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 August 23
10:00am: Kovalev vs. Yarde Weigh-Ins (ESPN+)
1:00pm: 2019 IBJJF Masters World Jiu-Jitsu Championships (FloGrappling)
5:00pm: Max on Boxing (ESPN2)
7:00pm: Fury Fighting Championships 35 ($14.99 Fite.tv)
8:00pm: Titan Fighting Championship 56 (UFC Fight Pass)
8:00pm: AKA Rite of Passage 9 (FloCombat)
10:00pm: DeAndre Ware vs. Vladimir Shishkin/Abdiel Ramirez vs. Shohjahon Ergashev (Showtime)
Saturday August 24
11:00am: 2019 IBJJF Heavyweight Grand Prix (FloGrappling)
12:30pm: Anthony Yarde vs. Sergey Kovalev/Aleksei Papin vs. Ilunga Makabu (ESPN+)
1:00pm: TATNEFT World Cup Quarterfinals ($3.99 EliteBoxing.tv)
1:00pm: 2019 IBJJF Masters World Jiu-Jitsu Championships (FloGrappling)
6:00pm: Cage Titans 45 (FloCombat)
7:00pm: Dewayne Beamon vs. Juan Francisco Estrada/Darleys Perez vs. Shakhram Giyasov (DAZN)
7:00pm: Bellator 225 Prelims (Bellator.com/DAZN)
7:00pm: Honor Fighting Championship 10 ($16.99 Fite.tv)
9:00pm: Bellator 225 (Paramount Network/DAZN)
9:00pm: Fusion Fight League: Beers and Brawls 5 ($14.99 Fite.tv)
10:00pm: Connor Coyle vs. Rafael Ramon Ramirez/Fabian Lyimo vs. Santiago Dominguez (UFC Fight Pass)
10:00pm: Brandon Figueroa vs. Javier Nicolas Chacon/Aaron Herrera vs. Darwin Price (Fox Sports 1)
Sunday August 25
1:00am: Absolute Muay Thai 38 (UFC Fight Pass)
11:00am: 2019 IBJJF Heavyweight Grand Prix (Grappling)
1:00pm: 2019 IBJJF Masters World Jiu-Jitsu Championships (FloGrappling)
4:00pm: PBC Coutndown: Lara vs. Alvarez (Fox)
Top-10 Viewing Options: A rare UFC-less weekend means it’s time for boxing to (checks lineup) ….tepidly show up?
1. Anthony Yarde vs. Sergey Kovalev/Aleksei Papin vs. Ilunga Makabu: Saturday at 12:30. This will help your internal clark when college football rolls around again.
2. Dewayne Beamon vs. Juan Francisco Estrada/Darleys Perez vs. Shakhram Giyasov: Beamon is an absolutely reprehensible challenger, but Perez and Giyasov is an interesting matchup, Liam Smith is in action, and seeing Estrada in action is always a treat.
3. 2019 IBJJF Heavyweight Grand Prix: Hulk Barbosa, Cyborg, Simoes, Spriggs, Rocha, etc… Just a murderer’s row.
4. Brandon Figueroa vs. Javier Nicolas Chacon/Aaron Herrera vs. Darwin Price: Death to interim titles, but Figueroa and Chacon is a great young buck vs. grizzled vet matchup, and a solid undercard.
5. Bellator 225: Some sloppy heavyweight swingfests on deck!
6. Titan Fighting Championship 56: The ever-rare indie with not only two title fights, but a story behind one of them! A regional rivalry!
7. DeAndre Ware vs. Vladimir Shishkin/Abdiel Ramirez vs. Shohjahon Ergashev: FINALLY, a great ShoBox main event that they were supposed to be delivering. Two fantastic fighters, in a division that desperately needs blood, at 168, and the winner is going to be a contender. Even the co-main is a solid scrap.
8. Max on Boxing: I give Max some shit for his favortism and when he discusses stick and ball sports, he’s incredibly out of his element, but Max has been a rare, young, vital candle to the boxing world even through some very dark times in the sport’s history. He’s a great ambassador for the sport. Also, he’s picking Andre Ward.
9. 2019 IBJJF Masters World Jiu-Jitsu Championships: It’s not exactly the Mundials, but there are some great names peppered throughout.
10. TATNEFT World Cup Quarterfinals: TATNEFT is a quality organization, but they keep things very regional, lots and lots of Russian fighters. I wish they’d branch out a little more, but four bucks for a quality tournament fight card is a great value.
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. 52kg Catchweight Bout: Kana (13-2) vs. Mahiro (4-1-2) [K-1 World Grand Prix 2019 in Japan]
4. 60kg Bout: Kouzi (26-13) vs. Tatsuya Oiwa (17-5) [K-1 World Grand Prix 2019 in Japan]
3. 62.5kg Bout: Deniz Demirkapu (6-2) vs. Kenta Hayashi (16-5-2) [K-1 World Grand Prix 2019 in Japan]
2. 70kg Bout: Antonio Gomez (50-9-2) vs. Yasuhiro Kido (47-23-1) [K-1 World Grand Prix 2019 in Japan]
1. 67.5kg Bout: Masaaki Noiri (38-10) vs. Sami Lamiri (27-4-1) [K-1 World Grand Prix 2019 in Japan]
BOXING
5. Super Middleweight Bout: DeAndre Ware (13-1-2) vs. Vladimir Shishkin (8-0) [ShoBox]
4. Interim WBA World Junior Featherweight Championship: Brandon Figueroa (c) (19-0) vs. Javier Nicolas Chacon (29-4-1) [PBC on FOX]
3. WBC World Junior Bantamweight Championship: Juan Francisco Estrada (c) (39-3) vs. Dewayne Beamon (16-1-1) [Matchroom on DAZN]
2. WBO World Flyweight Championship: Kosei Tanaka (c) (13-0) vs. Jonathan Gonzalez (22-2-1)
1. WBO World Light Heavyweight Championship: Sergey Kovalev (c) (33-3-1) vs. Anthony Yarde (18-0) [Top Rank on ESPN]
MMA
5. Titan Fighting Championship Featherweight Championship: Jason Soares (c) (13-0) vs. Andrew Whitney (16-7) [Titan Fighting Championship 56]
4. Welterweight Bout: David Rickels (21-5) vs. Yaroslav Amosov (21-0) [Bellator 225]
3. Heavyweight Bout: Javy Ayala (11-7) vs. Vitaly Minakov (21-1) [Bellator 225]
2. Titan Fighting Championship Lightweight Championship: Martin Brown (c) (13-5) vs. Beibit Nazarov (15-4) [Titan Fighting Championship 56]
1. Heavyweight Bout: Matt Mitrione (13-6) vs. Sergei Kharitonov (28-6) [Bellator 225]
GRAPPLING/WRESTLING
5. Masters Black Belt Medium Heavyweight Division [2019 IBJJF Masters World Championships]
4. Masters Black Belt Super Heavyweight Division [2019 IBJJF Masters World Championships]
3. Masters Black Belt Heavyweight Division [2019 IBJJF Masters World Championships]
2. Masters Black Belt Ultra Heavyweight Division [2019 IBJJF Masters World Championships]
1. Heavyweight Grand Prix [2019 IBJJF Heavyweight Grand Prix]
Bold, Yet Probably Fruitless Predictions: Had to end sometime. RIP Betting Winning Steak. August 2019-August-2019
Best Fight of the Weekend: Anthony Yarde vs. Sergey Kovalev
Most Underrated Fight of the Weekend: Rudy Schaffroth vs. Tyrell Fortune
If My Life Depended on One Pick: Juan Francisco Estrada over Dewayne Beamon
Best Card Top-to-Bottom: Matchroom Boxing on DAZN
Upset of the Week: Anthony Yarde over Sergey Kovalev
Most Disappointing Fight of the Weekend: Matt Mitrione vs. Sergei Kharitonov
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