標籤: troubling

On Saturday night, the MMA world leaders return to Paramount+ for their latest mega event, UFC 328. The card inside New Jersey’s Prudential Center will feature 13 fights and a pair of championship matchups.

In the main event, middleweight king Khamzat Chimaev defends his title for the first time when he faces the challenge of former champion Sean Strickland. In the co-headlining, new UFC flyweight champion Joshua Vann takes on the challenge of top contender Tatsuro Taira.

Bookies will have a lot of bets for Saturday’s matches. But which has the best chance of a big payout? We look at six potential upsets at UFC 328 to waste your hard-earned money.

Jeremy Stephens defeats King Green

One bout that has Fight of the Night potential is the bout between MMA greybeards King Green and Jeremy Stephens. With both men turning 40 this year, they are far from their prime, and have a combined 39 losses on their cage fighting resumes. That means this fight is completely unpredictable and can go either way.

Green is a big favorite among bookmakers for good reason. Stephens has not won an MMA fight in four years, and Green is on a two-fight win streak. However, they both have a lot of fight on their chin. However, “Lil Heathen” still has reset-button power in his hands, which could be a problem for weak chins.

Green will outlast Stephens, but there is a huge risk of pressing the restart button.

Jim Miller defeated Jared Gordon

UFC 328 features a matchup of tri-state graybeards when 42-year-old Jim Miller takes on 37-year-old Jared Gordon. New York native Gordon is a solid favorite as his New Jersey opponent is trying to squeeze whatever is left out of his body as a professional athlete.

Miller’s win over Damon Jackson in 2024 shows he is still dangerous. And only eight of Gordon’s 21 wins being knockouts is another big plus for Miller’s aging chin. Although he may struggle in Round 1, hopefully Miller will ultimately use his wrestling and pull off an upset victory in front of his home state fans.

Roman Kopylov defeated Marco Tullio Silva

Roman Kopylov is a sleeper underdog to keep an eye on at UFC 328. He has lost his last two and faces a dangerous striker in Marco Tullio Silva, who had scored four consecutive KO wins before a surprise defeat in November. Also, Silva is four years younger.

However, the devil is in the details, and Kopylov’s defeat came against high-level competition in Gregory Rodriguez and Paulo Costa. The Russian is also a very skilled striker with legitimate knockout talent. Look for him to use it and get back in the win column on Saturday.

William Gomis defeated Pat Sabbatini

Talented wrestler Pat Sabbatini returns to action at UFC 328 on Saturday and is the heavy favorite against France’s William Gomis. We all know how Western European talent struggles with wrestlers and maybe that’s why the Americans are the favorites.

However, Sabbatini will turn 36 later this year, and age catches up quickly on fighters, especially in the lower weight classes. Gomis is a skilled striker and good athlete who will do enough to avoid takedowns and earn a decision victory in New Jersey.

Waldo Cortes-Acosta defeated Alexander Volkov

One of the bigger bouts at UFC 328 – in terms of relevance and sheer size – is the heavyweight bout between top contender Alexander Volkov and red-hot Dominican Waldo Cortes-Acosta. A case could be made that the winner should be next in line for a title fight if Tom Aspinall doesn’t yet have his sights set on a return in the fall.

Volkov’s height is always a big problem for his opponents and he knows how to use it well. However, Cortes-Acosta is a slight underdog as he has scored three consecutive KO wins and is a much better athlete than he looks. Volkov should win due to his length and experience, but we are seeing an upset due to “Salsa Boy’s” speed and athleticism advantages.

Sean Strickland defeated Khamzat Chimaev

All eyes will be on Saturday’s main event bout between Strickland and Chimaev at UFC 328 as they present huge tests for each other. Can the American be the first to slow down and stop Chimaev’s wrestling attack? What will he do if “Borz” can’t wrestle to victory and has to go into the deep end of the pool with the guy who has the best gas tank in the division?

What’s interesting about this matchup is that they have trained together, so Strickland has a feel for Chimaev’s strengths and techniques. This is a huge benefit for him. Don’t be surprised if the former champion loses the first three rounds, but his gas tank and output turned the tide in the second half of the fight, and he ultimately overpowered Chimaev to score a shocking TKO victory in the fifth round.

Chimaev is a big favorite and should win, but there are some unique elements to this fight that make it a worthwhile risk to bet against him.

After earning a journalism degree in 2017, Jason Burgos worked as a contributor to several sites, including MMA Sacca… More about Jason Burgos

The Golden State Warriors returned to their losing streak with a blowout loss at home to the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday evening. It was another missed game for point guard Stephen Curry, who had been dealing with a knee injury long before the All-Star break, and has seen his team sink in the standings as a result.

During the game on Saturday, the Warriors received troubling information about Curry’s condition from the point guard.

“I’m feeling better. It’s a weird thing. It’s unpredictable how it’s going to heal, but it’s been progress every day since the All-Star break. That’s all I can ask for,” Curry said during an in-game interview with ESPN, via ESPN’s Anthony Slater on Twitter.

Curry also said it would “take a while” for him to return to the court.

This is certainly not the update Warriors fans were hoping to hear as they watched their team try to pick up a win without their best player.

On Saturday, the game was over almost before it started, as Golden State trailed by 24 points early in the first half, and never made it very competitive from there.

Of course, even with Curry on the court, the Warriors are far from contenders, especially with Jimmy Butler sidelined for the rest of the year with an ACL injury. Making matters more frustrating is that big man Kristaps Porzingis, whom the team recently acquired from the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for Jonathan Kuminga and Buddy Hield, has played just one game for the Warriors as he battles a mystery illness, while Kuminga is off to a great start in Atlanta.

In any case, the Warriors will next be at home against the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday evening.

No team in the NBA this season has blown more double-digit leads in the fourth quarter than the Toronto Raptors, a trend that reared its ugly head in a 110-107 loss to the San Antonio Spurs. Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic was furious over a non-call in the first half, which came before Toronto gave up a 15-point lead in the final frame. Losing against the league’s better teams has also been a consistent trend.

According to Josh Levenberg of TSN Sports, the Raptors have lost 15 times against the NBA’s top teams.

“The Raptors are 4-15 against top-10 teams. Last night, Darko lamented the lack of focus to close out those games, but he’s going to have to wear that down,” Levenberg reported. “They were in control, up by 12 when they started the fourth without Barnes and Ingram (vs. Wembey). With that went a 7-0 run and gave up momentum. Unforced error.”

The Raptors’ lead was cut to 10 in the fourth quarter. The Spurs immediately made it a game. Devin Vassell’s 21 points led six Spurs players into double figures, including De’Aaron Fox (20 points) and Dylan Harper, who had 15 points off the bench.

Brandon Ingram (20 points) and Immanuel Quickley combined for 40 points on 15 of 34 attempts. The Spurs held the Raptors to 17 points in the final frame.

Scotty Barnes’ injury hurts Raptors’ momentum

Raptors All-Star Scottie Barnes has been hampered by a foot injury, according to reports. As fans were looking for answers after the game, as TSN’s Josh Levenberg reported, Barnes playing through pain was reportedly one of many obstacles the Raptors faced during the second half of their loss to the Spurs.

Barnes was reportedly playing “on one leg” and he was “playing through the pain”, as head coach Darko Rajakovic told TSN’s Josh Levenberg after the game.

With 23 games left in the season, the Raptors’ recent struggles are a new development as they battle for position in the Eastern Conference.

The Los Angeles Lakers reached the finish line with a mediocre record of 4-4 in an eight-game homestand after a dramatic 110-109 loss to the Orlando Magic. This came just days after a 111–89 loss to the rival Boston Celtics, dropping them to 34–23 for the season.

DeAndre Ayton, who performed with 21 points and 13 rebounds against the Magic, said something that may also be true for most fans.

“It’s a little frustrating. We’ve still got a lot of opportunities to get in as good a position as we can. It felt weird being 4-4 ​​in the homestand,” he told ESPN, according to ESPN.

“It’s a little frustrating … but we’ve got 24 games left.”
DeAndre Ayton reflected on missed opportunities at home, late defensive lapses and the team’s continued focus on momentum. pic.twitter.com/zTi1NtlcFg

– Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) 25 February 2026

The Lakers played some big teams during this time, including the Celtics, Oklahoma City Thunder, Los Angeles Clippers, and San Antonio Spurs.

“It was a tough loss and played against some very good teams. But… just get back in the lab and get ready for the next game,” Ayton concluded.

The loss against Orlando was particularly worrying. It was their first loss of the season after holding the lead for three quarters, during which they led 25–0 in the matchup.

Despite taking a 12-point lead in the second half, the Lakers’ defense collapsed as Austin Reaves scored all 18 of his points after halftime. They were torched by Paolo Banchero’s 36-point masterpiece, with Wendell Carter Jr.’s game-winning putback coming with just 6.7 seconds remaining.

In fact, Ayton proved to be a ray of hope, much like what happened with LeBron against the Celtics. The 41-year-old became the first NBA player to score over 43,000 points and tied Robert Parish for the second-most regular season games in NBA history with 1,600.

However, the Lakers lost both games, even though they were very much alive until the end against Orlando.