UFC Hall of Famer Michael Bisping believes Leon Edwards has everything to gain by stepping in vs. Shavkat Rakhmonov.

Rakhmonov (18-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) was scheduled to challenge welterweight champion Belal Muhammad (22-4 MMA, 14-3 UFC) in the UFC 310 main event Dec. 7 at T-Mobile in Las Vegas, but a foot infection forced Muhammad out of the bout. Rakhmonov wants to remain on the card and preferably compete for the interim welterweight title. Rakhmonov lobbied for former champion Kamaru Usman, but Bisping pitched a different idea – Edwards (24-3 MMA, 15-3 UFC), who lost his welterweight title to Muhammad at UFC 304 in July.

“For Leon Edwards, this does everything,” Bisping said on his YouTube channel. “You beat Shavkat Rakhmonov, you are the man. You step up, you are the man. You beat this man that’s finishing everybody, what does that do for you? Well, then you’re right back in the title conversation. In fact, you will be probably getting a rematch against Belal Muhammad, and they will probably do that in America

“So, there wouldn’t be that crazy time difference, and that was what Leon pointed to. … He wants to get his hands on Belal Muhammad once again. He wants to right the wrongs. He wants to prove to the world and to himself that he’s the better man. But more importantly, to get back to becoming the welterweight champion of the world.”

Edwards has remained silent for the most part since his title loss to Muhammad but immediately after the fight, he vowed to “get this back in blood.” Bisping doesn’t see a need for an interim title, and neither does Muhammad, who said he’ll only need six weeks to recover.

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

The first CFP rankings were released this week for 2024, and we finally have a look at what a potential 12-team College Football Playoff Bracket might look like come December. Check out everything you need to know about the 2024-25 College Football Playoff Bracket below:

2024-25 College Football Playoff Bracket

Playoff Round 1

• No. 12 Boise State vs. No. 5 Ohio State
• No. 11 Alabama vs. No. 6 Texas
• No. 10 Notre Dame vs. No. 7 Penn State
• No. 9 Indiana vs. No. 8 Tennessee

Quarterfinals

• No. 4 BYU vs. winner of Boise State/Ohio State
• No. 3 Miami (FL) vs. winner of Alabama/Texas
• No. 1 Oregon vs. winner of Indiana/Tennessee
• No. 2 Georgia vs. winner of Notre Dame/Penn State

Indiana and BYU are ranked too low in first CFP rankings | Joel Klatt Show

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The Algerian, 25, won women’s welterweight gold in Paris this summer a year after being disqualified from the World Championships for reportedly failing gender eligibility tests.

The tests were conducted by the Russian-led International Boxing Association (IBA), who were later stripped of their world governing body status by the IOC over integrity and governance issues.

The IBA said Khelif “failed to meet the eligibility criteria for participating in women’s competition”.

The IBA defines a woman, female or girl as “an individual with chromosome XX” and men, males or boys as “an individual with chromosome XY”.

The IOC questioned the legitimacy and credibility of the IBA’s tests, saying they could not be relied upon.

The dispute meant the IOC was responsible for running the boxing competition at the Paris Olympics and applied less stringent eligibility criteria.

Khelif and Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting, who was also banned by the IBA, were both cleared to compete at the Olympics by the IOC.

A chaotic news conference held subsequently by the IBA did little to clear the confusion around Khelif and Lin’s bans.

Chief executive Chris Roberts said the pair had “chromosome tests”, while president Umar Kremlev appeared to suggest the tests determined the fighters’ testosterone levels.

The BBC has been unable to determine what the eligibility tests consisted of.

Khelif’s opening bout at the Olympics against Angela Carini was abandoned after 46 seconds, with the Italian saying she stopped the fight to “preserve my life”.

Carini later apologised to Khelif, saying she was ‘sorry’ for the backlash the Algerian received after the fight.

Speaking after her Olympic victory, Khelif said she had been a victim of “bullying” and that the IBA “hate me”.

“I am fully qualified to take part in this competition. I am a woman like any other woman,” said Khelif.

“I was born a woman. I have lived as a woman. I competed as a woman – there is no doubt about that.”

“All the athletes who participated in the boxing tournament at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 complied with the competition’s eligibility and entry regulations, together with all the applicable medical regulations enacted by the Paris 2024 Boxing Unit (PBU). As with previous Olympic boxing competitions, the gender and age of the athletes were based on their passport details,” the IOC added.

BBC Sport has contacted Khelif’s representatives for comment.

Donald Trump will become the 47th U.S. president after defeating Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election Wednesday morning.

UFC President Dana White was at Trump’s victory celebration overnight at Mar-a-Lago and spoke to the crowd about his good friend heading to the Oval Office again.

Here’s how the pros reacted to Donald Trump winning again:

CRYSTAL PALACE are targeting a £20million-plus for Sunderland’s teenage sensation Chris Rigg.

The 17-year-old midfielder has established himself as a regular starter for Sunderland this season after becoming the second-youngest player in the club’s history whilst still at school last year.

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Palace have watched Rigg play for the Black Cats several times this season.

The teenager has impressed for the promotion chasers, bagging three goals in 12 games.

And Palace sporting director Dougie Freedman is convinced he will prove good enough for the Premier League.

The London club could even make a move in January, as they did last season in signing Adam Wharton from Blackburn for £18m.

The 20-year-old made such an impact at Palace that he was named in the England squad for last summer’s European Championship.

But after making his debut in a warm-up game against Bosnia he did not play a game during the tournament in Germany.

Sunderland gave Rigg a new three-year contract last summer and will resist any attempt to lure him away from the Stadium of Light during the season.

Rigg impressed for England under-18s over the summer following his breakthrough campaign.

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He made 21 appearances last term and has been with the Black Cats since he was at primary school.

Rigg is under contract at the Stadium of Light until the summer of 2027.

After signing the new deal, he beamed: “I want to develop as a player and improve as a person.

“And I believe this is the best place for me to do that.”

The Black Cats have been the surprise package of the Championship season so far under new French manager Regis Le Bris.

They are currently top of the table, ahead of chasing pack Sheffield United, Leeds and Burnley.

Failure to win promotion this season however could lead to Sunderland seeking to cash in on Rigg next summer, when he will have just two years left on his deal.

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Daniel Cormier wants Max Holloway to ease his way back into lightweight.

Holloway failed to regain the featherweight title when he was knocked out for the first time in his career by champion Ilia Topuria last month at UFC 308. He recently announced that he’ll be moving to lightweight, and both he and Dustin Poirier expressed interest in a trilogy bout next.

Prior to the Topuria loss, Holloway (26-7 MMA, 22-7 UFC) scored an iconic last-second knockout of former interim lightweight champion Justin Gaethje at UFC 300. However, Cormier wishes “Blessed” didn’t jump right back into the deep end at 155 pounds.

“He’s asking for Dustin Poirier. That would be absolutely fantastic, but is there a better way to introduce Max Holloway into the lightweight division?” Cormier said on “Good Guy/Bad Guy” with Chael Sonnen. “Do we put him in there with a Dustin for a third time? Or do we see what happens with Michael Chandler after he fights against Charles Oliveira? Or do we start to kind of look down the rankings a little bit and say, ‘Well, it would be fun to watch him fight a Rafael Fiziev. It would be fun to watch him fight a Benoit Saint Denis. It would be fun to watch him fight a Paddy Pimblett.’

“I know that might not be fun for Max, that might not be great for Max, but it would also give him an opportunity to work his way back into contention without being in there with these absolute killers. Personally, I would like to see Max Holloway not stand across from Dustin Poirier, Justin Gaethje. Alexander Volkanovski then Ilia Topuria, something not as crazy of a challenge.”

Holloway’s first stint at lightweight in the UFC ended in a lopsided decision loss to Poirier for the interim title in April 2019. But after finishing Gaethje to claim the BMF title in April, Holloway finds himself at No. 5 in the UFC lightweight rankings.