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 February 9

8:00am: 2018 Wildwoods National Duals (FloWrestling)
11:00am: M-1 Challenge 87 Prelims (FREE Fite.tv)
11:00am: 2018 WCWA Championships (FloWrestling)
1:00pm: Girl Power 5 ($9.99 Fite.tv)
1:30pm: M-1 Challenge 87 ($7.99 Fite.tv)
7:00pm: Central Michigan vs. Eastern Michigan (ESPN3)
7:00pm: Purdue vs. Northwestern (BigTen)
7:00pm: Rutgers vs. Minnesota (FloWrestling)
7:00pm: Michigan vs. Michigan State (FloWrestling)
8:00pm: Oklahoma State vs. Edinboro (FloWrestling)
8:00pm: Wisconsin vs. Nebraska (FloWrestling)
9:00pm: UFC 221 Weigh-Ins (UFC Fight Pass/Fox Sports)
9:00pm: Top-Ranked Talent (AXS)
9:00pm: Wyoming vs. Utah Valley (FloWrestling)

 

Saturday February 10

8:00am: 2018 Wildwoods National Duals (FloWrestling)
11:00am: 2018 WCWA Championships (FloWrestling)
11:00am: Lions Sports Promotion: Boxnacht 3 ($9.99 Fite.tv)
1:00pm: Ultimate Challenge MMA 54 ($14.99 Fite.tv)
4:15pm: Driller Promotions: No Mercy VII (FloCombat)
6:30pm: UFC 221 Prelims (UFC Fight Pass)
7:00pm: Warriors Cup XXXV ($9.99 Fite.tv)
7:30pm: Premier MMA Championships 6 (FloCombat)
8:00pm: UFC 221 Prelims (Fox Sports 1)
8:00pm: Penn State vs. Iowa (BigTen)
8:00pm: Wyoming vs. Northern Colorado (FloWrestling)
8:00pm: Northern Colorado vs. Iowa State (FloWrestling)
9:00pm: Fight To Win Pro 62 (FloGrappling)
9:00pm: Air Force vs. Utah Valley (FloWrestling)
10:00pm: UFC 221 ($59.99 Pay-Per-View)

 

Sunday February 11

1:00am: UFC 221 Post-Fight Show (Fox Sports 1)
7:20am: MAX Muay Thai ($10.99 Fite.tv)
8:00am: 2018 Wildwoods National Duals (FloWrestling)
12:00pm: Northern Illinois vs. Buffalo (ESPN3)
1:00pm: Old Dominion vs. Ohio (ESPN3)
1:00pm: Indiana vs. Northwestern (FloWrestling)
2:00pm: Maryland vs. Minnesota (BigTen)
2:00pm: Illinois vs. Wisconsin (FloWrestling)
5:00pm: USA vs. Serbia World Greco Roman Dual (FloWrestling)
6:00pm: Michigan vs. Ohio State (ESPN2)

 

 

Top-10 Viewing Options: A man who’s still reveling in Bill Belichick’s misery attempts to quit enjoying the pain of others…next week, maybe.

 

Your Weekend in Combat Sports  1. UFC 221: Injuries, yet again, strike down what was to be an awesome, awesome main event, and now we have one of my least-favorite things in the world, an interim title fight.

 

Your Weekend in Combat Sports  2. Fight To Win Pro 62: Jake Shields looks to be on a lot of grappling cards in the future, and a bout against Kit Dale is a good matchup.

 

Your Weekend in Combat Sports  3. Top-Ranked Talent: AXS is running a highlight show featuring some of the best upcoming talent from CES, RFA, Titan, Lion Fight, and other promotions they air.

 

Your Weekend in Combat Sports  4. Penn State vs. Iowa: The back-to-back champions against the most traditional powerhouse in the Big Ten. MIDWEST BEEF!

 

Your Weekend in Combat Sports  5. Michigan vs. Ohio State: By god, collegiate wrestling on actual TV! Ohio State probably rolls here, but if football rivalries are enough to get wrestling on the tube, that’s ok by me.

 

Your Weekend in Combat Sports  6. 2018 WCWA Championships: The best of female collegiate wrestlers compete in their respective championships. The next Sara McMann is in here, somewhere.

 

Your Weekend in Combat Sports  7. Warriors Cup XXXV: Warriors Cup is always a solid option for muay thai, at a reasonable price point.

 

Your Weekend in Combat Sports  8. USA vs. Serbia World Greco Roman Dual: Greco-Roman wrestling, the sport of kings, some say.

 

Your Weekend in Combat Sports  9. Girl Power 5: Featuring an eight-woman muay thai tournament, pumping some much-needed fresh blood into the female muay thai and kickboxing scene.

 

Your Weekend in Combat Sports  10. 2018 Wildwoods National Duals: Wildwoods is one of the biggest wrestling tournaments in the country, and Flo is finally airing it.

 

 

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

 

  • Debuting in the UFC, the Stylebender himself, one Israel Adesanya! Folks, I can not tell you enough how goddamned fun it is to watch Adesanya work. Between boxing, MMA, and kickboxing, he’s a combined 66-6-2 with 36 KOs, including waxing everyone he’s fought in MMA. He’s going to be a superstar and he’s desperately needed.
  • Longtime UFC lightweights Tyson Griffin and Ramsey Nijem face off at Fight To Win 62. F2W is loading up with name fighters and MMA regulars for their shows more and more lately.

 

 

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. Muay Xtreme 65kg Championship: Abderrahmane Haddad vs. Saensiri J.Powerroof Phuket [Muay Xtreme]

4. 63.5kg Bout: Fabian Hundt vs. Petmorakot Wor Sangprapai [TopKing World Series]

3. 70kg Bout: Surarit Petchnonkee vs. Thoeun Theara [MAX Muay Thai]

2. Super Featherweight Bout: Kirill Smirnov vs. Sangmanee Sor Tienpo [TopKing World Series]

1. 8-Woman Tournament [Girl Fight 5]

 

BOXING

5. IBO Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship: Simon Kean (c) (12-0) vs. Alexis Santos (18-2)

4. Lightweight Bout: Anahi Esther Sanchez (17-3) vs. Ruth Stephanie Aquino (8-3)

3. Middleweight Bout: Jaime Munguia (26-0) vs. Jose Carlos Paz (21-6-1) [Berchelt vs. Awuku]

2. IBO World Junior Lightweight Championship: Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov (c) (11-0) vs. Malcolm Klassen (33-7-2)

1. WBC World Junior Lightweight Championship: Miguel Berchelt (c) (32-1) vs. Maxwell Awuku (44-3-1) [Berchelt vs. Awuku]

 

MMA

5. Flyweight Bout: Ben Nguyen (18-6) vs. Jussier Formiga (20-5) [UFC 221]

4. Heavyweight Bout: Cyril Asker (9-3) vs. Tai Tuivasa (6-0) [UFC 221]

3. Middleweight Bout: Israel Adesanya (11-0) vs. Rob Wilkinson (11-1) [UFC 221]

2. Heavyweight Bout: Curtis Blaydes (8-1) vs. Mark Hunt (13-11-1) [UFC 221]

1. Interim UFC Middleweight Championship: Luke Rockhold (16-3) vs. Yoel Romero (12-2) [UFC 221]

 

GRAPPLING/WRESTLING

5. 200lb Black Belt Bout: Newton Casemiro vs. Tanner Rice [Fight To Win Pro 62]

4. Black Belt Heavyweight Division Tournament [IBJJF Houston International Open]

3. 125lb Bout: #1 Nick Suriano (Rutgers) vs. #8 Ethan Lizak (Minnesota) [Minnesota vs. Rutgers]

2. 165lb Bout: #2 Isaiah Martinez (Illinois) vs. #5 Evan Wick (Wisconsin) [Illinois vs. Wisconsin]

1. 185lb Black Belt No-Gi Bout: Jake Shields vs. Kit Dale [Fight To Win Pro 62]

 

 

Bold, Yet Probably Fruitless Predictions: 0-4 last week. An absolute shelling that would make Dresden jealous.

 

Best Fight of the Weekend: Luke Rockhold vs. Yoel Romero
Most Underrated Fight of the Weekend: Israel Adesayana vs. Rob Wilkinson
If My Life Depended on One Pick: Miguel Roman over Aristides Perez
Best Card Top-to-Bottom: UFC 221
Upset of the Week: Jake Matthews over Li Jingliang
Most Disappointing Fight of the Weekend: Mark Hunt vs. Curtis Blaydes

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