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 May 24
12:00am: PFL Post-Fight Show (ESPN+)
4:00am: 2019 Sassari City Matteo Pellicone Memorial (FloWrestling)
5:00pm: Herring vs. Ito Weigh-Ins (ESPN+)
8:00pm: TKO 48 (UFC Fight Pass)
9:00pm: Legacy Fighting Alliance 67 (AXS)
9:00pm: Unified MMA 37 ($19.99 Fite.tv)
10:00pm: WGP 54 ($9.99 Fite.tv)
Saturday May 25
4:00am: 2019 Sassari City Matteo Pellicone Memorial (FloWrestling)
5:00am: Eternal MMA 45 ($14.99 Fite.tv)
8:00am: 2019 NHSCA National Duals (FloWrestling)
1:00pm: Polaris Pro 10 (UFC Fight Pass)
6:00pm: PBC on Fox Sports Prelims (Fox Sports 2)
6:30pm: Top Rank on ESPN Prelims (ESPN+)
7:00pm: Antonio Moran vs. Devin Haney/Anahi Esther Sanchez vs. Jessica McCaskill (DAZN)
7:00pm: PBC on Fox Sports Prelims (Fox Sports 1)
7:00pm: MMAXFC: Guns, Hoses, & Heroes ($19.99 Fite.tv)
7:30pm: Les Evenement: Fight Night 2019 ($9.99 Fite.tv)
8:00pm: Austin Trout vs. Terrell Gausha/Chordale Booker vs. Wale Omotoso (Fox Sports 1)
8:00pm: Hoosier Fight Club 39 ($17.99 Fite.tv)
10:00pm: Jamel Herring vs. Masayuki Ito/Ines Antonio Lozada Torres vs. Jose Pedraza (ESPN)
10:00pm: Cage Fury Fighting Championship 75 (UFC Fight Pass)
10:00pm: Ultimate Bare Knuckle ($14.99 Fite.tv)
10:00pm: PBC on Fox Sports 1 Post-Fight Show (Fox Sports 1)
Sunday May 26
3:00am: Pancrase 305 (UFC Fight Pass)
8:00am: 2019 NHSCA National Duals (FloWrestling)
10:00am: TATNEFT World Cup TNA Fight Quarterfinals ($3.99 EliteBoxing.tv)
8:00pm: Combat Jiu Jitsu Worlds 2 (UFC Fight Pass)
Top-10 Viewing Options: It would have been nice for one of the tons of events of last week would have been kicked to the this weekend, but alas, heavy weeks and light weeks.
1. Jamel Herring vs. Masayuki Ito/Ines Antonio Lozada Torres vs. Jose Pedraza: The only men’s world title fight in any respect this weekend highlights a lame fight weekend.
2. Antonio Moran vs. Devin Haney/Anahi Esther Sanchez vs. Jessica McCaskill: This card may not look like much, but Haney is a super-fun prospect to watch, and the only title vs. title bout of the weekend is on the line here in the co-main.
3. Austin Trout vs. Terrell Gausha/Chordale Booker vs. Wale Omotoso: An Austin Trout fight isn’t exactly must-see TV in 2019, but I have to think the winner here gets another look at a title shot, especially in the controversial loss that Trout had to Jermall Charlo by majority decision.
4. Combat Jiu Jitsu Worlds 2: I am a sucker for a tournament, and 16 men trying to submit and slap each other to a tap is the good shit.
5. Polaris Pro 10: MMA and kickboxing may have the weekend off, but grappling is stepping way the hell up in their absence. Urijah Faber and Nicky Ryan headline a usual stacked card from Polaris.
6. Pancrase 305: The original MMA promotion takes center stage this weekend, and Nazareno Malegarie vs. Isao Kobayashi might be the most interesting headlining fight of the entire weekend.
7. Legacy Fighting Alliance 67: A drought of title fights for LFA, lately, and their divisions aren’t deep enough that they can create many entertaining or worthwhile non-title bouts.
8. WGP 54: WGP never gets headlines, but it’s a consistent promotion, the best Brazilian kickboxing promotion, and all the Brazilian greats cut their teeth in it.
9. TATNEFT World Cup TNA Fight Quarterfinals: TATNEFT is a decent-enough Russian kickboxing promotion. It doesn’t star or produce many huge talents, but they run the HELL out of grand prix, regardless.
10. PFL Post-Fight Show: I don’t get to talk about PFL, because it’s always on Thursdays, but damn, do I love the former World Series of Fighting. A true regular season, and then a winner-takes-all playoff. There’s nothing like it in combat sports, and it’s a much-needed true alternative.
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. TATNEFT Cup 80kg Championship Quarterfinals: Dominic Cinal (7-0) vs. Stas Makarenko (28-8) [TATNEFT Cup 2019 Quarterfinals]
4. TATNEFT Cup 80kg Championship Quarterfinals: Gokhan Gedik (15-3) vs. Viktor Vecherin (5-1) [TATNEFT Cup 2019 Quarterfinals]
3. TATNEFT Cup 80kg Championship Quarterfinals: Aleksandr Dmitrenko (16-3) vs. Gauwenbergh Mbamba (53-8) [TATNEFT Cup 2019 Quarterfinals]
2. TATNEFT Cup 80kg Championship Quarterfinals: Nadyr Gdjiyev (9-1) vs. Tchapda Elvis Raoul (15-0) [TATNEFT Cup 2019 Quarterfinals]
1. WGP Cruiserweight Championship: Cesar Almeida (c) (39-6) vs. Ivan Galaz (58-9) [WGP 54]
BOXING
5. WBA International Heavyweight Championship: Michael Hunter (c) (16-1) vs. Fabio Maldonado (26-2) [Matchroom Boxing on DAZN]
4. Junior Middleweight Bout: Austin Trout (31-5) vs. Terrell Gausha (21-1) [Premier Boxing Champions on FS1]
3. WBA/WBC World Female Junior Welterweight Championships: Anahi Esther Sanchez (c) (19-3) vs. Jessica McCaskill (c) (6-2) [Matchroom Boxing on DAZN]
2. WBO World Junior Lightweight Championship: Masayuki Ito (c) (25-1-1) vs. Jamel Herring (19-2) [Top Rank on ESPN]
1. WBC International Lightweight Championship: Devin Haney (c) (21-0) vs. Antonio Moran (24-3) [Matchroom Boxing on DAZN]
MMA
5. Flyweight Bout: Mamoru Yamaguchi (31-12-5) vs. Toru Ogawa (10-7) [Pancrase 305]
4. TKO Heavyweight Championship: Cyril Gane (c) (2-0) vs. Roggers Souza (8-1) [TKO 48]
3. Heavyweight Bout: Daniel James (8-3-1) vs. Patrick Martin (7-4) [Legacy Fighting Alliance 67]
2. Bantamweight Bout: Jesse Arnett (15-5) vs. Josh Hill (16-3) [TKO 48]
1. Featherweight King of Pancrase Championship: Nazareno Malegarie (c) (33-5-1) vs. Isao Kobayashi (23-5-4) [Pancrase 305]
GRAPPLING/WRESTLING
5. Lightweight No-Gi Bout: Caol Uno vs. Leigh Remedios [Polaris Pro 10]
4. Middleweight No-Gi Bout: Miha Perhavec vs. Richie Martinez [Polaris Pro 10]
3. Middleweight No-Gi Bout: Craig Jones vs. Matheus Lutes [Polaris Pro 10]
2. Featherweight No-Gi Bout: Nicky Ryan vs. Urijah Faber [Polaris Pro 10]
1. EBI Bantamweight Combat Jiu-Jitsu Tournament [Combat Jiu-Jitsu Worlds 2]
Bold, Yet Probably Fruitless Predictions: A man keeping on eye on his basketball team to not piss away a 2-0 lead doesn’t have much in the way of a busy week to distract him with fights. Still, with some mismatches, maybe we can bank a few bucks.
Best Fight of the Weekend: Nazareno Malegarie vs. Isao Kobayashi
Most Underrated Fight of the Weekend: Cesar Almeida vs. Ivan Galaz
If My Life Depended on One Pick: Devin Haney over Antonio Moran
Best Card Top-to-Bottom: Polaris Pro 10
Upset of the Week: Kamil Mlodzinski over Michal Chudecki
Most Disappointing Fight of the Weekend: Austin Trout vs. Terrell Gausha
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
