SI’s MMA Notes, Quotes, and Anecdotes runs every week.
Ilia Topuria is about to enter the top five of the featherweight division, an accomplishment Josh Emmett made him earn.
Topuria defeated Emmett by unanimous decision Saturday, with a scorecard (50–42, 50–44, 49–45) rarely seen at this high a level in the sport. But Emmett refused to relent, pushing forward despite and withstanding enormous pressure as Topuria controlled all five rounds.
“I was surprised by his toughness,” says Topuria.
Author: Michael
More from Albert Breer: The Bosa Brothers Invested in Themselves, and the Payoff Has Been Worth It | Takeaways: Mark Your Calendars, Commanders Fans, It’s Time to Celebrate
So Nick Bosa’s about to get really, really rich (see above), and he’s not the only one—which is where we’ll start our list of the dozen things we’ll all be talking about when I get back from my three weeks of summer vacation.
The monster, market-moving money to be committed.
The Philadelphia 76ers are at an interesting crossroads this offseason with James Harden expected to hit the free-agent market, and ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins had some strong thoughts when asked about Philadelphia’s direction on Monday’s episode of First Take.
Perkins criticized how the Sixers seem to be focused on retaining Harden and even floated a potential replacement that he believes would improve Philly’s chances of winning a championship.
“We don’t even know who the most important player to that franchise is,” Perkins said.
This dad’s got the blind side.
Gender reveals are the stupidest thing and remain the stupidest thing — but this one is actually good.
Man went STRAIGHT to pass pro pic.twitter.com/NVDYRfooLH
— B (@bwriiight) June 26, 2023
Typically I don’t like to yuck anyone’s yum, except when it comes to gender reveals. They’re contrived nonsense nobody really cares about except for immediate family — and even then it’s kinda weird to get so hyped. That said, dropping into immediate pass protection for seemingly no reason is absolutely perfect.
While Wembanyama won’t participate this year, he plans to play for France at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
While Wembanyama won’t participate this year, he plans to play for France at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
Fantasy baseball analyst Fred Zinkie breaks down some key matchups to exploit and avoid in Week 13.
The forbidden door is wide open.
That was on full display as soon as MJF defended the AEW world title against Hiroshi Tanahashi in the opening match of the joint AEW-NJPW Forbidden Door pay-per-view in Toronto on Sunday. This was a unique card, one that centered on outstanding pro wrestling and featured matchups we otherwise would never see.
The match of the night saw Kenny Omega fall against Will Ospreay, losing the IWGP United States title in the process. It was bloody, personal and dynamic, blending together athleticism and storytelling at its finest.
The Marlins play game No. 81 on Wednesday at Fenway Park—halfway through their season—and Luis Arraez still is making a realistic bid to hit .400. On the difficulty scale in today’s game, it is harder than hitting 61 home runs. It’s just not as highlight-friendly to see the Marlins second baseman carving out his hits with an average exit velocity of 91.3 mph as it was to see Aaron Judge smashing home runs at an average speed of 109.0 mph last year.
Let’s give this master craftsman his due. Here are the top 10 reasons to appreciate the wonder that is Arraez.
1.
The Flyers’ attempt to trade defenseman Tony DeAngelo back to the Hurricanes and retain some of his salary is being held up by a CBA clause, a source told ESPN.