January 29th, 2025 - Philadelphia 76ers vs Sacramento Kings

https://youtu.be/MkRIz-3uF9o?si=OMoKo8gLSA9Qt9x3

This one was a nail biter! The Kings came into Philadelphia ready to play. Zack LaVine was an absolute problem for The Machine and actually earned Player of the Game honors despite his team losing.

It was definitely a hard fought win. The Machine did just enough to help his team get it done. It was an up and down performance but there will be days like this throughout his career. All that matters is that they got the victory.

The Machine finished with:

• 23 points, 1 rebound, 3 assists
• Teammate Grade: B+

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🌎My Thoughts on the Sports World Today🌎

In the real world, UFC 327 goes down in Miami tonight and it looks outstanding! Top to bottom it truly seems like it will be a good event.

Charles Radtke is always a fun watch, he'll be facing Francisco Prado in what should be a quality welterweight bout.

Kelvin Gastelum and Vicente Luque are set to fight at middleweight which should be excellent. Kelvin Gastelum should probably have retired awhile ago at this point, I respect him for the most part and hope he's getting paid well though. I am shocked that Vicente Luque never got a title shot at welterweight, he looked so promising for a long time. I really feel in my gut he's quite elite, things just never seemed to click for him. Him moving up in weight is interesting, I'm curious to see how he looks. I think Vicente gets it done.

I'm glad to see Tatiana Suarez fighting again, she's one of my favorite fighters. I thought she was championship caliber for certain, and she could be if she were to get the right matchup and improve some of her weaknesses. She's getting a bit older though now so it could be tough for her to grab gold at this point. I still feel she's elite and I look forward to seeing her compete. She's facing Loopy Godínez who is a solid fighter herself. I favor Tatiana slightly.

Kevin Holland and Randy Brown are set to fight at welterweight. Through sheer force of will, personality, success, and frequency of fighting Kevin Holland has solidified himself as a UFC legend without even really being all that close to being a champion ever. Holland fought a ridiculous five times in 2025, just an absolute workhorse, I'm not sure the UFC has seen anyone like him in that regard. He made his UFC debut (if you don't count Dana White's contender series, which I don't believe most do) at UFC 227 and now he's here at UFC 327. Randy Brown has been in the UFC for over a decade. He's very game but ultimately pretty average. I think Holland gets it done.

Patricio Pitbull and Aaron Pico are legends of the sport, but not necessarily legends of the UFC. This is an incredibly high level fight though and clever matchmaking by the UFC. I think Aaron Pico gets it done because while they are both featherweights, Pico is a lot bigger and nearly a decade younger. Pitbull may have joined the UFC a little too late.

Cub Swanson is set to fight Nate Landwehr in a crazy featherweight fight. These dudes are likely about to beat each other to a pulp. Cub Swanson is comfortably above average and has been fighting forever. He's fought everyone and is undeniably very skilled and a quality athlete. I'm shocked he's still fighting at age 42 but he hasn't looked washed or slow in his recent fights and hasn't lost consecutively since 2019. Since he's coming off a win this fact will remain intact regardless of how this fight turns out. Nate Landwehr is the definition of a brawler and always bring the energy. I'll be happy for whoever wins this one but I think Cub might be too good and gets it done!

Dominick Reyes and Johnny Walker are set to fight in a light heavyweight bout. Should be a good one, both are in the top fifteen. Not much else to say really. I do think Dominick beat Jon Jones though! I think Reyes gets the win.

Curtis Blaydes is set to fight the wild Josh Hokit in a very intriguing heavyweight contest. Curtis Blaydes seems forever the #5 heavyweight in the world. It's pretty nuts. He's never lost consecutive fights and has a 19-5 pro record which is definitely impressive. The guy is a winner. Josh Hokit on the other hand is like the polar opposite in a huge amount of ways except the fact that they're both wrestlers.

Hokit is absolutely wild, Blaydes is calm and collected. Hokit is 28, Blaydes is 35. Hokit is perhaps the smallest heavyweight in the UFC, Blaydes is overall one of the bigger heavyweights in the UFC. Hokit is a fresh, unranked fighter 8-0, Blaydes is an established name, 19-5 and #5 in the UFC.

This is super intriguing and it might be one of the first times that people have been super interested in a Blaydes fight but it's not because of Blaydes, it's because of Hokit. People are likely going to want to see Blaydes dominate and shut up Hokit, or for Hokit to win and keep his hype train alive.

You see, Josh Hokit is truly one of the most random, strange, hilarious, cringe personalities the sport has seen in awhile.

I personally am a fan overall. When a fighter really goes all in it's just fun, and if the fighter is successful the aura gained is large. Fighting is risky, may as well risk it on the mic too. I think there's something to be said there. Like if you're willing to be nuts on the mic, you're typically confident in yourself and are willing to handle that type of pressure and the bullseye it puts on your back. That's how I see it. This is entertainment at the end of the day. I think it's equally cringe when MMA fighters act like golfers or tennis players or something. Like who are we actually kidding? I respect Hokit's willingness to make a fool of himself, crash and burn. As much as he risks further embarrassment if he loses, he also could see himself gain a lot of fans if he succeeds. The clock is ticking for all of us, he's just living.

People gotta stop taking life so seriously sometimes. I'll be laughing while everyone else gets butthurt. https://youtube.com/shorts/osnpGCPgl2Y?si=DPgj_DLE05QVzlAh Src

The first reporter asks if Josh 'thinks he's connecting with the fans' bro what kind of a dumb question is that? I'm so glad Josh didn't even acknowledge such an idiotic question. I don't think Josh actually cares about 'connecting' like he's supposed to be some wholesome public figure and also, yeah I think he is connecting in his own way. Life is absurd, he's being absurd. If you don't get that, I guess you're life is great and cushiony and proper. This is so out of left field, I appreciate it. https://youtu.be/QkbROBOPJvs?si=tTCu_t6l8jtQkOIN Src

I also think that Hokit is a great, explosive athlete with relatively solid octagon IQ. I do worry about his size for the weight class but hey let's see how it goes. Curtis is a legit fighter but Hokit is like an infinitely rolling bolder with arms and legs that can wrestle. This will certainly be fun. Anything can happen. I lean towards Blaydes to win because he's just way more proven, hes certainly the safer bet. If Hokit does win it would be actually hilarious and interesting though. I think he can win but, this is a massive test.

Paulo Costa gets a chance to make a splash up a weight class as he fights the #6 ranked light heavyweight Azamat Murzakanov. Azamat is intriguing all around. He's a 5'10" light heavyweight which is not exactly common, he's just about 37 (his birthday is literally April 12th), and he's also 16-0. So he's short for the weight class, older, but also undefeated. Paulo is good but I believe Azamat gets it done.

The main event at UFC 327 is a fight for the Light Heavyweight Championship - #2 Jiří Procházka vs #3 Carlos Ulberg. Jiří is one of my favorite fighters, he has had a very interesting UFC career thus far. He won the title nearly four years ago, was then injured for a bit, struggled vs Alex Pereira for awhile as most fighters do, but has slowly re-established himself with impressive knockouts of Aleksandar Rakić, Jamahal Hill and Khalil Rountree Jr. Now he can reclaim his title tomorrow. A win for him would do wonders for his legacy.

Carlos Ulberg is a worthy opponent, but for some reason he doesn't scream elite to me. On paper I feel like Procházka is going to be Ulberg's hardest test.

I think Jiří Procházka reclaims his championship!

I can't wait for tomorrow!

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The other day there was a pretty entertaining MLB fight between the Braves and Angels!

https://youtu.be/EWLBhOt9fwk?si=bhTz1Pc42GclvoQQ Src

Jorge Soler and Reynaldo Lopez have a rather interesting history. This escalated pretty quick, both dudes actually squared up and were swinging. I keep hearing people say baseball should allow fighting like hockey. I would be cool with that! Pitchers have the ability to throw 100 mph baseballs at players, I don't find it unreasonable for a scrap to be allowed here or there within reason. It can happen in other fashions too of course, not just batter vs hitter.

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The NBA regular season is all but finished, the next time I have a post like this the NBA Playoffs will very likely be upon us! I have a feeling it will be Celtics vs Thunder in the Finals. The Pistons and Spurs are also strong contenders. The Nuggets may be a tough out. The Lakers have serious injury concerns with both Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves. There's a lot of other under the radar teams I feel as well! We will see how it all plays out soon! Should be fun!

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The sports world never sleeps, till next time!