Last Saturday, after crashing out on the third lap of the sprint race at Sepang while fighting his rival for the win and the championship crown, Francesco Bagnaia was both hurt and bewildered. The reigning world champion was unable to find a rational explanation for the five zeroes he has accumulated so far in the sprint races which, as he himself pointed out, have been decisive in leaving Jorge Martin a step away from the title.

The Pramac rider will be celebrating in 10 days’ time if he is able to win the sprint, in which he has built a large part of his championship chances, at the Barcelona season finale that replaces the cancelled Valencia GP.

“I just need to improve my performance on Saturdays. I have to understand why I have failed so much, work on it. On Sundays, I was at a high level, but it was the sprint that made the difference,” lamented factory Ducati rider Bagnaia.

The results achieved by the two riders are frightening, and put them on a level unattainable for the rest. Paradoxically, Bagnaia is very close to losing a world championship which, numerically speaking, is his best season since he has been competing in MotoGP.

His performance in the Sunday races has been phenomenal, with 10 victories and 15 podiums out of a possible 19. In the longer races, Bagnaia has scored 345 of his 461 total points. Subtraction indicates that the Turin native has scored 116 points on Saturdays, 48 fewer than Martin’s tally of 164.

In the amount of sprint wins, they are more or less on a par (seven to Martin’s six), but the contrast between them is in the number of retirements. Bagnaia has five to his opponent’s two.

Jorge Martin, Pramac Racing, Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team crash

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

Statistics need to be interpreted and context needs to be added. In the era before the weekend format change introduced in 2023, only counting Sunday results, Bagnaia would lead the overall standings with a 24-point cushion and would be just one point away from becoming a three-time world champion in the premium class.

But that model of championship is now a thing of the past, and the current situation highlights one of Martin’s strengths.

“We already knew that one of Jorge’s strengths was his explosiveness, and now he has found a way to maximise that,” Pramac team manager Gino Borsoi tells Autosport. “To understand his form and the records he has set, I would point to that explosiveness and the mentality he has adopted this year.

It would be unfair to conclude that the reigning champion has failed if we consider that nobody has won more than him in a year in which he has broken all the individual records of any Ducati rider

“Now he goes out to race knowing that he is not obliged to always win, but that the important thing is to perform well, bring the bike back, and then let the standings be the judge.”

Apart from the points on offer, the main difference between Saturday and Sunday races is that the bikes are not as fine-tuned in the former as they are in the latter. In this sense, it is no coincidence that Bagnaia, one of the most methodical riders on the grid, tends to make a big jump in performance between Saturday and Sunday.

Combined with his enormous talent and his temperance, the two-time champion makes the most of the working method established at Ducati since the arrival of Gigi Dall’Igna in 2014. Based on the collection and analysis of the information provided by the eight Desmosedici at the Bolognese constructor, this protocol allows the performance of the bikes to be optimised much more quickly and efficiently throughout the weekend.

The most useful test bench for drawing conclusions is the sprint race. Until then, the technicians have ‘only’ three practice sessions to analyse and look for the best set-up.

Martin has regularly managed to find the limit quickly in sprints, where Bagnaia tends to take longer to come to the boil

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

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“Jorge adapts very well and very quickly to the bike from the moment he gets on the bike on Friday morning,” an authoritative voice from Ducati tells Autosport. “On the other hand, with Pecco we often see that he grows as the practices go by.

“It’s usually on Sundays that he makes the difference, because the people around him have been able to collate all the information available. With all those resources, he usually arrives at the most decisive moment with the bike completely to his liking.”

“From the outside, without knowing all the details, you get the feeling that Pecco arrives a little bit more precise at the sprint, but then, with all the information from the rest of the Ducati team, about tyre consumption, electronic set-up and so on, he makes that leap that is reflected on Sundays,” adds a track engineer from a rival team which works with one of the world champions on the grid.

In Malaysia, this feeling was once again evident, not so much because of Saturday’s slip-up, but because of the victory the following day. Bagnaia’s 10th win has sublimated Ducati’s method, despite the fact that it is practically impossible to retain the title in Barcelona.

Should that happen, it would be unfair to conclude that the reigning champion has failed if we consider that nobody has won more than him in a year in which he has broken all the individual records of any Ducati rider. In any case, it will be that Martin’s reading has been more accurate.

Bagnaia faces an uphill struggle to win his third world title despite winning 10 Grands Prix in 2024

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

Rory McIlroy believes Donald Trump’s return to the White House could bring peace between the PGA Tour and the Saudi Arabia funded breakaway LIV circuit and has speculated that Elon Musk could play a key role in negotiations on golf’s future.

The US tour is involved in protracted negotiations with the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) aimed at healing a divisive split in men’s professional golf, where many leading stars remain banned from the PGA Tour.

A proposed deal, first unveiled in June 2023, is likely to face opposition from America’s Department of Justice (DOJ), which has concerns over it potentially leading to breaches of anti-competition laws.

“Given what’s happened, I think that clears the way a little bit,” McIlroy told reporters after Trump claimed victory in the US presidential election.

The DOJ is independent of the American government, but presidents can influence key appointments including the US attorney general and solicitor general.

Trump suggested earlier this week that he could solve golf’s so called “civil war”, saying on Bill Belichick’s Let’s Go podcast it would only take him “the better part of 15 minutes to get that deal done”.

McIlroy, who has previously suggested that America’s DOJ is the big stumbling block to ratification of the deal between the PIF and the PGA and DP World Tours, is hopeful that Trump and his election ally Musk can break the current deadlock.

“We’ll see,” said the 35-year-old world number three. “He might be able to. He’s got Elon Musk, who I think is the smartest man in the world, beside him.

“We might be able to do something if we can get Musk involved, too. I think from the outside looking in, it’s probably a little less complicated than it actually is.

“Trump has a great relationship with Saudi Arabia. He’s got a great relationship with golf. He’s a lover of golf. So, maybe. Who knows?

“But I think as the president of the United States, he’s probably got bigger things to focus on than golf.”

Trump has praised the lucrative LIV tour for its “unlimited money”, and five of its tournaments have been been held at his courses since its inception in June 2022.

During his victory speech, Trump asked celebrating Republicans to salute US Open champion Bryson DeChambeau, who joined the victorious candidate on stage while wearing a ‘Make America Great Again’ cap.

DeChambeau beat McIlroy at Pinehurst last June to claim the US Open and is the second LIV golfer after Brooks Koepka to land a major following a move to the breakaway setup.

“I do think we should have one tour,” Trump said on former NFL coach Belichick’s podcast. “And they should have the best players in that tour.”

The Sun reported last weekend that a $1bn (£780m) unification deal has been agreed with Saudi Arabia taking an 11% stake in the PGA Tour, while PIF governor Yasir Al Rumayyan, who has played golf with Trump, would become tour chairman.

Unnamed industry sources subsequently quoted in the US media say the report was “premature” citing “the major issue of navigating antitrust concerns in the United States”.

McIlroy, a member of the PGA Tour’s ‘transaction committee’, is expecting to be briefed by tour commissioner Jay Monahan before Thursday’s return to playing action after a four week break from competition.

“I know Jay was in Saudi Arabia last week at the FII (Future Investment Initiative Institute) and was having some meetings,” the four times major champion said.

“I know he’s briefing the transaction committee [on Wednesday]. So maybe some news comes out of that.”

McIlroy is preparing for this week’s HSBC Abu Dhabi Championship. Victory would hand the Northern Ireland player the Race to Dubai title for the third year in a row with one tournament to spare.

To that end, while many observers have been anxiously awaiting news of swing states, McIlroy has been more preoccupied with the state of his swing.

Before Thursday’s start in the United Arab Emirates, his first tournament since last month’s Alfred Dunhill Championship, he revealed that he has spent the period in a studio working on his backswing.

“I sort of committed after the Dunhill that I wasn’t going to watch my ball flight for three weeks,” McIlroy said.

“So I locked myself indoors in a swing studio for three weeks and just hit balls into a blank screen or net and just focused on my swing and focused on the movement of my swing and focused on movement of my body patterns.”

Michael Chandler has left fans buzzing throughout his UFC career, and he doesn’t expect that to change at UFC 309.

Even if it means stealing the thunder from the Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic main event.

Chandler co-headlines the Nov. 16 show opposite rival Charles Oliveira, who defeated Chandler for a vacant lightweight title at UFC 262 in May 2021. Not only is Chandler looking for a measure of revenge, he’s also hoping to break the Madison Square Garden curse that goes back to his Bellator days.

“It’s OK, you can say it,” Chandler told New York Post Sports. “I’m 0-3 at Madison Square Garden, that’s OK, let’s just get that out of the way right now. Don’t be afraid to beat around the bush, I have never won inside of Madison Square Garden, so I’m deciding to change that this time.”

In his first fight at “The World’s Most Famous Arena,” Chandler lost his lightweight championship to Brent Primus after suffering a leg injury in the opening round. He defeated Primus in their rematch at Bellator 212 to regain the title.

Chandler then fought two more times at Madison Square Garden, going five brutal and bloody rounds with Justin Gaethje at UFC 268 and clashing with Dustin Poirier in another memorable brawl at UFC 281. He’s hoping to be part of another memorable performance, and he told Jones that he plans to overshadow Jones’ long-awaited heavyweight title defense against Miocic.

“I saw Jon Jones at UFC 306 at the Sphere, he said, ‘Hi,’ we took a picture together, the main and co-main, and he’s like, ‘Hey man, make sure you save some excitement for me because I’m the main event?’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, probably not, man. I’m coming to steal the show.’

“I definitely thought about [my lack of success at Madison Square Garden), and it couldn’t have been scripted any better. To fight a guy, to beat a guy, who has now beaten me for the world title. I had one goal when I got into this sport, to be the No. 1 guy in the world. To be, widely regarded, unanimously, as the No. 1 guy in the world. Charles Oliveira stole that from me, beat me fair and square, but he stole that dream from me. Now I get the opportunity to right that wrong in my mind, show up a better fighter, get my hand raised, and then when I beat Charles Oliveira I am the highest ranked guy in the lightweight division not named Arman Tsarukyan or Islam Makhachev, who are fighting in most likely January people are talking about. So I’ll be cageside watching that fight, to watch who my next fight is, who I’m going to fight for the title.”

As for how he plans to beat Oliveira this time, he referred to a previous win he had over a former UFC champion at Bellator 165. On that November 2016 card, Chandler won a split decision over Benson Henderson, utilizing a strategy that might seem alien to fans who have only followed his UFC career.

Chandler has five rounds to work with at UFC 309, and he doubts Oliveira can keep up with him.

“With that same mindset, if I just put on a slow, steady pace, stay in his face, make him feel my presence, pick my shots, I can fight 25 minutes all day long,” Chandler said. “I can red line for 25 minutes, I’ve proven that numerous times, he’s never done that.

“I’m not going to ever say that Charles Oliveira is a quitter, like other people have. He’s shown that in the past, he’s quit here and there, but Charles Oliveira is a seasoned veteran. He’s a champion. He was a champion for years for a reason. He’s got a heart of gold and a heart of a champion, so I’m excited to go out there and fight 25 minutes. I hope I don’t. I I hope I don’t have to fight him for 25 minutes. I hope I get my hand raised within the first couple of rounds, but I’m prepared for it and I don’t know if he is.”

Earn This. Nate Diaz had a playful scrap with a fan after being asked to autograph a pair of gloves.

Free. Alexandr Romanov was victorious at UFC Edmonton, but now finds himself looking for a new contract.

Wanted. Former UFC fighter Bryan Caraway is a top target of the authorities for insurance fraud.

Magic. PFL’s Tom Breese indulged in some… unique supplements ahead of a fight with Rob Wilkinson.

RIP. One-time WEC title challenger Hiromitsu Miura died on Oct. 26.

T-Wrecks ranks ‘em.

Bryan Battle does the JAXXON podcast.

Biggest betting upsets in the UFC.

Free Stipe fight.

Fighter vs. Writer. MMA Fighting’s Damon Martin and UFC veteran Matt Brown discuss the what to make of Belal Muhammad’s injury, whether Shavkat Rakhmonov could face Kamaru Usman, whether Jon Jones has to fight Tom Aspinall after UFC 309, and more.

Believe You Me. Michael Bisping talks how to save UFC 310, plus Dustin Poirier’s BMF hopes, and praise for Brandon Moreno and Erin Blanchfield’s big UFC Edmonton wins.

Soon?

What a waste of cake.

High praise.

JoJo retrospective.

Sorry, eh.

Marathon man.

Elizeu Zaleski (24-8-1) vs. Zach Scroggin (7-0); UFC Vegas 100, Nov. 9

Jacqueline Cavalcanti (8-1) vs. Julia Avila (9-3); UFC Fight Night, Feb. 15

Ketlen Vieira (14-4) vs. Macy Chiasson (10-3); UFC Fight Night, Feb. 22

No matter how you feel about the election, please be kind to each other out there.

We’re all in this together.

If you find something you’d like to see in the Morning Report, hit up @AlexanderKlee or @JedKMeshew on Twitter and let us know about it. Also, follow MMAFighting on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and like us on Facebook.

Given the call by Sevilla in the wake of their sacking of Argentine Jorge Sampaoli, Mendilibar answered and then some.

Within days, the Spaniard’s side had knocked Manchester Utd out of the Europa League quarter-finals, scoring two dramatic late goals to salvage a 2-2 draw at Old Trafford before winning the return in Andalusia 3-0.

They then squeezed past Juventus in the semis after extra time before going the distance in the final, beating Roma on penalties. It was an outcome that the then Roma manager, Jose Mourinho, insisted he would not recognise such was his frustration that Mendilibar had got his hands on the trophy and his belief that the outcome was unjust.

The honeymoon did not last long, though, and he was relieved of his duties just four months later after a poor start to the season.

Incredibly, 12 months on, he received another call, this time from Greece. Olympiakos needed a manager and Mendilibar accepted the challenge.

Within days, he was back in continental competition and guiding the Greek giants to their first European final.

He had to outfox continental specialist and countryman Unai Emery en route, beating his Aston Villa side in the Conference League semi-finals before creating more history as they overcame Fiorentina in the final in Athens.

This meant that Mendilibar followed Rafa Benitez in winning back-to-back European trophies with two different clubs.

However, perhaps more importantly, it meant a Greek club had won a European honour for the first time and ended a 13-year stranglehold by the big four leagues in an era when those competitions and teams are getting more and more powerful.

Only clubs from Spain, England, Italy and Germany had got their hands on the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League since Porto’s victory over Braga in the secondary tournament in Dublin in 2011. Until Olympiakos of course.

That success tempered the club’s domestic disappointment as they finished third in the Greek Super League behind champions PAOK, who won the title for just a fourth time, and neighbours AEK Athens.

RAYGUN has made a shock decision over her future in breakdancing.

The dancer shot to fame for her bizarre performance at the Paris Olympics.

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Rachel, Raygun, Gunn, 37, went viral on social media for her routine at the Place de la Concorde.

Her routine included her jumping around like a kangaroo and pretending to be a snake.

She was then subjected to mass trolling on social media, which caused her much distress.

It now appears that she will not be performing at the Olympics ever again.

During an appearance on Sydney’s 2DayFM Jimmy & Nath radio show, she confirmed her decision and why she does not want to compete again.

She said: “It’s been really upsetting.

“I just didn’t have any control over how people saw me or who I was.”

When asked if she would compete at the Los Angeles games in 2028, she said: “No.”

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“Yeah, I was going to keep competing [at future Olympic Games] for sure but that seems really difficult for me to do now to approach a battle.”

However, Raygun has insisted that it will not be the end of her breakdancing.

She claimed that she will continue to break but just not in competition.

She added: “I still Break, but I don’t compete.

“I’m not going to compete anymore. No. No.”

Raygun also spoke about the conspiracy theories that suggested that she was “planted” at the games.

She said: “Look, it’s surreal. It’s still impossible to process. The conspiracy theories were totally wild.

“But I just try and stay on the positives and that’s what gets me through.

“The people that have like [said]: “You have inspired me to go out there and do something that I’ve been too shy to do.

“You’ve brought joy, you’ve brought laughter, you know we’re so proud of you.

“And just like really f****** lovely things that people have written and that is just what I hold on to.”

Yuki Tsunoda believes he would have led the Brazilian Grand Prix had the safety car and subsequent red flags not been called for at Interlagos.

The Japanese driver was one of a select few to opt for a switch to extreme wet tyres as rain pelted the Sao Paulo circuit, with he and team-mate Liam Lawson at one stage lapping faster than those around them by almost five seconds per lap.

But with others trying to brave it out on intermediates as the deluge got heavier, race control had no alternative other than to send the safety car out on track, a neutralisation that became a full red-flag stoppage once Franco Colapinto had crashed his Williams catching up to the pack after a pitstop.

Tsunoda, who was running third before his pitstop, lost out with F1’s rules allowing for free tyre changes under red flag conditions and would eventually finish eighth on the road – a result that was upgraded to seventh courtesy of a 10-second penalty for McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, who had earlier punted Lawson into a spin at Turn 1.

“I think what we did, switching to extreme, that was good,” explained Tsunoda.

“Just the safety car and the red flag came out, that was the point that went very down. If the red flag didn’t come out, probably I would, at some point, have overtaken a lot of cars and maybe [been] P1, but it just didn’t come towards us.”

Yuki Tsunoda, RB F1 Team VCARB 01

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

Lawson also scored points as RB locks into a fight for sixth in the constructors’ standings, albeit losing ground to double podium-scoring Alpine.

Having stressed the importance of the result for the Faenza-based team, Tsunoda added: “It wasn’t easy conditions. If you lose concentration, [it can have] a lot of consequence.

“I enjoyed the last stint, good fight with Oscar [Piastri]. I tried to be within 10 seconds. You know, could have done a lot of things wrong, but kept it clean and tried to score P7, which is good.”