s flyweight season title, rising star Dakota Ditcheva will face one-time UFC title challenger Taila Santos. Ditcheva earned her spot with a quick knockout of Jena Bishop, while Santos cemented her place in the finals with a decision win over Bellator champ Liz Carmouche.

Brendan Loughnane also looks to cash another $1 million check as he faces Timur Khizriev for the featherweight crown.

Check out all of the title fights below.

Dakota Ditcheva vs. Taila Santos – women’s flyweight title fight

Brendan Loughnane vs. Timur Khizriev – featherweight title fight

Brent Primus vs. Gadzhi Rabadanov – lightweight title fight

Shamil Musaev vs. Magomed Umalatov – welterweight title fight

Impa Kasanganay vs. Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov – light heavyweight title fight

Denis Goltsov vs. Oleg Popov – heavyweight title fight