Your Weekend in Combat Sports

spo2-pacquiao-broner-ap_2019-01-18_00-00-29

 

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 18

4:20am: IBJJF European Championships (FloGrappling)
9:00am: UFC Fight Night Weigh-Ins (ESPN+)
6:00pm: Broner vs. Pacquiao Weigh-Ins (Showtime)
6:30pm: Top Rank on ESPN Undercard (ESPN+)
7:00pm: Penn vs. Binghamton (ESPN3)
7:00pm: Kent State vs. Ohio (ESPN+)
7:00pm: Artur Akavov vs. Demetrius Andrade/Jorge Linares vs. Pablo Cesar Cano (DAZN)
7:00pm: Edinboro vs. Cleveland State (FloWrestling)
7:00pm: Michigan vs. Michigan State (FloWrestling)
7:00pm: Nebraska vs. Maryland (FloWrestling)
7:00pm: Indiana vs. Purdue (FloWrestling)
7:00pm: Minnesota vs. Illinois (FloWrestling)
8:00pm: Northwestern vs. Wisconsin (FloWrestling)
8:00pm: West Virginia vs. Oklahoma State (FloWrestling)
9:00pm: Iowa vs. Rutgers (BigTen)
9:00pm: Wyoming vs. Air Force (FloWrestling)
9:30pm: Bryant Jennings vs. Oscar Rivas/Jessie Cris Rosales vs. Shakur Stevenson (ESPN+)
10:00pm: Legacy Fighting Alliance 57 (AXS)

 

Saturday January 19

4:20am: IBJJF European Championships (FloGrappling)
6:30am: OneFC: Eternal Glory Prelims (Facebook/Twitter)
8:30am: OneFC: Eternal Glory (OneFC App)
10:00am: 2019 Escape The Rock (FloWrestling)
11:00am: Franklin and Marshall vs. Brown (ESPN+)
12:00pm: Bucknell vs. Harvard (ESPN+)
1:00pm: Oklahoma State vs. Pitt (ACC Network)
1:00pm: Cornell vs. Columbia (ESPN+)
3:00pm: Hofstra vs. The Citadel (ESPN+)
3:00pm: Classic Entertainment & Sports 54 (UFC Fight Pass)
5:00pm: Franklin and Marshall vs. Harvard (ESPN+)
5:00pm: Northern Illinois vs. The Citadel (ESPN+)
6:00pm: UFC Fight Night: Cejudo vs. Dillashaw Prelims (ESPN+)
6:00pm: Drexel vs. NC State (ACC Network)
7:00pm: Bucknell vs. Brown (ESPN+)
8:00pm: UFC Fight Night: Cejudo vs. Dillashaw Prelims (ESPN)
8:00pm: Fight To Win Pro 98 (FloGrappling)
8:00pm: V3 Fights 72 (FloCombat)
9:00pm: Adrien Broner vs. Manny Pacquiao/Nordine Oubaali vs. Rau’shee Warren ($74.99 Pay-Per-View)
10:00pm: UFC Fight Night: Cejudo vs. Dillashaw (ESPN+)

 

Sunday January 20

1:00am: UFC Fight Night Post-Fight Show (ESPN+)
4:20am: IBJJF European Championships (FloGrappling)
9:00am: 2019 Escape The Rock (FloWrestling)
1:00pm: Binghamton vs. Columbia (ESPN+)
1:00pm: Ohio vs. Virginia (ACC Network)
1:00pm: West Virginia vs. Iowa State (FloWrestling)
1:00pm: Penn State vs. Nebraska (FloWrestling)
1:00pm: Northwestern vs. Minnesota (FloWrestling)
2:00pm: Michigan vs. Purdue (FloWrestling)
3:00pm: Northern Iowa vs. Air Force (FloWrestling)
4:00pm: Army vs. Penn (ESPN+)
5:00pm: Fresno State vs. South Dakota State (FloWrestling)

 

Top-10 Viewing Options: Our first big, full, fight weekend in over a month has returned. Fights are finally back, folks. Let’s get back at it.

 

Your Weekend in Combat Sports  1. UFC Fight Night: Cejudo vs. Dillashaw: DJ should still be here…fighting over his belt. NO, I’M NOT OVER IT.

Your Weekend in Combat Sports  2. Artur Akavov vs. Demetrius Andrade/Jorge Linares vs. Pablo Cesar Cano: Pretty awesome DAZN fare from top-to-bottom. Also, Amanda Serrano gunning for her sixth weight-class world championship. Next week’s DAZN lineup looks great, too.

Your Weekend in Combat Sports  3. Adrien Broner vs. Manny Pacquiao/Nordine Oubaali vs. Rau’shee Warren: Seventy-five goddamned dollars for a shell of Pac against clown-ass Broner. This is a comfortable third place.

Your Weekend in Combat Sports  4. OneFC: Eternal Glory: First OneFC event of 2019 and poised for their biggest year to date. Sure, their numbers are a little fudged and their budget a little skewed, but Mighty Mouse, Eddie Alvarez, and the expansion of their muay thai promotion, it’s looking good.

Your Weekend in Combat Sports  5. IBJJF European Championships: One of the biggest grappling tournaments of the year, and a fantastic lineup to show for it.

Your Weekend in Combat Sports  6. Bryant Jennings vs. Oscar Rivas/Jessie Cris Rosales vs. Shakur Stevenson: Tidy little card here, and excited to see Shakur Stevenson get a co-main spot and more eyeballs.

Your Weekend in Combat Sports  7. Legacy Fighting Alliance 57: Welcome back, old friend! LFA on a Friday. The world is as it should be, again.

Your Weekend in Combat Sports  8. Fight To Win Pro 98: Jake Shields! You’re alive!

Your Weekend in Combat Sports  9. UFC Fight Night Post-Fight Show: Welp, first look at the new ESPN digs and if their studio shows will be more of the same.

Your Weekend in Combat Sports  10. Classic Entertainment & Sports 54: The longtime Rhode Island promotion and John Howard-vehicle is moving from AXS to Fight Pass, it would seem.

 

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

N/A

 

BOXING

5. Featherweight Bout: Jessie Cris Rosales (22-1-1) vs. Shakur Stevenson (9-0) [Top Rank on ESPN+]

4. Vacant WBC Silver Light Heavyweight Championship: Badou Jack (22-1-3) vs. Marcus Browne (22-0) [Showtime Pay-Per-View]

3. Vacant WBO World Junior Bantamweight Championship: Amanda Serrano (35-1-1) vs. Eva Voraberger (24-5) [Matchroom Boxing on DAZN]

2. WBO World Middleweight Championship: Demetrius Andrade (c) (26-0) vs. Artur Akavov (19-2) [Matchroom Boxing on DAZN]

1. WBA World Welterweight Championship: Manny Pacquiao (c) (60-7-2) vs. Adrien Broner (33-3-1) [Showtime Pay-Per-View]

 

MMA

5. Women’s Flyweight Bout: Ariane Lipski (11-3) vs. Joanne Calderwood (12-3) [UFC on ESPN+: Cejudo vs. Dillashaw]

4. Lightweight Bout: Alexander Hernandez (10-1) vs. Donald Cerrone (34-11) [UFC on ESPN+: Cejudo vs. Dillashaw]

3. One Fighting Championship Strawweight Championship: Joshua Pacio (c) (13-2) vs. Yosuke Saruta (18-8-3) [OneFC: Eternal Glory]

2. Flyweight Bout: Dustin Ortiz (19-7) vs. Joseph Benavidez (26-5) [UFC on ESPN+: Cejudo vs. Dillashaw]

1. UFC Flyweight Championship: Henry Cejudo (c) (13-2) vs. TJ Dillashaw (16-3) [UFC on ESPN+: Cejudo vs. Dillashaw]

 

GRAPPLING/WRESTLING

5. 185lb Masters Black Belt No-Gi Championship: Ron Keslar vs. Jake Shields [Fight To Win Pro 98]

4. Men’s Black Belt Middleweight Tournament [IBJJF European Championships]

3. Men’s Black Belt Medium Heavyweight Tournament [IBJJF European Championships]

2. Men’s Black Belt Ultra Heavyweight Tournament [IBJJF European Championships]

1. Men’s Black Belt Lightweight Tournament [IBJJF European Championships]

 

 

Bold, Yet Probably Fruitless Predictions: FELLOWS, LADIES. THIS IS THE YEAR, THE FIRST YEAR, SINCE I’VE STARTED DOING THIS FOR YEARS, THAT WE WILL TURN A PROFIT! NO MORE BETTING WITH MY HEART, ONLY MY HEAD. yes we started eleven bucks in the hole after the first week BUT NO MORE! NYET!

 

Best Fight of the Weekend: Dustin Ortiz vs. Joseph Benavidez
Most Underrated Fight of the Weekend: Alexander Hernandez vs. Donald Cerrone
If My Life Depended on One Pick: Amanda Serrano over Eva Voraberger
Best Card Top-to-Bottom: Matchroom Boxing on DAZN
Upset of the Week: Rau’shee Warren over Nordine Oubaali
Most Disappointing Fight of the Weekend: Adrien Broner vs. Manny Pacquiao

Arrow to top