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.

BOXING owes a massive debt of gratitude to Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol, for giving us a fight in Riyadh last weekend that will live long in the memory.

The pair of them provided a masterclass of attacking and defensive skills that brought nobility to the Noble Art.

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They went into battle as unbeaten warriors and the prize to the winner was to be acclaimed the undisputed world light-heavyweight champion.

It was the kind of even match-up that is made in heaven and every fan on the planet had been looking forward to it for months with expert opinion divided as to who would come out on top.

The week-long build-up was extremely low key — it was unmistakable the two Russians had enormous respect for each other and weren’t interested in getting involved in pretending there was a grudge.

It was amusing to see the various TV interviewers desperately trying — but failing miserably — to get Beterbiev and Bivol to trash-talk and bad-mouth each other.

Very often the anticipation of such a consummate contest ends up being a bitterly disappointing anti-climax — the long-awaited Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao clash nine years ago is a classic example.

But within seconds of the opening bell such fears were knocked out as it became clear this would be extra special.

For 12 rounds the action ebbed and flowed non-stop between two proud, elite fighters calling on all their remarkable resources as they strived for supremacy.

As accurate hooks and jabs landed, Beterbiev and Bivol took their punishment without flinching.

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There was hardly a clinch and I certainly didn’t see a single foul blow throughout the 36 minutes — in fact American referee Thomas Taylor didn’t need to be there as he had absolutely nothing to do.

It wasn’t the kind of brutal fight that had you gasping for breath — hardly a drop of blood was shed and there were no knockdowns.

But it was so tantalisingly close and absorbing and the skill levels were so high. It must have had most people purring.

At the end nobody could be sure whose hand was going to be raised in triumph — there was bound to be controversy whoever got it.

From my armchair view I thought, because of his grandstand finish in the last two rounds, Beterbiev just about earned his majority decision.

But both men gave their fellow pros a lesson in how to conduct themselves in victory and defeat — no histrionics from either.

Inevitably, Eddie Hearn — Bivol’s promoter — screamed his man was robbed as words like ‘disgusting’ and ‘disgraceful’ tripped off his tongue.

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Hearn, at that time, didn’t know what Dmitry had said before he left the ring — when his disappointment must have been at its height.

There was no Bivol bellyaching, on the contrary, as he said of the decision: “It’s just the opinion of the judges. I just say congratulations to Artur and his team, he deserves it. No problem.”

How refreshing in this modern, money-mad world that boxing sportsmanship of the highest quality can still prevail.

Beterbiev is a man of integrity and there’s every hope he will do the honourable thing and give Bivol the rematch he richly deserves.

I’m sure I’m not alone in wanting to see them fight again.

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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.”

Ahead of Austin’s US Grand Prix, F1’s latest tech drama emerged after what has been a busy season for F1’s poachers and the FIA’s gamekeepers alike.

First, there was the classic F1 saga over flexing front wings, with aero-elasticity key to making this — and arguably any — generation of cars sing, a domain apparently mastered by McLaren and Mercedes in particular.

Flexing wings have always been a difficult area to police due to the difference between static tests and the reality of carbon fibre bending under load. But having already issued technical directives in the past to better advise teams on how the rules would be applied, the FIA was comfortable with what the teams were doing, and did not feel the need to impose stricter flex tests to police F1 designers’ favourite grey area.

Next, McLaren became the talk of the paddock once more in Baku with its innovative low-downforce rear wing, which created a mini-DRS effect that boosted its straight-line speeds. The design again passed the FIA’s existing tests, but this innovation was edging towards the darkest of grey areas. After conversations with the FIA, McLaren agreed to tweak its design for the next race it will use the wing — which is set to be at the Las Vegas GP.

The fact that the FIA let the front wing saga go, but that McLaren did end up altering its rear wing, shows the complexity of the matter for the governing body’s gamekeepers, and how each of the 10 teams are forced to operate in more shades of gray than a bestselling novel.

Now, it is Red Bull Racing that has been flagged by rival teams over the manner in which it has installed its race height-altering device to change the front bib.

What is the ‘front bib’?

All teams use such a system in some form, but teams suspect Red Bull’s — legal — cockpit-based solution could have been used overnight when the car is under parc ferme conditions, which is expressly forbidden.

Red Bull claims the device “is inaccessible once the car is fully assembled and ready to run”, and it has to be stressed that the team does not have to modify its car in Austin, but McLaren’s Oscar Piastri felt the parc ferme nature of the solution was “out of the gray area and into a black area.”

It will be almost impossible to prove that Red Bull ever used the device in parc ferme, so even as the FIA works on stricter procedures, it is a saga that won’t have a satisfactory conclusion for those who won’t give Red Bull the benefit of the doubt.

And if you are a rival team, why would you?

You may remember that Red Bull was also mentioned when the FIA reinforced its rule outlawing asymmetric braking, but is important not to throw everything onto one pile. The FIA explained that rule tweak was designed to make the 2026 regulations more robust, after which the new phrasing was retroactively added to this year’s rulebook — still with no indication of any team breaking the rules.

Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38, leads Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20

Photo by: Alexander Trienitz

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Why all the grey areas, and why now?

But it doesn’t seem coincidental that the 2024 season has been marked by so many tech dramas.

The regulations are in their third of four seasons, with teams finding it ever harder to add performance through traditional means. Any marginal gains can make a substantial difference to the end result now, which invites out of the box thinking.

Additionally, a closing up of the grid has led to a gripping on-track battle between Red Bull and McLaren, which has also spilled out off the track with Red Bull team boss Christian Horner and McLaren CEO Zak Brown trading the occasional barbs, whether it was about these technical dramas or over high-profile staff leaving Red Bull for pastures new.

“It’s all part of the sport,” Brown told Motorsport.com earlier this year. “You’re trying to win every battle in Formula 1 on and off the track. You’re looking over every single mirror and every single wing.

“I’m going to do everything I can that’s appropriate to help McLaren win. And I would expect the other nine teams to do the same. And that means we’re going to be at odds with each other from time to time.”

Red Bull’s Helmut Marko added: “One time some teams will accuse others, and then the ones that are behind are blaming the others and say that they don’t have it. This is a normal game as long as I am in Formula 1 and it has always been like this.”

Now that is at least one thing McLaren and Red Bull can agree on.

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.”