November 24th, 2024 - Philadelphia 76ers vs Los Angeles Clippers

It was ANOTHER rough game for the Machine against the Clippers. James Harden and Kawhi Leonard definitely humbled him! He's gotta figure something out soon. Luckily he's a rookie still but he needs to start producing some results sooner rather than later. Thanksgiving is just around the corner so, maybe a good dinner like that will help him lock in better.

The Machine finished Sunday's game with an awful:

• 7 Points, 4 Rebounds, 4 Assists
• Teammate Grade C

Yikes! Gotta have short term memory though and move on to the next.

🌎My Thoughts on the Sports World Today🌎

In the real world, UFC Fight Night goes down Saturday but before I share a few of my thoughts on some of those fights, I want to share some belated thoughts on Ilia Topuria becoming the UFC Lightweight Champion after knocking Charles Oliveira cold at UFC 317. I mean there's not much to say really, Topuria is a BEAST seriously! He just seems better than everybody honestly, in like every phase of the game. He's technically sound everywhere and his sheer athleticism is what really stands out for me. He just seems to move differently in the cage compared to his opponents. He can be fluid and smooth one moment and then gritty and assertive the next like a flip of a switch. Just scary. He has now captured two belts in probably two of the toughest weight classes in the sport. I actually like his chances at welterweight depending on the matchup. Knowing how Ilia is a perfectionist I know he'd bulk up in a healthy way and prepare the best he can. If Islam Makhachev can capture the Welterweight title, Ilia vs Islam would be one of the most hyped fights ever. I would like to see Ilia defend his belt once at lightweight first but, man that would be cool. All in all, Ilia is probably my favorite fighter in the sport right now and I can't wait to see what's next for him!

The sport keeps moving of course and in two days, the UFC heads to Nashville for a pretty nice looking Fight Night with the legendary heavyweight Derrick Lewis fighting young up and comer Tallison Teixeira in the main event. Besides both guys being in the heavyweight division, these guys are very different fighters. Teixeira is 6'7" and 25 years old and 8-0 in his career while Lewis stands at 6'3" and is a seriously established 40 year old veteran with five times more experience than Teixeira. Normally the younger fighter has an advantage but I don't know if that rule applies here fully. The sheer contrast of these two men is truly pretty extreme. In every way these two are just so different that it's hard to predict this one. I'll go with Lewis based on pure experience and wisdom. Having the most knockouts in UFC history as Lewis does also help me choose him LOL. Either way this is actually a very intriguing fight that will be interesting to look back on.

The card offers some other intriguing fights as well.

• Jake Matthews vs Chidi Njokuani should be nice to watch.

• Veterans Max Griffin and Chris Curtis go at it which should be good! Max is a competent fighter and Chris Curtis is very underrated and is making his UFC welterweight debut, moving down from the middleweight division. I always thought Curtis was a bit undersized so this could potentially be good for him.

• Nate Landwehr vs Morgan Charriere should be a war!

• The always fun watch Calvin Kattar fights Steve Garcia.

• MMA LEGEND Stephen Thompson is still hanging around as the #12 ranked welterweight and he's set to fight the hungry unranked prospect Gabriel Bonfim. I'm curious to see how Thompson handles the young Bonfim. Similarly to the main event, these guys have a 15 year age gap! A real clash of generations, this Fight Night may be fun to look back on indeed!

Can't wait till Sarurday!

The sports world never sleeps, till next time!