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 7
12:00pm: UFC Fight Night Pre-Fight Show (ESPN+)
2:00pm: Natasha Jones vs. Terri Harper/Chris Billam-Smith vs. Nathan Thorley (DAZN)
5:30pm: UFC Live (ESPN2)
6:45pm: Bellator 243 Prelims (YouTube/DAZN)
9:00pm: Xtreme Fight Night 367 (UFC Fight Pass)
10:00pm: Bellator 243 (Paramount Network/DAZN)
10:00pm: Best of Combate Americas (AXS)
Saturday August 8
11:00am: ACA MMA 108 ($6.15 aca-mma.com)
12:00pm: Brave 38 ($14.99 Fite.tv)
3:00pm: Kerman Lejarraga vs. Tyrone Nurse/Ibon Larrinaga vs. John Carter ($14.99 Fite.tv)
6:00pm: UFC Fight Night Prelims (ESPN+)
8:00pm: Jamal James vs. Thomas Dulorme/David Morrell Jr. vs. Lennox Allen (Fox)
8:00pm: Saturday Fight Live: Mora vs. Mosely (DAZN)
8:30pm: 2020 Third Coast Grappling: Kumite V (FloGrappling)
9:00pm: UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Oleinik (ESPN+)
10:00pm: Lucas Santamaria vs. Mykal Fox/Chris Rollins vs. Vito Mielnicki Jr. (Fox Sports 1)
Sunday August 2
12:00am: UFC Fight Night Post-Fight Show (ESPN+)
12:15am: UFC Fight Night Post-Fight Press Conference (UFC Fight Pass)
Top-10 Viewing Options: A man watching his hockey team wilt like a hothouse daffodil turns to sweet, sweet embrace of an arm-triangle choke and a kick to the ear for solace.
1. Bellator 243: Gets the top spot here over the UFC’s incredibly pedestrian offering.
2. UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Oleinik: Chris Weidman’s career nosedive continues in the co-main event.
3. Xtreme Fight Night 367: XFN comes out in full-force with an eight-man heavyweight kickboxing tournament featuring some huge names in the heavyweight division: Randy Blake, Demoreo Dennis, Chris Barnett, and Maurice Jackson amongst others.
4. Jamal James vs. Thomas Dulorme/David Morrell Jr. vs. Lennox Allen: PBC returns to network TV with a ….tepid offering. They’re not big names or interesting matchups, but boxing returning to network is always a good thing.
5. Lucas Santamaria vs. Mykal Fox/Chris Rollins vs. Vito Mielnicki Jr.: Now, see, the “postlims” on FS1 are far more intriguing to me. Fox is a 6’4″ junior welterweight with a win over an Olympic gold medalist and Mielnicki Jr. is an 18 year-old fast-riser.
6. 2020 Third Coast Grappling: Kumite V: Third Coast returns with another KUMITE tournament, this time at 170lbs.
7. Natasha Jones vs. Terri Harper/Chris Billam-Smith vs. Nathan Thorley: Matchroom Fighty Camp was an absolute blast last week, and while I heavily doubt the main event will compare to the Omelet Fight of Cheeseman-Eggington, the rest of the card is damned solid.
8. ACA MMA 108: The Russian promotion delivers a decent card at a very reasonable price.
9. Saturday Fight Live: Mora vs. Mosely: My hope is that Sergio Mora is more entertaining talking than he is boxing.
10. Best of Combate Americas: They have to be down to the van rides between the hotel and arena.
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
5-4. N/A
3. 50.8kg Catchweight Bout: Nadaka Yoshinari (30-5-1) vs. Yuushin [RIZIN 22]
2. 56kg Catchweight Bout: Rui Ebata (41-4-2) vs. Seiki Ueyama (22-11-1) [RIZIN 22]
1. XFN Heavyweight Tournament [XFN 367]
BOXING
5. Welterweight Bout: Chris Rollins (3-1) vs. Vito Mielnicki Jr. (5-0) [PBC on FS1]
4. Interim WBA World Super Middleweight Championship: David Morrell (2-0) vs. Lennox Allen (22-0-1) [PBC on FOX]
3. Welterweight Bout: Lucas Santamaria (10-1-1) vs. Mykal Fox (22-1) [PBC on FS1]
2. WBC/IBO World Female Junior Lightweight Championships: Terri Harper (c) (10-0) vs. Natasha Jonas (9-1) [Matchroom Fight Camp]
1. Interim WBA World Welterweight Championship: Jamal James (26-1) vs. Thomas Dulorme (25-3-1) [PBC on FOX]
MMA
5. Bantamweight Bout: Naoki Inoue (13-2) vs. Shooto Watanabe (18-4-6) [RIZIN 22]
4. Lightweight Bout: Georgi Karakhanyan (29-10-1) vs. Myles Jury (18-5) [Bellator 243]
3. Women’s Bantamweight Bout: Julija Stoliarenko (9-3-2) vs. Yana Kunitskaya (12-5) [UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Oleinik]
2. Heavyweight Bout: Aleksei Oleinik (59-13-1) vs. Derrick Lewis (23-7) [UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Oleinik]
1. Lightweight Bout: Benson Henderson (28-8) vs. Michael Chandler (20-5) [Bellator 243]
GRAPPLING/WRESTLING
5-4: N/A
1. 170lb Tournament [Third Coast Grappling KUMITE V]
Bold, Yet Probably Fruitless Predictions: A man who’s made a profit three weeks in a row gets entirely too cocky and will absolutely take a bath this weekend!
Best Fight of the Weekend: Benson Henderson vs. Michael Chandler
Most Underrated Fight of the Weekend: XFN Heavyweight Tournament
If My Life Depended on One Pick: Mykal Fox over Lucas Santamaria
Best Card Top-to-Bottom: Bellator 243
Upset of the Week: Omari Akhmedov over Chris Weidman
Most Disappointing Fight of the Weekend: Chris Weidman vs. Omari Akhmedov
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