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 26
6:00am: OneFC: Global Superheroes ($9.99 OneFC.com)
12:00pm: 2018 Pete Wilson Wheaton Invitational (FloWrestling)
4:00pm: Fight To Win Pro 60 (FloGrappling)
6:00pm: UFC Fight Night Weigh-Ins (Fox Sports 1/UFC Fight Pass)
7:00pm: UFC Road to the Octagon (Fox Sports 1)
7:00pm: Bellator 193 Prelims (ParamountNetwork.com)
7:00pm: Penn State vs. Minnesota (BigTen)
7:00pm: Purdue vs. North Dakota State (FloWrestling)
7:00pm: Michigan State vs. Ohio State (FloWrestling)
7:00pm: Canada vs. Poland ($9.99 Fite.tv)
9:00pm: Legacy Fighting Alliance 32 (AXS)
9:00pm: Bellator 193 (Paramount)
11:00pm: 2018 Ivan Yarigan Tournament (FloWrestling)
Saturday January 27
11:00am: 2018 Pete Wilson Wheaton Invitational (FloWrestling)
12:00pm: Mix Fight Championship 24 (FightBoxLive.com)
1:00pm: Absolute Championship Berkut 79 (FREE YouTube/Fite.tv)
2:00pm: We Love MMA 37 (FREE Fite.tv)
4:00pm: UFC Fight Night: Brunson vs. Jacare Prelims (UFC Fight Pass)
4:30pm: UFC Fight Night Pre-Fight Show (Fox Sports 1)
5:00pm: UFC Fight Night: Brunson vs. Jacare Prelims (Fox Sports 1)
6:00pm: Iowa vs. Michigan (BigTen)
6:00pm: Cage Titans 37 (FloCombat)
6:00pm: Spartyka Fight League 32 ($14.99 Fite.tv)
7:00pm: Edinboro vs. George Mason (FloWrestling)
7:00pm: 360 Fight Club 5 ($14.99 Fite.tv)
8:00pm: UFC on FOX: Brunson vs. Jacare II (Fox)
8:00pm: Oklahoma State vs. Missouri (FloWrestling)
8:00pm: Wyoming vs. Fresno State (FloWrestling)
8:30pm: Dekada Fight Night ($16.99 Fite.tv)
10:00pm: UFC Fight Night Post-Fight Show (Fox Sports 1)
10:00pm: Honor Fighting Championship 2 ($14.99 Fite.tv)
10:30pm: Lucas Matthysse vs. Tewa Kiram/Jorge Linares vs. Mercito Gesta (HBO)
11:00pm: KO Boxing on CBS Sports (CBS Sports)
11:00pm: 2018 Ivan Yarigan Tournament (FloWrestling)
Sunday January 28
2:00pm: Rutgers vs. Penn State (BigTen)
2:00pm: Minnesota vs. Northwestern (FloWrestling)
2:00pm: Illinois vs. Maryland (FloWrestling)
3:00pm: Oklahoma State vs. Iowa State (FloWrestling)
3:00pm: Nebraska vs. Indiana (FloWrestling)
Top-10 Viewing Options: A rare weekend respite from watching the Patriots benefit from some seriously inept and unprofessional officiating? Sign me up.
1. UFC on FOX: Brunson vs. Jacare II: Surprised UFC is listing this as a “II” seeing as how their first bout when in Strikeforce. Strikeforce never die!
2. Lucas Matthysse vs. Tewa Kiram/Jorge Linares vs. Mercito Gesta: Kiram is a joke of a challenger, but it’s always fun to watch Matthysse in action. Linares-Gesta is a more competitive matchup.
3. 2018 Ivan Yarigan Tournament: The rosters for this U.S. vs. Russia wrestling showcase is absolutely insane. World champions, Olympic gold medalists, NCAA champions. It’s an absolute murderer’s row and well worth your time and eyeballs.
4. Bellator 193: Definitely a letdown coming off of last week’s Forum show, but more fighting is always good.
5. Legacy Fighting Alliance 32: Decent enough card for LFA, they’re getting into a nice little rhythm.
6. OneFC: Global Superheroes: OneFC throwing championships at ya, every week now. Last week was an inaugural title, now we have an interim title. Lots of gold flying around in the far east.
7. Fight To Win Pro 60: No Bendo vs. Torres headliner, but a solid output from F2W nonetheless.
8. Absolute Championship Berkut 79: God bless you for free, often, afternoon fights, ACB, you crazy bastards.
9. Oklahoma State vs. Missouri: Two traditionally powerhouse former Big 12 rivals until Missouri’s eyes got too big for its stomach.
10. Mix Fight Championship 24: Peter Aerts fights a Turkish actor and Bob Sapp takes a dive, c’mon, you want this.
Under The Radar: A few things to keep an eye on away from the headlines.
- Right on schedule, here’s Bob Sapp taking a dive for a paycheck. This time, he’ll be gracing the Turkish fans at Mix Fight Championship 24. If you’re a glutton for punishment, you can watch it on Fightboxlive.com.
- Hidden away in the Grey Eagle Resort & Casino in Calgary, it’s former world champ Zab Judah. That’s right, Super Zab is fighting 21-13-1 Noel Mejia Rincon. If you have any interest in watching, and I can’t imagine you do, it’s an insulting $16.99 on Fite.tv.
- Also at Mix Fighting Championship, kickboxing legend Peter Aerts is fighting in a (damned) exhibition against Turkish actor Atakan Arsan. Hopefully Big Pete realizes it’s just a (damned) exhibition and we don’t have a Creed/Drago situation on our hands.
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. Light Welterweight Bout: Jan Kaffa vs. Yusuf Erdogan [Mix Fighting Championship 24]
4. Super Heavyweight Bout: Mehmet Ozer vs. Sergio Pique [Mix Fighting Championship 24]
3. Super Welterweight Bout: Arbi Emiev vs. Hasan Toy [Mix Fighting Championship 24]
2. 70kg Tournament Semifinals: Hiroki Nakajima (25-13) vs. Katsuya Jinbo (4-2-1) [Krush 84]
1. Krush 70kg Championship: Jordan Pikeur (c) (41-7-1) vs. Yutaro Yamauchi (28-17-5) [Krush 84]
BOXING
5. Cruiserweight Bout: Noel Gevor (23-1) vs. Olanrewaju Duradola (27-4)
4. Junior Welterweight Bout: Breidis Prescott (30-11) vs. Marcelino Nicolas Lopez (33-2-1) [HBO Boxing After Dark]
3. Vacant WBA World Welterweight Championship: Lucas Matthysse (38-4) vs. Tewa Kiram (38-0) [HBO Boxing After Dark]
2. WBA World Lightweight Championship: Jorge Linares (c) (43-3) vs. Mercito Gesta (31-1-2) [HBO Boxing After Dark]
1. WBC/WBO World Cruiserweight Championships: Mairis Briedis (c) (23-0) vs. Oleksandr Usyk (c) (13-0) [World Boxing Super Series]
MMA
5. 180lb Catchweight Bout: Fernando Gonzalez (27-14) vs. Lorenz Larkin (18-7) [Bellator 193]
4. Flyweight Bout: Kiyotaka Shimizu (19-13-3) vs. Yosuke Saruta (15-7-3) [Shooto]
3. Featherweight Bout: Andre Fili (17-5) vs. Dennis Bermudez (16-7) [UFC on FOX: Brunson vs. Jacare II]
2. Interim OneFC Flyweight Championship: Geje Eustaquio (9-6) vs. Kairat Akhmetov (21-1) [OneFC: Global Superheroes]
1. Middleweight Bout: Derek Brunson (18-5) vs. Ronaldo Souza (24-5) [UFC on FOX: Brunson vs. Jacare II]
GRAPPLING/WRESTLING
5. 185lb Black Belt Bout: Cassio Werneck vs. Jeff Messina [Fight To Win Pro 60]
4. 61kg Bout: Gadzhimurad Rashidov vs. Tony Ramos [2018 Ivan Yarigan Tournament]
3. 70kg Bout: Frank Molinaro vs. Magomed Kurbanaliev [2018 Ivan Yarigan Tournament]
2. 92kg Bout: Abdulrashid Sadulaev vs. Jacob Warner [2018 Ivan Yarigan Tournament]
1. 79kg Bout: Aniuar Geduev vs. Kyle Dake [2018 Ivan Yarigan Tournament]
Bold, Yet Probably Fruitless Predictions: Tidy profit last week! That’s what we refer to as an “outlier”
Best Fight of the Weekend: Derek Brunson vs. Ronaldo Souza
Most Underrated Fight of the Weekend: Aniuar Geduev vs. Kyle Dake
If My Life Depended on One Pick: Selcuk Ustabasi over Bob Sapp
Best Card Top-to-Bottom: 2018 Ivan Yarigan Tournament
Upset of the Week: George Sullivan over Niko Price
Most Disappointing Fight of the Weekend: Selcuk Ustabasi vs. Bob Sapp
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