Your Weekend in Combat Sports

garcia-porter-weights (6)

 

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 March 8

6:00am: Thunderdome 29 ($14.99 Fite.tv)
6:30am: OneFC: Reign of Valor Prelims (Facebook/Twitter)
8:30am: OneFC: Reign of Valor (OneFC App)
11:00am: 2019 EIWA Championships (FloWrestling)
1:15pm: Daniele Scardina vs. Henri Kekalainen/Erika Cruz Hernandez vs. Vissia Trovato (DAZN)
2:45pm: Joe Mullender vs. Liam Williams/Daniel Dubois vs. Razvan Cojanu (ESPN+)
3:00pm: MAC Wrestling Championships (ESPN+)
4:30pm: Porter vs. Ugas Weigh-Ins (Fox Sports 2)
5:00pm: Max on Boxing (ESPN2)
6:00pm: UFC Fight Night Pre-Fight Show (ESPN+)
8:00pm: Toughman Is Back: Spring 2019 ($14.99 Fite.tv)
9:00pm: MAMBA Fight Night 6 ($14.99 Fite.tv)
9:30pm: PBC Countdown: Porter vs. Ugas (Fox Sports 1)
10:00pm: Combate Americas: Mexico vs. Spain (DAZN)
10:00pm: Prestige Fighting Championship 11 ($14.99 Fite.tv)

 

Saturday March 9

5:00am: 2019 Abu Dhabi Grand Slam London (FloGrappling)
8:00am: 2019 New Jersey Scholastic State Championship (FloWrestling)
8:30am: 2019 WOW National Youth Duals (FloWrestling)
8:30am: 2019 Youth New England Championships (FloWrestling)
10:00am: 2019 EIWA Championships (FloWrestling)
10:00am: 2019 EWL Championships (FloWrestling)
11:00am: ACC Wrestling Championships (ACC Network)
11:00am: Glory 64 Prelims (UFC Fight Pass)
11:00am: Big Ten Wrestling Championships (FloWrestling)
12:00pm: Big 12 Wrestling Championships (FloWrestling)
1:00pm: MAC Wrestling Championships (ESPN+)
1:00pm: Glory 64 Superfight Series (UFC Fight Pass)
2:00pm: Gala Full Contact 4 ($9.99 Fite.tv)
2:30pm: Cage Warriors 103 (UFC Fight Pass)
3:00pm: Glory 64 (UFC Fight Pass)
6:00pm: Fight To Win Pro 104 (FloGrappling)
6:00pm: Big 12 Wrestling Championships (FloWrestling)
6:30pm: UFC Fight Night: dos Santos vs. Lewis Prelims (ESPN+)
6:30pm: Premier Boxing Champions Prelims (Fox Sports 1)
7:00pm: Big Ten Wrestling Championships (FloWrestling)
8:00pm: Shawn Porter vs. Yordenis Ugas/Abel Ramos vs. Francisco Santana (Fox)
8:00pm: Elite Grappling Championships 3 (FloGrappling)
8:00pm: Toughman Is Back: Spring 2019 ($14.99 Fite.tv)
9:00pm: Dmitry Bivol vs. Joe Smith Jr./Maurice Hooker vs. Mikkel LesPierre (DAZN)
10:00pm: UFC Fight Night: dos Santos vs. Lewis (ESPN+)
10:00pm: Premier Boxing Champions Post-Fight Show (Fox Sports 1)
10:30pm: PBC Countdown: Garcia vs. Spence Jr. (Fox Sports 1)

 

Sunday March 10

3:00am: RISE World Series 2019: First Round ($16.99 Fite.tv)
5:00am: 2019 Abu Dhabi Grand Slam London (FloGrappling)
8:30am: 2019 Youth New England Championships (FloWrestling)
9:00am: 2019 WOW National Youth Duals (FloWrestling)
11:00am: 2019 Abu Dhabi King of Mats (FloGrappling)
12:00am: Absolute Muay Thai (UFC Fight Pass)
8:00am: Absolute Muay Thai (UFC Fight Pass)
1:00pm: Big Ten Wrestling Championships (FloWrestling)
1:00pm: Big 12 Wrestling Championships (FloWrestling)
1:30pm: PBC Fight Camp: Spence vs. Garcia (Fox)
4:00pm: Big Ten Wrestling Championships (BigTen/FloWrestling)
8:00pm: Big 12 Wrestling Championships (FloWrestling)

 

Top-10 Viewing Options: A man who gets WAY too into the NFL combine attempts to watch something less dorky so my family will start talking to me again.

 

Your Weekend in Combat Sports 1. Dmitry Bivol vs. Joe Smith Jr./Maurice Hooker vs. Mikkel LesPierre: Two legit world title fights, and a fun challenger in Joe Smith. A very solid offering from the home of Canelo.

Your Weekend in Combat Sports 2. UFC Fight Night: dos Santos vs. Lewis: Did you know that Curtis Millender and Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos have won a combined nine in a row in the UFC? Shut up, no you didn’t.

Your Weekend in Combat Sports 3. Glory 64: A chance for Cedric Doumbe to win back the welterweight title and a budding rivalry against Tiffany Van Soest and Anissa Meksen. Great card.

Your Weekend in Combat Sports 4. Shawn Porter vs. Yordenis Ugas/Abel Ramos vs. Francisco Santana: Network TV championship boxing. As a traditionalist and historian and a purist, I love to see this.

Your Weekend in Combat Sports 5. NCAA Conference Wrestling Championships: Mushed all the different conferences into one category here. The major conferences all doing battle to send their best to PPG Paints arena this year, home of the 5-time Stanley Cup champions Pittsburgh Penguins.

Your Weekend in Combat Sports 6. OneFC: Reign of Valor: Not the loaded huge names that One usually brings, but a good welterweight title fight and their consistency is fantastic.

Your Weekend in Combat Sports 7. Fight To Win Pro 104: F2W bringing the big guns in the Lone Star state. Four amazing fights that could headline any grappling card are jam-packed at the top. I’m especially excited for Talita Nogueira and Natheily Jesus, two of maybe the top 3 or 4 female BJJ players in the world clashing here.

Your Weekend in Combat Sports 8. Joe Mullender vs. Liam Williams/Daniel Dubois vs. Razvan Cojanu: Solid card from the UK and will kick off a huge weekend of boxing.

Your Weekend in Combat Sports 9. PBC Countdown: Garcia vs. Spence Jr.: Onward and upward! Our first preview of this absolutely monster fight.

Your Weekend in Combat Sports 10. Cage Warriors 103: Alex Lohore and Nicolas Dalby are a pretty great headliner of guys that could fit back into a big promotion. Lohore is due, and Dalby might earn another shot after this.

 

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 Heavyweight Super Series Kickboxing Bout: Andrei Stoica (49-11) vs. Tarik Khbabez (44-5-1) [OneFC: Reign of Valor]

4. 59kg Catchweight Bout: Takeru (36-1) vs. Yodkitsada Yuthachonburi (108-38-4) [K’Festa 2]

3. Welterweight Bout: Alim Nabiev (48-7-1) vs. Murthel Groenhart (67-23-3) [Glory 64]

2. Glory Women’s Super Bantamweight Championship: Anissa Meksen (c) (97-4) vs. Tiffany van Soest (21-5-2) [Glory 64]

1. Glory Welterweight Championship: Harut Grigorian (c) (59-11) vs. Cedric Doumbe (70-7-1) [Glory 64]

 

BOXING

5. WBC World Female Lightweight Championship: Define Persoon (c) (42-1) vs. Melissa St. Vil (11-3-4)

4. Light Heavyweight Bout: Callum Johnson (17-1) vs. Sean Monaghan (29-2) [Matchroom Boxing on DAZN]

3. WBO World Junior Welterweight Championship: Maurice Hooker (c) (25-0-3) vs. Mikkel LesPierre (21-0-1) [Matchroom Boxing on DAZN]

2. WBC World Welterweight Championship: Shawn Porter (c) (29-2-1) vs. Yordenis Ugas (23-3) [Premier Boxing Champions on FOX]

1. WBA World Light Heavyweight Championship: Dmitry Bivol (c) (15-0) vs. Joe Smith Jr. (24-2) [Matchroom Boxing on DAZN]

 

MMA

5. OneFC Welterweight Championship: Zebaztian Kadestam (c) (11-4) vs. Georgy Kichigin (20-5) [OneFC: Reign of Valor]

4. Interim Cage Warriors Welterweight Championship: Alex Lohore (17-3) vs. Nicolas Dalby (16-3-1) [Cage Warriors 103]

3. Heavyweight Bout: Ben Rothwell (36-10) vs. Blagoi Ivanov (16-2) [UFC Fight Night: dos Santos vs. Lewis]

2. Welterweight Bout: Curtis Millender (17-3) vs. Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos (20-5) [UFC Fight Night: dos Santos vs. Lewis]

1. Heavyweight Bout: Derrick Lewis (21-6) vs. Junior dos Santos (20-5) [UFC Fight Night: dos Santos vs. Lewis]

 

GRAPPLING/WRESTLING

5. 180lb Black Belt Judo Bout: Erik Kirkegaard vs. Ryan Reser [Fight To Win Pro 104]

4. Fight To Win Female Black Belt Welterweight Championship: Nathiely Karoline de Jesus vs. Talita Nogueira [Fight To Win Pro 104]

3. 210lb Black Belt No-Gi Bout: Rafael Lovato Jr. vs. Yuri Simoes [Fight To Win Pro 104]

2. Lightweight Tournament [2019 Abu Dhabi King of Mats]

1. NCAA Conference Tournaments

 

Bold, Yet Probably Fruitless Predictions: A man who went from losing sixty bucks to six bucks applauds his weak effort with a watered-down beer and a limp handjob.

 

Best Fight of the Weekend: Dmitry Bivol vs. Joe Smith Jr.
Most Underrated Fight of the Weekend: Alex Lohore vs. Nicolas Dalby
If My Life Depended on One Pick: Maurice Hooker vs. Mikkel LesPierre
Best Card Top-to-Bottom: K’Festa 2
Upset of the Week: Derrick Lewis over Junior dos Santos
Most Disappointing Fight of the Weekend: Derrick Lewis vs. Junior dos Santos

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