ABU DHABI – Lerone Murphy admits he felt “superhuman” coming out of his most recent performance, a five-round unanimous decision win over Edson Barboza.

On UFC 308 fight week, Murphy’s vibes remain high as he looks to carry that momentum into his main card bout Saturday vs. Dan Ige at Etihad Arena on Yas Island.

“(My last fight was) massive, massive for confidence and experience,” Murphy told MMA Junkie and other reporters Wednesday. “I feel like that’s leveled me up going into the trenches. The last two rounds are different.”

Murphy (14-0-1 MMA, 6-0-1 UFC) recognizes the challenge Ige (18-8 MMA, 10-7 UFC) brings and sees the opportunity as the perfect next step. Should he defeat Ige as he expects, Murphy believes top 10-ranked opposition will be next.

“He’s a solid opponent,” Murphy said. “He’s been in the top 15 for like four or five years now. You’ve got to be good to keep your position there. It’s a big test for me , and I believe after a win over Dan Ige, it’s top 10 straight from there. … That’s disrespectful (to call him a gatekeeper). I don’t think there’s any such thing as a gatekeeper. If you’re in the top 15, you’re in the elite of the world. It’s as simple as that.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 308.

Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and the Los Angeles Dodgers will face off against Aaron Judge, Juan Soto and the New York Yankees in the 2024 World Series. One could argue that this matchup, which marks the 12th time that the Dodgers and Yankees meet in the World Series, couldn’t be more epic for MLB.

For starters, it’s a matchup between two of the largest sports markets and cities on the planet, involving two teams that both used to play in New York City, as the Los Angeles Dodgers were the Brooklyn Dodgers until moving West ahead of the 1958 season. Meanwhile, there are stars galore on both teams, with MVPs and other MVP- and Cy Young-caliber players.

Here’s the 2024 World Series by the numbers, from both present and historical lenses.

1: After becoming the sixth player in MLB history to post a 40-40 season (40 home runs, 40 stolen bases) in August, Ohtani became the first player to post a 50-50 season in September in what was his debut season with the Dodgers.

2: When Game 1 of the 2024 Fall Classic begins on Friday night (8:08 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app), both Soto and Betts will have appeared in the World Series for multiple teams; Soto won the World Series with the Washington Nationals in 2019, while Betts won the World Series with the Boston Red Sox in 2018 and again with the Dodgers in 2020.

3: Judge hit 58 home runs this season, marking the third time in the 2022 AL MVP’s nine-year MLB career that he surpassed 50 long balls in a single season.

3.3: In their nine postseason games this year, the Yankees have surrendered just 3.3 runs per game.

6.4: In their 11 postseason games this year, the Dodgers have scored 6.4 runs per game.

10: A combined 10 players from both rosters were put on their respective league’s All-Star Game roster this season, the Dodgers having seven and the Yankees having three.

11: The Yankees and Dodgers have previously faced off in the Fall Classic 11 times, seven times with the Dodgers in Brooklyn and four times with them in Los Angeles. New York went 6-1 when the Dodgers were in Brooklyn, and the teams have split since the move to Los Angeles (2-2).

[Related: A look back at 11 previous Yankees-Dodgers World Series matchups]

12: This is the 12th time that the Yankees and Dodgers have met in the World Series, but their two cities also combine for a population of roughly 12 million this year.

15: While the Yankees have a professional-record 27 championships, this is the first time that they’ve appeared in the World Series in 15 years (2009). Staying on the 15 front, Hall of Fame manager Joe Torre managed both teams, as he won four World Series across his 12-year stint with the Yankees (1996-2007) and then managed the Dodgers from 2008-10.

16: Managers Dave Roberts (Dodgers) and Aaron Boone (Yankees) are among the most tenured coaches in the sport, combining for 16 consecutive seasons managing their respective clubs.

18: A roughly 18-mile drive separated Ebbets Field, the former home of the Dodgers in Flatbush, from Yankee Stadium, the home of the Yankees. Furthermore, there were three MLB teams in New York prior to the Dodgers’ departure, as the New York Giants (now the San Francisco Giants) played in the Polo Grounds on the Upper East Side of Manhattan — which was a mere 15-minute walk from Yankee Stadium over the Harlem River, prior to moving to San Francisco in 1958. 

22: While Roberts and Boone are now each primarily viewed as skippers, they played a combined 22 seasons in the big leagues and each produced some of the most exciting moments in MLB postseason history. 

With the Red Sox down 3-0 to the Yankees in the 2004 ALCS, Roberts pinch ran in the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 4 with the team trailing 4-3 and stole second base. He later scored, and the Red Sox went on to win in the 12th inning. Boston later became the first team to overcome a 3-0 series deficit and went on to win the World Series for the first time in 86 years. On the other hand, Boone, a midseason acquisition, hit a walk-off home run for the Yankees to lead off the bottom of the 11th inning in Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS against the Red Sox, which sent New York to the World Series.

2024 World Series: Yankees vs. Dodgers Preview

23: Los Angeles and New York are Nos. 1 and 2 in America in number of professional teams, combining for 23.

27: The Yankees have won a professional sporting-record 27 championships. Moreover, their general manager, Brian Cashman, has held his current position for 27 years.

34: The two teams combine for 34 World Series, with the Yankees having 27, compared to the Dodgers’ seven.

41: If one chooses to drive cross-country without somehow not having to stop for gas, a Big Gulp or sleep, it’s a roughly 41-hour drive from Yankee Stadium or the former site of Ebbets Field to Dodger Stadium.

43: While the Yankees and Dodgers have crossed passed in the World Series 11 times, they haven’t done so in 43 years, with the Dodgers winning the 1981 World Series in six games.

66: The Yankees and Dodgers combine for 66 league pennants, with the former boasting 41 and the latter boasting 25.

67: The Dodgers’ last season in Brooklyn was 1957, marking 67 years since they called New York City home.

100: The two clubs combine for a whopping 100 Hall of Famers, with the Dodgers boasting 53 and the Yankees boasting 47.

112: Potentially poised to win their respective league MVP awards, Judge and Ohtani hit a combined 112 home runs this season (Judge had 58, and Ohtani had 54).

.500: Since the turn of the 21st century, the Yankees and Dodgers are 11-11 (.500) against each other in the regular season.

$1,300: Interested in buying a ticket to the 2024 World Series to witness history? If so, that’s great! Interested in forking over in excess of $1,300 to see a game in Dodger Stadium or Yankee Stadium? Well, that’s what it currently costs to get a seat in either house from several ticket vendors.

21,800: The Dodgers and Yankees combine for 21,800 wins, with the former having 11,022 and the latter having 10,778.

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WATCHING from his holiday home in Majorca, maybe even with a half-and-half scarf, Jurgen Klopp will once again have been hugely impressed by the club he has left behind.

Klopp will be Red Bull’s ‘head of global soccer’, whatever that truly means, starting from January 1.

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And when Klopp begins his £10million role which looks like a glorified PR-job, it will be absolutely fascinating to see where Liverpool will be under his Arne Slot.

Right now, it is looking pretty damn good.

Darwin’s Nunez’s first half winner made it 11 wins in 12 for the Dutchman with that only blip coming against Nottingham Forest.

While Liverpool were forced to withstand some fierce pressure in the second half, keeper Caoimhin Kelleher delivered a couple of big saves.

While Liverpool’s opening schedule was extremely kind, the level of opposition has gone up a notch in the last few days. 

Firstly against in-form Chelsea and here, against a team who are unbeaten in the Bundesliga and share the lead with Bayern Munich.

Yet Slot has seen his team overcome both these difficult matches and now, an even bigger test awaits, against Arsenal on Sunday.

There will clearly be a wobble for Slot at some stage, But while he is new to English football, the team he inherited is certainly not and at times here, they played some excellent football despite living dangerously at the back. 

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Nunez’s close-range effort came at a time when Liverpool were lucky not to be trailing by a couple of goals let alone still be level.

A header from Mo Salah looked to be going in before Nunez helped it over the line but it will still have been good for the Uruguyan’s confidence as he had only struck once this season.

He was only playing due to an injury to Diogo Jota and while Liverpool do have a few fitness issues ahead of the weekend, title rivals Arsenal seem to be having even more issues.

At the Emirates, Slot’s team cannot afford to be as open in central midfield as they were here.

Man-of-the-match at Anfield on Sunday was Curtis Jones and while he started on the bench, his replacement, Alexis Mac Allister, initially failed to give Ryan Gravenberch enough support defensively.

Mac Allister was also booked for a theatrical dive while home defender Castello Lukeba was lucky to avoid only a caution when sinking his studs into the foot of former Leipzig favourite Dominik Szoboszlai.

Leipzig, having lost their opening games against Atletico Madrid and Juventus, started with real purpose although they were made to pay for failing to take those early chances which fell to Benjamin Sesko and Amadou Haidara.

Kelleher will remain in goal for a few more weeks as Alisson is injured. But Slot will not want to see any repeats of the moment he rushed out of his area and failed to head the ball into touch. Although from distance, Sesko had an open goal and should have scored but floated a shot wide.

Leipzig’s Belgian striker Lois Openda thought he had scored a cracker from outside the area but despite wagging his finger at the officials, he was miles offside.

And within 60 seconds, Nunez finished a smart move from the visitors Until then, Liverpool’s only effort had been a shot wide by Salah but on this occasion, the Egyptian star headed Kostas Tsimikas’ cross into the bottom corner with Nunez making sure to nudge the ball over the line.

Leipzig keeper Peter Gulacsi, who spent five years at Liverpool without making an appearance, kept his team in the game by keeping out headers from Nunez and Virgil van Dijk.

Nunez was then furious with the officials as the striker thought he should have been given a penalty and there was definitely contact from Willi Orban.

Cody Gakpo wasted a good chance by firing straight at Gulacsi while Mac Allister curled a shot against the bar.

Yet Kelleher made those crucial saves to deny both Sesko and Xavi Simon and while Openda once again had the ball in the net, he was offside for a second time.

For Slot, it is now three wins out of three in the Champions League. Even though former midfielder Xabi Alonso brings Bayer Leverkusen to Anfield next month, while Jude Bellingham’s Real Madrid will also visit, Liverpool looks as though they could finish in the top eight and avoid a play-off. Already, there will be a few Liverpool fans booking their hotels for Munich on May 31.

And to think many thought they would fall apart when Klopp packed his bags.

That “Shara Bullet” has competed with an eye injury for years is no secret, and he’s found himself drawing inspiration from a former UFC champion to work through it.

Bullet—a.k.a. Shara Magomedov—opens this Saturday’s UFC 308 main card in Abu Dhabi with a middleweight duel against Armen Petrosyan. At Wednesday’s media day for the event, Magomedov was asked about what he’s learned from studying the career of former UFC champion and Hall of Fame inductee Michael Bisping, in regards to dealing with the injury he’s had since 2016.

Bisping suffered an eye injury after taking a head kick from Vitor Belfort in 2013 and competed with a handicap until his retirement four years later. The condition didn’t stop him from winning the UFC middleweight title, even though it eventually progressed to the point that Bisping now lives with a prosthetic right eye.

So is Magomedov concerned about opponents knowing about this potential limitation?

“I think it’s a little different because I have 19 fights in my career and every opponent has tried to take advantage of that and it didn’t go their way,” Magomedov said via a Russian translator.

“When it comes to Bisping, yes, he is a motivation because he’s somebody who has went down this path already. He’s laid down the path and he set an example for me, so it’s much easier to follow somebody’s path as opposed to wander around in the dark. I think the way he is a motivator for me and for other people is he said that everything is possible. The most important thing is not to let your hands down and keep on going forward and keep on chasing your dream and then it’s possible.”

Magomedov joined the UFC in 2023 with plenty of buzz, having competed in both MMA and kickboxing, and entered the octagon with an 11-0 record before defeating his first three opponents for the promotion. Following a decision win over Michal Oleksiejczuk this past August, Magomedov made a curious callout of Nick Diaz, a 41-year-old fan favorite currently scheduled to fight Vicente Luque at UFC 310.

He explained his reasoning behind the matchup suggestion and also addressed the possibility of fighting two-division fighter Kevin Holland.

“When it comes to Nick Diaz, that was kind of a shot in the air,” Magomedov said. “He’s not on a level, he’s not ready to compete for title fights and things like that, so he’s not where it needs to be.

“When it comes to Kevin Holland, I think I’ll get to him one day. I think that I will do whatever I have to do to get to his level and to fight him, and I think we’ll see who’s tougher. I think we’ll do a lot of damage for each other and whoever’s bones are stronger, he’s going to be the one standing last.”

If Magomedov is to continue his climb up the middleweight charts, he has to get past Petrosyan, a clever kickboxer that has proven to be a tough out in the division. Magomedov has trained with Petrosyan in the past so he knows him well, but that doesn’t mean he knows what to expect on fight night.

“To be honest, it’s not like I’m preparing some things inside my head that I’m going to come out with and I’m going to show and I’m going to do,” Magomedov said. “I don’t even know what’s going to happen. I think any spark that happens, any kind of flash that happens inside the octagon is very exciting. I don’t even know really what to expect from myself, so I think that’s the interesting part is that anything can happen on the night of.”

Liam Lawson‘s impressive Formula 1 return at the United States Grand Prix will force Yuki Tsunoda to step up another gear, says RB team boss Laurent Mekies.

Lawson was brought back for the final six races of the 2024 season as Red Bull weighs up its options for the Red Bull seat alongside Max Verstappen for 2025 and beyond.

Incumbent Sergio Perez has not been consistent enough to help Verstappen and Red Bull defend their constructors’ championship lead thus far so, despite the Mexican having a two-year deal, Red Bull could yet opt to make a change at any time.

Daniel Ricciardo was brought into its satellite RB squad as a potential replacement but failed to convince Red Bull, leading to the Australian’s departure from Austin onwards.

Tsunoda now has another challenger in the form of Lawson, who made an impressive start to his second F1 stint after a five-race cameo in 2023.

Lawson made a statement by taking third in Saturday’s Q1, setting a faster lap than Tsunoda managed during the entire qualifying session, and then recovered from a grid penalty to move up from 19th to ninth in the race as the only RB to score points.

Lawson’s weekend was dubbed “just about perfect” by team boss Mekies, who says it was a reward for the 22-year-old’s 12-month long efforts behind the scenes to be ready to grab his chance with both hands.

Laurent Mekies, Team Principal, RB F1 Team, Liam Lawson, RB F1 Team

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

“It’s a mega impressive weekend,” Mekies told Motorsport.com. “We are very, very happy for him, because you don’t get there by luck, you don’t get there also just with talent.

“You think back to the full year that he has been doing in the engineering office, watching the onboards, watching the data, the hours in the simulator, the very little occasions to actually run the car. And you have to give him credit for the amount of hours he has put in it with little return.

“He was certainly 100% ready to jump in the car, so well done. It was already a mega statement in Q1, we thought that could be the statement of the weekend.

“But then a faultless race, the right pace. There is not much more you can ask, honestly. It’s just about the perfect start.”

There was no evidence of Lawson’s racecraft being rusty either, given the aggressive way he defended against Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso in Saturday’s sprint seemed to rattle the Spaniard.

“I think also that was refreshing, he was already not overthinking things and just defending his positions in the right way – that’s what you want to see with this sort of guy,” Mekies said.

“Not only has he not been driving in a race in a year, but also he has never been driving here in Austin.”

Liam Lawson, RB F1 Team VCARB 01, Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin AMR24, Esteban Ocon, Alpine A524

Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images

Lawson’s performance also seemed to tickle Tsunoda, who was frustrated at the New Zealander’s reverse one-stop strategy – starting on hard tyres instead of mediums – landing him ahead after the pitstops, before Tsunoda dropped to 14th.

Asked if he understood Tsunoda’s frustration, Mekies replied: “Of course. It’s not every day that an overcut happens.

“Obviously, the reverse strategy worked very well – certainly, for Liam, also for [Williams’ Franco] Colapinto. They took some risk on the strategy.

“Obviously, it’s a call that is easier to make when you are starting at the back, but it worked particularly well.

“The race was more frustrating for Yuki because of a bit more time in traffic, and it’s always difficult when you are eighth in the first stint to find yourself outside of the points.”

After easily seeing off Nyck de Vries and Ricciardo, Tsunoda seems to be facing his fiercest challenger yet in Lawson, as they vie for a potential Red Bull promotion.

“It is absolutely an opportunity for him to reach another level,” Mekies agreed. “Again, it’s exactly what we want, two team-mates that push each other, and one is going faster in this corner, one goes faster in this other corner, and they both are able to put in very consistent laps.”

Having two drivers firing on all cylinders will be necessary for RB to see off the much-improved Haas team, which outscored the Anglo-Italian squad and is now leading the race for sixth place by two points. After going down the wrong update path over the summer, its latest upgrades in Austin appear to be working as the fight looks set to go the distance.

“We have run with two different set-ups, so there is a lot to learn through the new updates, which seem to work,” Mekies added.

“In Barcelona, we had this update that didn’t work and it sort of stopped our season. It took us some time to understand the roots of it, and it’s probably the first time since Barcelona that we actually managed to get the car to behave differently.

“Hopefully, there is more potential in it. We are leaving here two points down on Haas, who also did a fantastic job with their cars this weekend. But it gives us good confidence that we can take up the fight with Yuki and Liam for the final five races.”