RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – MMA Junkie is on scene and reporting live from Friday’s official PFL: Battle of the Giants (DAZN/ESPN+) fighter weigh-ins at the host hotel in Saudi Arabia, which kick off at 2 a.m. ET (11 a.m. PT).

Among those weighing in are former UFC champion Francis Ngannou (17-3) and reigning PFL season winner Renan Ferreira (13-3), who meet in the main event for the heavyweight superfights title. The same happens between incoming Bellator women’s featherweight champion Cris Cyborg (27-2) and reigning PFL winner Larissa Pacheco (23-4), who fight for the women’s 145-pound superfights belt.

Plus, Bellator middleweight champion Johnny Eblen (15-0) has his title on the line in a rematch against Fabian Edwards (13-3) and former Bellator featherweight champ A.J. McKee (22-1) continues his surge at lightweight against Paul Hughes (12-1).

The full PFL: Battle of the Giants weigh-in results include:

MAIN CARD (DAZN pay-per-view, 4 p.m. ET)

• Francis Ngannou () vs. Renan Ferreira () – for heavyweight superfights title
• Cris Cyborg () vs. Larissa Pacheco () – for women’s featherweight superfights title
• Champ Johnny Eblen () vs. Fabian Edwards () – for Bellator middleweight title
• Husein Kadimagomaev () vs. Zafar Mohsen ()
• A.J. McKee () vs. Paul Hughes ()

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 1:30 p.m. ET)

• Marcos Breno () vs. Raufeon Stots ()
• Dedrek Sanders () vs. Makkasharip Zaynukov ()
• Nacho Campos () vs. Ibragim Ibragimov ()
• Taha Bendaoud () vs. Tariq Ismail ()

Chris Fallica

FOX Sports Wagering Expert

“Bear Bets” are real wagers that Chris “The Bear” Fallica is actually making.

We’re on to Week 7, and I’ve got my eyes on a handful of games.

For those new to this space, if you are looking for a few wagers to get in on the NFL action, I have you covered. Nothing makes football better than having a few bucks on the games weekly.

Last week, we went 3-0 in this spot. Let’s keep building on that!

Last Week: 3-0 (Season: 13-8)

(All times ET)

SUNDAY, OCT. 20

GIANTS @ EAGLES (1 p.m., FOX/FOX Sports App)

I think the Eagles are in a bad place right now. They were far from convincing in a win over the lowly Browns last week and now head to face the Giants, who have had trouble finding the end zone at home. Even with their wide receiver group healthy and back in the lineup, the Eagles offense sputtered last week and the Giants front should give them problems here. It doesn’t hurt the Giants should have Malik Nabers back as well. 

PICK: Giants (+3.5) to lose by fewer than 3.5 points, or win outright

CHIEFS @ 49ERS (4:25 p.m., FOX/FOX Sports App)

Let’s get one thing clear: This is not a revenge game. There is no revenge for losing two Super Bowls which you should have won. However, the Niners can do themselves a lot of good in a quest to get back to another Super Bowl this year by beating the two-time defending champs and getting above .500 this year. The Chiefs are coming off a bye, but the Niners also have a few extra days rest having won in Seattle on Thursday. That should help heal some of their injuries, while we know K.C. will be without Isiah Pacheco and Rashee Rice. I sense there will be a bunch of people flocking to the “Mahomes as a dog” angle here, but I think this game means a lot more to the Niners here given the Chiefs lead in the division and S.F. having given away a couple of games this year. 

PICK: 49ers (-1.5) to win by more than 1.5 points

Chris “The Bear” Fallica has covered sports for nearly three decades. While college football has been his focus, he also enjoys the NFL, Soccer, Golf, Tennis, MLB, NHL and Horse Racing, with an “occasional” wager on such events. Chris recently won the inaugural Circa Football Invitational and finished in the Top 10 of the Golden Nugget Football Contest. He’s a multiple-time qualifier for the NHC Handicapping Championship. Remember, “The less you bet, the more you lose when you win!” Follow him on Twitter @chrisfallica.

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The Irish government has indicated to Uefa a desire to host more Euro 2028 tournament matches in the Republic of Ireland.

The European Championship finals will be staged across the UK and Ireland, with the Aviva Stadium in Dublin to host six matches.

Five games were scheduled to take place in Belfast but the UK government’s decision not to provide funding to rebuild Casement Park in the west of the city in time for the Euros put pay to that.

The cost of rebuilding the derelict Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) stadium to a specification which would allow it to host Euro matches had escalated, with the UK government saying that the finances required had exceeded £400m.

Speaking at the Aviva Stadium on Thursday, Irish Culture and Sports Minister Catherine Martin said that she would like to see more of the tournament’s matches held on the island of Ireland.

On the prospect of additional Euros games potentially being staged outside of Dublin, she said: “I think that’s ultimately for the stakeholders themselves to decide. But yes, the more that can be held on a wider spread.

“I always talk about regional tourism as well, and looking at the 250,000 people working in tourism, 70% of them are in the regions.”

Jamahal Hill takes umbrage with those who think Khalil Rountree can beat him.

Rountree (13-6 MMA, 9-6 UFC) put up a valiant effort in his title loss to light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira earlier this month at UFC 307. Rountree won the first two rounds, before getting battered and finished in the fourth round.

In his most recent outing, Hill (12-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) suffered a first-round knockout loss to Pereira at UFC 300 in April. He was scheduled to face Rountree at UFC 303 in June, but withdrew due to injury. His performance against Pereira (12-2 MMA, 9-1 UFC) drew comparisons to Rountree’s, but Hill is confident that he would handily beat Rountree if they ever fought.

“The way that Pereira beat Khalil, for one – Pereira couldn’t beat me fighting that way,” Hill told Sportskeeda. “And two, that’s how I would’ve beat Khalil from the jump. He would’ve gotten beat like that even earlier in the fight. Pieced up with hands? Come on, bro. That’s what I do. People got recency bias and things like that. If anybody thinks that Khalil is on my level, let’s see him go and win a fight because he’s not even – we’re not even in the same bracket right now.

“He got a title shot just because he was an easy mark for the champ, he’s a favorable matchup for the champ. He’s No. 8, coming off a loss. I’m in the top five. He’s got to get a win before he gets up and before that’s even a thing. And if he does get a win, and that ever does materialize to be a thing, anybody who thinks he can beat me, bet $1 million on it. Bet your house on it. Real talk. I bet nobody going to bet nothing that they really want to lose on that. Nobody’s taking that bet.”

Hill revealed that he already signed a contract for his next fight. “Sweet Dreams” didn’t announce the opponent, but with former title challenger Jiri Prochazka also recently signing a contract, many are speculating it could be him.

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.