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 July 10
12:00pm: UFC 251 Pre-Fight Show (ESPN+)
6:30pm: Fight To Win 146 (FloGrappling)
7:00pm: UFC Live: UFC 251 (ESPN2)
8:00pm: UFC 251 Countdown (ESPN2)
8:00pm: Grachan: Greatest Fights of All Time (FREE Fite.tv)
9:00pm: Legacy Fighting Alliance 84 (UFC Fight Pass)
10:00pm: Best of Combate Americas (AXS)
Saturday July 11
3:00am: Michael Whitehead vs. Steve Spark/Jeoff Peatling vs. Will Burge ($13.86 Epicentre.tv)
4:00am: Krush 114 (Abema.TV)
2:00pm: KSW 53 ($7.99 Fite.tv)
3:00pm: Polaris Pro 13 (UFC Fight Pass)
6:00pm: UFC 251 Prelims (ESPN+/UFC Fight Pass)
8:00pm: UFC 251 Prelims (ESPN)
8:00pm: Grachan: Greatest Fights of All Time: Part 2 ($4.99 Fite.tv)
8:00pm: Cleotis Pendarvis vs. Raphael Igbokwe/Danielle Perkins vs. Monika Harrison (Facebook)
9:00pm: Third Coast Grappling: KUMITE IV (FloGrappling)
10:00pm: UFC 251 ($64.99 ESPN+ Pay-Per-View)
Sunday July 12
1:15am: UFC 251 Post-Fight Press Conference (UFC Fight Pass)
1:30am: UFC 251 Post-Fight Show (ESPN+)
6:00pm: Submission Underground 16 (UFC Fight Pass)
8:00pm: XFN 29 (FloCombat)
Top-10 Viewing Options: Fighting as the sun is coming up outdoors has to be the most surreal, Mortal Kombat-esque experience a fighter can ever have. This is gonna be weird to watch.
1. UFC 251: Usman vs. Burns getting cancelled is a bummer and I hope Burns recovers well, but goddamn, you couldn’t ask for a better replacement than Jorge goddamned Gambred Masvidal.
2. Third Coast Grappling: KUMITE IV: Grappling rules the roost again this weekend, and KUMITE is the best offering of the weekend.
3. Polaris Pro 13: A tournament and a title fight, a promotion after my own heart.
4. Submission Underground 16: One of the weaker offerings from SUG, but still some damned quality names. Craig Jones is still in the conversation for best P4P BJJ player.
5. Krush 114: Abema is accessible without a VPN now to certain countries, America included, but admittedly, they have so many channels, I’m not sure which are broadcasted live or which are on-demand. So…try it?
6. Fight To Win 146: Death, taxes, and Fight To Win’s consistency.
7. Legacy Fighting Alliance 84: Happy to see LFA back up and running, it’s great for the fighters who want to punch their ticket to the bigs and gets them out of a holding pattern.
8. KSW 53: Europe’s best MMA promotion returns, as KSW is back, live from Warsaw headlined by a triolgy fight between Mateusz Gamrot and Norman Parke for the KSW lightweight title.
9. UFC 251 Post-Fight Press Conference: We’re gonna have at least one new champion, and we may have three and some wild storylines out of Fight Island.
10. Best of Combate Americas: They’re just about down to the best of pre-fight stretches these days.
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. 55kg Bout: MASAKING vs. Toki Tamaru [Rise on Abema]
4. 67kg Bout: Kento Haraguchi vs. Vitor Toffanelli [Rise on Abema]
3. 58kg Bout: Masahiko Suzuki vs. Visanlek [Rise on Abema]
2. 65kg Bout: Sho Ogawa vs. Taiju Shiratori [Rise on Abema]
1. Bantamweight Bout: Tenshin Nasukawa (36-0) vs. Yuuki Kasahara [Rise on Abema]
BOXING
5. Cruiserweight Bout: Arturs Gorlovs (7-1) vs. Ferenc Urban (7-0)
4. Women’s Cruiserweight Bout: Danielle Perkins (debut) vs. Monika Harrison (2-0-1) [Force Train Promotions on Facebook]
3. Middleweight Bout: Cleotis Pendarvis (21-5-2) vs. Raphael Igbokwe (14-2) [Force Train Promotions on Facebook]
2. WBO European Junior Middleweight Championship: Hamzah Sheerz (c) (10-0) vs. Paul Kean (12-1) [BT Sport]
1. British Commonwealth/BBBofC British Junior Featherweight Championships: Brad Foster (c) (12-0-2) vs. James Beech Jr. (12-0) [BT Sport]
MMA
5. Light Heavyweight Bout: Jiri Prochazka (26-3-1) vs. Volkan Oezdemir (17-4) [UFC 251]
4. Vacant UFC Bantamweight Championship: Jose Aldo (28-6) vs. Petr Yan (14-1) [UFC 251]
3. Women’s Strawweight Bout: Jessica Andrade (20-7) vs. Rose Namajunas (8-4) [UFC 251]
2. UFC Featherweight Championship: Alexander Volkanovski (c) (21-1) vs. Max Holloway (21-5) [UFC 251]
1. UFC Welterweight Championship: Kamaru Usman (c) (16-1) vs. Jorge Masvidal (35-13) [UFC 251]
GRAPPLING/WRESTLING
5. Superfight: Craig Jones vs. Mason Fowler [Submission Underground 16]
4. Superfight: Kevin Casey vs. Richie Martinez [Submission Underground 16]
3. Polaris Lightweight Championship: Ashley Williams (c) vs. AJ Agazarm [Polaris Pro 13]
2. Absolute Grand Prix Tournament [Polaris Pro 13]
1. Heavyweight No-Gi Tournament [Third Coast Grappling: KUMITE IV]
Bold, Yet Probably Fruitless Predictions: Are gambling debts still enforced on Fight Island? Is currency legal?
Best Fight of the Weekend: Alexander Volkanovski vs. Max Holloway
Most Underrated Fight of the Weekend: Jiri Prochazka vs. Volkan Oezdemir
If My Life Depended on One Pick: Tenshin Nasukawa over Yuuki Kasahara
Best Card Top-to-Bottom: UFC 251
Upset of the Week: Jessica Andrade over Rose Namajunas
Most Disappointing Fight of the Weekend: Jose Aldo vs. Petr Yan
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