Your Weekend in Combat Sports

Miguel-Berchelt-Oscar-Valdez-750x430

 

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 February 19

11:00am: 2021 OKWA Open State Championship (FloWrestling)
2:00pm: Gavin Gwynne vs. Sean McComb/Darren Tetley vs. Samuel Antwi (ESPN+)
4:30pm: B1G Wrestling: On The Mat (BigTen)
5:00pm: Berchelt vs. Valdez Weigh-Ins (ESPN2)
5:00pm: Northwestern vs. Iowa (ESPNU)
5:00pm: Michigan State vs. Michigan (BigTen)
5:00pm: Fight To Win 164 (FloGrappling)
5:30pm: Max on Boxing (ESPN2)
6:00pm: UFC Live (ESPN2)
6:00pm: JABS with Mannix & Mora (DAZN)
6:35pm: UFC Fight Night Pre-Fight Show (ESPN+)
7:00pm: Playback: Canelo vs. Kirkland (DAZN)
7:00pm: Ohio State vs. Penn State (BigTen)
7:30pm: Iowa State vs. West Virginia (ESPN+)
8:00pm: XFN 369 (UFC Fight Pass)
8:30pm: RITC OKC: Roll In The Cage 2 ($19.99 Fite.tv)
9:00pm: The Ak & Barak Show (DAZN)
9:00pm: Legacy Fighting Alliance 100 (UFC Fight Pass)

 

Saturday February 20

2:00am: Apex Sport Fest ($34.99 Fite.tv)
8:30am: Club Fights: Deccan Conquest III ($7.99 Fite.tv)
9:00am: 2021 PIAA District Finals (FloWrestling)
11:00am: 2021 OKWA Open State Championship (FloWrestling)
12:00pm: 2021 Choke$ & Check$ Open (FloGrappling)
2:00pm: David Avanesyan vs. Josh Kelly/Cesar Juarez vs. Jordan Gill (DAZN)
5:00pm: UFC Fight Night Prelims (ESPN+)
6:45pm: Top Rank on ESPN Prelims (ESPN+)
8:00pm: UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Lewis (ESPN+)
9:00pm: Adrien Broner vs. Jovanie Santiago/Dominic Breazeale vs. Otto Wallin (Showtime)
10:00pm: Miguel Berchelt vs. Oscar Valdez/Gabriel Flores Jr. vs. Jayson Velez (ESPN)
11:00pm: UFC Fight Night Post-Fight Show (ESPN+)
11:00pm: UFC Fight Night Post-Fight Press Conference (UFC Fight Pass)

 

Sunday February 21

9:00am: 2021 PIAA District Finals (FloWrestling)
2:00pm: Nebraska vs. Illinois (ESPNU)
6:00pm: Oklahoma vs. Oklahoma State (ESPNU)
9:00pm: Wisconsin vs. Iowa (BigTen)

 

Top-10 Viewing Options: A man who’s ready to watch sports yesterday attempts to continue to grin and bear watching these glorified practices and sparring sessions.

Your Weekend in Combat Sports  1. Miguel Berchelt vs. Oscar Valdez/Gabriel Flores Jr. vs. Jayson Velez: Early Fight of the Year possibility and one of the biggest fights that can be made right now.

Your Weekend in Combat Sports  2. UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Lewis: How the fuck have these two never fought before??

Your Weekend in Combat Sports  3. Adrien Broner vs. Jovanie Santiago/Dominic Breazeale vs. Otto Wallin: Broner! It’s been over two years! I…haven’t missed you at all. Anyway, deep, deep card here, legitimate five-deep with fighters like Robert Easter Jr. and Rau’shee Warren populating the undercard.

Your Weekend in Combat Sports  4. XFN 369: XFN with another edition of their one-night eight-man tournament, this time in the welterweight division.

Your Weekend in Combat Sports  5. Fight To Win 164: Vagner Rocha, Yuri Simoes, Gianni Grippo, Dante Leon, and more pepper a deep and big-named card.

Your Weekend in Combat Sports  6. David Avanesyan vs. Josh Kelly/Cesar Juarez vs. Jordan Gill: Nearly three years in the making, we’re finally getting Avanesyan-Kelly, and there’s no love lost between the two.

Your Weekend in Combat Sports  7. Northwestern vs. Iowa: The best wrestling tilt on the dockett this weekend, featuring two #1-ranked wrestlers in the country.

Your Weekend in Combat Sports  8. Legacy Fighting Alliance 100: The 100th card from the unholy alliance between Legacy Fighting Championship and Resurrection Fighting Alliance.

Your Weekend in Combat Sports  9. Gavin Gwynne vs. Sean McComb/Darren Tetley vs. Samuel Antwi: Mostly a showcase for McComb, but a few European titles on the line.

Your Weekend in Combat Sports  10. 2021 Choke$ & Check$ Open: From Atlanta, $ee grappler$ try and win ca$h in tournament$!

 

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

1. 8-Man Welterweight Tournament [XFN 369]

 

BOXING

5. Junior Welterweight Bout: Robert Easter Jr. (22-1-1) vs. Ryan Martin (24-1) [PBC on Showtime]

4. Junior Lightweight Bout: Gabriel Flores Jr. (19-0) vs. Jayson Velez (29-7-1) [Top Rank on ESPN]

3. Heavyweight Bout: Dominic Breazeale (20-2) vs. Otto Wallin (21-1) [PBC on Showtime]

2. EBU European Welterweight Championship: David Avanesyan (c) (26-3-1) vs. Josh Kelly (10-0-1) [Matchroom on DAZN]

1. WBC World Junior Lightweight Championship: Miguel Berchelt (c) (37-1) vs. Oscar Valdez (28-0) [Top Rank on ESPN]

 

MMA

5. Lightweight Bout: Drakkar Klose (11-2-1) vs. Luis Pena (8-3) [UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Lewis]

4. Heavyweight Bout: Alexey Oleynik (59-14-1) vs. Chris Daukaus (10-3) [UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Lewis]

3. Women’s Bantamweight Bout: Ketlen Vieira (11-1) vs. Yana Kunitskaya (13-5) [UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Lewis]

2. Bantamweight Bout: Eddie Wineland (24-14-1) vs. John Castañeda (17-5) [UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Lewis]

1. Heavyweight Bout: Curtis Blaydes (14-2) vs. Derrick Lewis (24-7) [UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Lewis]

 

GRAPPLING/WRESTLING

5. Black Belt No-Gi Superfight: Oliver Taza vs. Pedro Marinho [Fight To Win 164]

4. 157lb Bout: #1 Ryan Deakin (NU) vs. #5 Kaleb Young (IOWA) [Northwestern vs. Iowa]

3. Black Belt No-Gi Superfight: Dante Leon vs. Manuel Ribamar [Fight To Win 164]

2. Black Belt Superfight: Gabriel Sousa vs. Gianni Grippo [Fight To Win 164]

1. Black Belt No-Gi Superfight: Vagner Rocha vs. Yuri Simoes [Fight To Win 164]

 

Bold, Yet Probably Fruitless Predictions: A man who got to be in the black for one whole week before taking an absolute BATH. A return to normalcy!

Best Fight of the Weekend: Miguel Berchelt vs. Oscar Valdez
Most Underrated Fight of the Weekend: David Avanesyan vs. Josh Kelly
If My Life Depended on One Pick: Sean McComb over Gavin Gwynne
Best Card Top-to-Bottom: Top Rank on ESPN
Upset of the Week: Yana Kunitskaya over Ketlen Vieira
Most Disappointing Fight of the Weekend: Curtis Blaydes vs. Derrick Lewis

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