Your Weekend in Combat Sports

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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 13

8:00am: Matchroom Fight Camp Weigh-Ins (DAZN)
8:30am: ONE: Battleground II (B/R Live)
9:30am: The DAZN Boxing Show Live From Fight Camp (DAZN)
2:00pm: Golden Boy on DAZN Weigh-Ins (DAZN)
2:00pm: Legacy Boxing Series 1: Trout vs. Davila ($19.99 Fite.tv)
5:30pm: PFL 7 Prelims (ESPN+)
7:00pm: Bellator 264 Prelims (YouTube)
8:00pm: Ultimate Warrior Challenge 28 (UFC Fight Pass)
9:00pm: PFL 7 (ESPN+/ESPN2)
9:00pm: Bellator 264 (Showtime)
11:30pm: Max on Boxing (ESPN2)
11:35pm: PFL Post-Fight Press Conference (ESPN+)

 

Saturday August 14

2:00pm: Joshua Buatsi vs. Ricards Bolotniks/Michael McKinson vs. Przemyslaw Runowski (DAZN)
2:00pm: Bare Knuckle Boxing 21 ($16.99 Fite.tv)
5:00pm: Murphy’s Boxing: Foster vs. Minda (UFC Fight Pass)
6:00pm: Top Rank on ESPN Prelims (ESPN+)
6:00pm: GCMMA 11: Davis vs. Huber ($19.99 Fite.tv)
6:00pm: Dead Serious MMA 39 ($14.99 Fite.tv)
8:00pm: Cage Fury Fighting Championship 99 (UFC Fight Pass)
8:00pm: Fight To Win 181 (FloGrappling)
9:00pm: XFN Kickboxing 373 (UFC Fight Pass)
9:00pm: Dynasty Combat Sports: Summer Cage War ($19.99 Fite.tv)
10:00pm: Andrew Maloney vs. Joshua Franco III/Antonio Moran vs. Arnold Barboza Jr. (ESPN)
10:00pm: Guillermo Rigondeaux vs. John Riel Casimero/Emmanuel Rodriguez vs. Gary Antonio Russell (Showtime)
10:15pm: Unified MMA 40 (UFC Fight Pass)

 

Sunday August 8

6:00pm: Submission Underground 26 (UFC Fight Pass)

 

Top-10 Viewing Options: Boxing absolutely takes advantage of a UFC-free weekend and absolutely smashes you over the head. PBC, Top Rank, and Golden Boy all breaking out major cards.

 

Your Weekend in Combat Sports  1. Andrew Maloney vs. Joshua Franco III/Antonio Moran vs. Arnold Barboza Jr.: Maloney and Franco clash for the third time to possibly put an end on the year-long feud.

Your Weekend in Combat Sports  2. Guillermo Rigondeaux vs. John Riel Casimero/Emmanuel Rodriguez vs. Gary Antonio Russell: It’s Rigondeaux, so you’re mileage may vary, but for the life of me, I don’t know why PBC don’t put these monster cards on FOX.

Your Weekend in Combat Sports  3. Joshua Buatsi vs. Ricards Bolotniks/Michael McKinson vs. Przemyslaw Runowski: Not top-heavy, but an extremely deep card from the folks at Golden Boy.

Your Weekend in Combat Sports  4. Bellator 264: A one-fight card, and not a great one at that.

Your Weekend in Combat Sports  5. PFL 7: The PFL playoffs kick off, with the welterweights and lightweights taking center stage.

Your Weekend in Combat Sports  6. Submission Underground 26: No title fights, but a tag team main event from Uncle Chael.

Your Weekend in Combat Sports  7. XFN Kickboxing 373: Your best kickboxing choice of the weekend, featuring a pretty loaded heavyweight tournament.

Your Weekend in Combat Sports  8. ONE: Battleground II: A rare all-MMA card Friday morning from ONE.

Your Weekend in Combat Sports  9. Legacy Boxing Series 1: Trout vs. Davila: Well, if you’re an Austin Trout diehard, that’ll be twenty bucks.

Your Weekend in Combat Sports  10. Bare Knuckle Boxing 21: If you need your bare-knuckle fix, BKB is your B-league option.

 

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. Lightweight Bout: Jimi Natividad vs. Joshua Anderson [XFN Kickboxing 373]

4. 4-Man 75kg Tournament [Superfightseries Championship]

3. Welterweight Bout: Jaziro Boye (7-2) vs. Peter Stanonik (11-0) [XFN Kickboxing 373]

2. Featherweight Bout: Alfred Walker (14-2) vs. Matt Probin (10-3) [XFN Kickboxing 373]

1. 4-Man Heavyweight Tournament [XFN Kickboxing 373]

 

BOXING

5. WBA International Light Heavyweight Championship: Joshua Buatsi (c) (14-0) vs. Ricards Bolotniks (18-5-1) [Matchroom Fight Camp]

4. Interim WBA World Bantamweight Championship: Emmanuel Rodriguez (19-2) vs. Gary Antonio Russell (18-0) [PBC on Showtime]

3. WBO World Bantamweight Championship: John Riel Casimero (c) (30-4) vs. Guillermo Rigondeaux (20-1) [PBC on Showtime]

2. WBO International Welterweight Championship: Vergil Ortiz Jr. (c) (17-0) vs. Egidijus Kavaliauskas (22-1-1) [Golden Boy on DAZN]

1. WBA Regular World Junior Bantamweight Championship: Joshua Franco (c) (17-1-2) vs. Andrew Maloney (21-1) [Top Rank on ESPN]

 

MMA

5. Welterweight Playoff Bout: Gleison Tibau (36-15) vs. Curtis Millender (18-8) [PFL 7]

4. Lightweight Playoff Bout: Clay Collard (20-8) vs. Raush Manfio (13-3) [PFL 7]

3. Welterweight Bout: Andrey Koreshkov (23-4) vs. Sabah Homasi (15-9) [Bellator 264]

2. Bellator Middleweight Championship: Gegard Mousasi (c) (47-7-2) vs. John Salter (18-4) [Bellator 264]

1. Welterweight Playoff Bout: Ray Cooper (22-7-1) vs. Rory MacDonald (22-7-1) [PFL 7]

 

GRAPPLING/WRESTLING

5. Superfight: Ighor Horta vs. Zack Schneider [Submission Underground 26]

4. Superfight: Andy Varela vs. Kevin Casey [Submission Underground 26]

3. Superfight: Gillian Robertson vs. Katlyn Chookagian [Submission Underground 26]

2. Superfight: Daniel Marques vs. Gabriel Checco [Submission Underground 26]

1. Tag Team Grappling Bout: Gracie Barra vs. Mat Mafia [Submission Underground 26]

 

Bold, Yet Probably Fruitless Predictions: After I put SO much time and effort in defending Angela Hill, she puts on that turd of fight. So it goes.

Best Fight of the Weekend: Vergil Ortiz Jr. vs. Egidijus Kavaliauskas
Most Underrated Fight of the Weekend: Andrey Koreshkov vs. Sabah Homasi
If My Life Depended on One Pick: Michael McKinson vs. Przemyslaw Runowski
Best Card Top-to-Bottom: Golden Boy on DAZN
Upset of the Week: Ray Cooper over Rory MacDonald
Most Disappointing Fight of the Weekend: Ray Cooper vs. Rory MacDonald

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