Your Weekend in Combat Sports

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As always, programming is listed in EST
Live fights are in BOLD.
Premiere programming is in ITALICS.
MMA programming is in ORANGE.
Boxing programming is in RED.
Kickboxing/Muay Thai/Karate programming is in BLUE.
Wrestling/Jiu Jitsu/Grappling programming is in PURPLE.
Misc./Combination combat sports programming is in GREEN.

 

Friday January 12

 

5:00am: 2018 Abu Dhabi Grand Slam: Abu Dhabi (FloGrappling)
8:00am: 2018 Eastern States Wrestling Classic (FloWrestling)
7:00pm: Rutgers vs. North Carolina (FloWrestling)
7:00pm: Ohio State vs. Minnesota (FloWrestling)
8:00pm: Nebraska vs. Purdue (FloWrestling)
9:00pm: Michigan vs. Penn State (BigTen)
9:00pm: Fight To Win Pro 58 (FloGrappling)
9:00pm: Wyoming vs. Cal-State Bakersfield (FloWrestling)
10:00pm: Claressa Shields vs. Tori Nelson/Ernesto Garza III vs. Jesse Angel Hernandez (Showtime)
10:00pm: Legacy Fighting Alliance 30 (AXS)

 

 

Saturday January 13

 

2:00am: 2018 Abu Dhabi Grand Slam: Abu Dhabi (FloGrappling)
6:00am: 2018 Abu Dhabi Grand Slam: Abu Dhabi Finals (FloGrappling)
8:00am: 2018 Eastern States Wrestling Classic (FloWrestling)
10:00am: 2018 Sam Cali Battle for the Belt Invitational (FloWrestling)
12:00pm: Spartacus Fighting Championship 6 ($9.99 Fite.tv)
1:00pm: Absolute Championship Berkut 78 (FREE YouTube/Fite.tv)
2:00pm: Hard Fighting Championship 12 ($9.99 Fite.tv)
7:30pm: UFC Fight Night Weigh-Ins (Fox Sports 1)
8:00pm: Invicta Fighting Championships 27 (UFC Fight Pass)

 

 

Sunday January 14

10:00am: 2018 Sam Cali Battle for the Belt Invitational (FloWrestling)
4:00pm: Iowa vs. Oklahoma State (BigTen)
6:00pm: UFC 220 Countdown (Fox Sports 1)
6:00pm: UFC Fight Night: Choi vs. Stevens Prelims (UFC Fight Pass)
8:00pm: UFC Fight Night: Choi vs. Stevens Prelims (Fox Sports 1)
10:00pm: UFC Fight Night: Choi vs. Stevens (Fox Sports 1)

 

 

Top-10 Viewing Options: After the desolate wasteland that was the last week, I’m looking forward to getting back into a normal fight routine. Then again, the UFC having a card on a Sunday night is weird and not doing me any favors, especially when my team is planning on spectacularly shitting the bed that very afternoon.

 

Your Weekend in Combat Sports  1. UFC Fight Night: Choi vs. Stevens: The glorious return of Korean Superboy to our screens to put on crazy violence, and in Stephens, he has a willing scrapping partner.

 

Your Weekend in Combat Sports  2. Claressa Shields vs. Tori Nelson/Ernesto Garza III vs. Jesse Angel Hernandez: The best Olympic boxer in U.S. history attempts to take her next step forward towards being the most dominant female boxer on the planet.

 

Your Weekend in Combat Sports  3. Invicta Fighting Championships 27: No title fights and a pretty lacking card, unless you’re a Sarah Kaufman fan. Pannie Kianzid will try and bring a fun fight out of her.

 

Your Weekend in Combat Sports  4. Iowa vs. Oklahoma State: Two of the most traditional powers battling it out on the mat.

 

Your Weekend in Combat Sports  5. 2018 Abu Dhabi Grand Slam: Abu Dhabi: Not as loaded as the bigger UAE cards or big IBJJF cards, but a few notable names in the desert.

 

Your Weekend in Combat Sports  6. Fight To Win Pro 58: F2W makes it’s triumphant return for 2018, and judging by what they have on tap, this year could be even bigger for them.

 

Your Weekend in Combat Sports  7. Legacy Fighting Alliance 30: No title fights on this relatively weak card, but after the desolate last couple weeks, it’s kind of reassuring to have LFA back.

 

Your Weekend in Combat Sports  8. Absolute Championship Berkut 78: Not the loaded card they usually have, but god bless these crazy Russians for having their cards be live and free every time.

 

Your Weekend in Combat Sports  9. Michigan vs. Penn State: Three seperate #1 vs. #5 national bouts highlight this Big Ten matchup.

 

Your Weekend in Combat Sports  10. UFC 220 Countdown: Really any excuse to watch Ngannou’s uppercut again is a good one.

 

 

Under The Radar: A few things to keep an eye on away from the headlines.

 

  • Wrestling season is really starting to ramp up. When the snow starts pouring, so do the double-legs. Between ESPN3, BigTen network, and especially FloWrestling, you have plenty of options to see future MMA champions and Olympians.
  • It’s a real shame Invicta isn’t promoting the debut of Loma Lookboonmee more. She’s only 21 years old, has hundreds of muay thai bouts to her name, comes from a muay thai family that has run their gym for decades, and even has a Vice Sports article about her that just came out. Push Loma!
  • With the UFC’s female featherweight division starting to take shape after its disastrous start, there’s a desperate need for challengers, as Cris Cyborg’s next opponent is bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes. With that said, Felicia Spencer is 3-0 as a professional, all wins in Invicta, two by stoppages, and she looks to improve to 4-0 this Saturday. The 27-year old high school match teacher will be fastlaned with a couple more good wins.

 

 

4×5: Every week, UCS’s Luke Irwin will list his Top-5 bouts in each of the four major different combat sports that he’s looking forward to the most, regardless of any conventional criteria, merit, or logic.

 

KICKBOXING/MUAY THAI

5. Super Lightweight Bout: Anthony Recio vs. Jocelyn Branchu [La Nuit des Gladiateurs 2018]

4. Super Lightweight Bout: Hakim Ketaieb vs. Philippe Salmon [La Nuit des Gladiateurs 2018]

3. Women’s Bantamweight Bout: Amel Dehby (29-1) vs. Lizzie Largiliere [La Nuit des Gladiateurs 2018]

2. Super Lightweight Bout: Cedric Castagna (91-13) vs. Samir Mohamed [La Nuit des Gladiateurs 2018]

1. Super Lightweight Bout: Charlie Peters (36-14) vs. Eddy Nait Slimani (60-1) [La Nuit des Gladiateurs 2018]

 

BOXING

5. Junior Welterweight Bout: Shohjahon Ergashev (10-0) vs. Sonny Fredrickson (8-0) [ShoBox]

4. OPBF Junior Lightweight Championship: Carlo Magali (c) (22-9-3) vs. Masatoshi Kotani (22-2)

3. Female Middleweight Bout: Christina Hammer (22-0) vs. Lisa Noel Garland (15-9) [ShoBox]

2. Junior Featherweight Bout: Ernesto Garza III (9-2) vs. Jesse Angel Hernandez (10-1) [ShoBox]

1. IBF/WBC World Female Super Middleweight Championships: Claressa Shields (c) (4-0) vs. Tori Nelson (17-0-3) [ShoBox]

 

MMA

5. Women’s Flyweight Bout: Jessica Rose-Clark (8-4) vs. Paige VanZant (7-3) [UFC Fight Night: Choi vs. Stephens]

4. Bantamweight Bout: Guido Cannetti (7-2) vs. Kyung Ho Kang (13-7) [UFC Fight Night: Choi vs. Stephens]

3. Welterweight Bout: Emil Weber Meek (9-2) vs. Kamaru Usman (11-1) [UFC Fight Night: Choi vs. Stephens]

2. Featherweight Bout: Darren Elkins (23-5) vs. Michael Johnson (17-12) [UFC Fight Night: Choi vs. Stephens]

1. Featherweight Bout: Doo Ho Choi (14-2) vs. Jeremy Stephens (26-14) [UFC Fight Night: Choi vs. Stephens]

 

GRAPPLING/WRESTLING

5. 184lb Bout: #1 Bo Nickal (Penn State) vs. #5 Domenic Abounader (Michigan) [Michigan vs. Penn State]

4. 165lb Bout: #5 Logan Massa (Michigan) vs. #1 Vincenzo Joseph (Penn State ) [Michigan vs. Penn State]

3. 157lb Bout: #5 Alec Pantaleo (Michigan) vs. #1 Jason Nolf (Penn State) [Michigan vs. Penn State]

2. 125lb Bout: #4 Ethan Lizak (Minnesota) vs. #1 Nathan Tomasello (Ohio State) [Minnesota vs. Ohio State]

1. 170lb No-Gi Bout: Dustin Akbari vs. Vagner Rocha [Fight To Win Pro 58]

 

 

Bold, Yet Probably Fruitless Predictions: A man whose 2017 gambling debts have been erased due to a mysterious fire starts his 2018 with a clean slate!

 

Best Fight of the Weekend: Doo Ho Choi vs. Jeremy Stephens
Most Underrated Fight of the Weekend: Shohjahon Ergashev vs. Sonny Fredrickson
If My Life Depended on One Pick: Christina Hammer over Lisa Noel Garland
Best Card Top-to-Bottom: UFC Fight Night: Choi vs. Stephens
Upset of the Week: Emil Weber Meek over Kamaru Usman
Most Disappointing Fight of the Weekend: Pannie Kianzad vs. Sarah Kaufman

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