Your Weekend in Combat Sports

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.
Movies are in AQUA.
Misc. combat sports programming is in GREEN.

Friday June 16

12:00am: UFC Tonight (Fox Sports 2)
1:00am: UFC Unleashed (Fox Sports 2)
2:00am: The Ultimate Fighter (Fox Sports 2)
3:00am: TUF Talk (Fox Sports 2)
3:00am: Cage Fury Fighting Championship 65 (CBS Sports)
3:30am: UFC Top Ten: One-Round Wars (Fox Sports 2)
4:00am: The Ultimate Fighter (Fox Sports 1)
5:00am: The Ultimate Fighter (Fox Sports 1)
5:10am: The Hurricane (The Movie Channel Xtra)
5:15am: Lethwei in Japan 4 ($9.99 Fite.tv)
10:20am: Cinderella Man (Showtime Extreme)
1:00pm: King of Kings: Summer Edition Prelims ($4.99 Fite.tv)
3:30pm: King of Kings: Summer Edition ($9.99 Fite.tv)
5:30pm: Fighter’s Cut: Tony Ferguson (Fox Sports 2)
6:00pm: UFC Tonight (Fox Sports 2)
6:30pm: 24/7 Kovalev/Ward (HBO/HBO Latino)
7:00pm: The Ultimate Fighter (Fox Sports 2)
7:30pm: TKO 39 (UFC Fight Pass)
8:00pm: UFC 205 (Fox Sports 2)
9:00pm: Cage Fury Fighting Championship 65 (CBS Sports)
9:00pm: XFN 342 (FREE Fite.tv)
10:00pm: Legacy Fighting Alliance 10 (AXS)
11:00pm: UFC Ultimate Knockouts (Fox Sports 2)
11:00pm: Lucas Matthysse vs. Mike Dallas Jr. (Showtime Extreme)

Saturday June 17

12:45am: 24/7 Kovalev/Ward (HBO2)
1:00am: Cage Fury Fighting Championship 65 (CBS Sports)
2:00am: Best of 2016 (AXS)
2:30am: UFC Fighter’s Cut: Tony Ferguson (Fox Sports 2)
3:00am: UFC Tonight (Fox Sports 2)
3:50am: Cinderella Man (Showtime Extreme)
4:00am: Glory 41 (ESPN Deportes)
4:00am: UFC Unleashed (Fox Sports 2)
5:00am: UFC Ultimate Knockouts (Fox Sports 2)
8:00am: The Hurricane (The Movie Channel)
8:00am: UFC Fight Night: Correia vs. Holm (UFC Fight Pass)
9:30am: 2017 Jazz Town Duals (FloWrestling)
10:30am: Almighty Fighting Championship 5 ($9.99 Fite.tv)
10:55am: The Fight Game With Jim Lampley (HBO2)
11:00am: Legacy Fighting Alliance 10 (AXS)
11:00am: Absolute Championship Berkut 62 (FREE Fite.tv, YouTube)
11:30am: 24/7 Kovalev/Ward (HBO2)
12:30pm: Cinderella Man (Showtime Showcase)
2:30pm: 30 For 30: Chasing Tyson (ESPN Classic)
4:00pm: Legion Combat Sports 25 (FloCombat)
4:45pm: 24/7 Kovalev/Ward (HBO/HBO Latino)
5:15pm: The Fight Game With Jim Lampley (HBO/HBO Latino)
6:00pm: Cage Titans FC 34 (FloCombat)
7:00pm: Knockout Promotions 56 (FloCombat)
7:00pm: New England Fights 29 (FloCombat)
7:00pm: Sparta Fight League XXIX ($14.99 Fite.tv)
8:30pm: Golden Boy on ESPN Prelims (ESPN3)
9:00pm: Heavy Hitters (ESPN Deportes)
9:00pm: Andre Ward vs. Sergey Kovalev II/Guillermo Rigondeaux vs. Moises Flores ($54.99 Pay-Per-View)
10:00pm: Fidel Maldonado Jr. vs. Pablo Cesar Casno/Joshua Franco vs. Oscar Mojica (ESPN Deportes/ESPN3)
10:00pm: Limberth Ponce vs. Noel Esqueda/Jose Rodriguez vs. Nico Hernandez (CBS Sports)
10:00pm: CFX 8 ($14.99 Fite.tv)

Sunday June 18

1:00am: UFC 194 (Fox Sports 2)
1:00am: Limberth Ponce vs. Noel Esqueda/Jose Rodriguez vs. Nico Hernandez (CBS Sports)
4:00am: UFC Tonight (Fox Sports 2)
4:40am: Cinderella Man (Showtime Showcase)
5:00am: UFC’s Greatest Fights: Edgar vs. Maynard II (Fox Sports 2)
5:00am: The Hurricane (The Movie Channel)
5:30am: UFC’s Greatest Fights: Aldo vs. Mendes (Fox Sports 2)
6:00am: UFC Unleashed (Fox Sports 2)
7:00am: UFC Tonight (Fox Sports 2)
8:00am: UFC 196 (Fox Sports 2)
8:20am: Max Muay Thai ($10.99 Fite.tv)
9:15am: 2017 Jazz Town Duals (FloWrestling)
1:30pm: 30 For 30: Chasing Tyson (ESPN Classic)
4:30pm: UFC Fighter’s Cut: Tony Ferguson (Fox Sports 2)
5:30pm: UFC Unleashed (Fox Sports 2)
6:30pm: UFC 202 (Fox Sports 2)
10:30pm: UFC Fighter’s Cut: Tony Ferguson (Fox Sports 1)
11:00pm: UFC Unleashed (Fox Sports 1)

Top-10 Viewing Options: A man whose hockey team somehow won the Cup of all Cups despite being without just about everyone in some form or another and being outshot and outplayed most games attempts to make sense of other nonsensical sports.

  1. Andre Ward vs. Sergey Kovalev II/Guillermo Rigondeaux vs. Moises Flores: I’m surprised they got the rematch done so quickly, and both men are to be commended, especially Ward, who has hopefully shucked his (rightfully or not) repuation as a serial-ducker.

  2. UFC Fight Night: Correia vs. Holm: Bethe should not be headlining any card anymore, even if it is in Asia at eight in the morning.

  3. Absolute Championship Berkut 62: ACB isn’t loaded, like some cards, but they usually put on a great show, and it’s always free.

  4. Fidel Maldonado Jr. vs. Pablo Cesar Casno/Joshua Franco vs. Oscar Mojica: No idea why ESPN chose to run this against Kovalev-Ward, instead of Friday, and why they chose such a mediocre card.

  5. 24/7: Kovalev vs. Ward: The last chance to check in on an incredibly-anticipated rematch between two guys who are charismatic in their own way.

  6. 30 For 30: Chasing Tyson: An absolutely fantastic documentary, and one of my favorite 30 for 30s of any sport.

  7. Limberth Ponce vs. Noel Esqueda/Jose Rodriguez vs. Nico Hernandez: CBS Sports does two things wrong, firstly, going against a boxing PPV, and secondly, trotting out a brutal card.

  8. Max Muay Thai: MAX always puts on a great show. No big names, no Buakaw, but a quality product for your morning kickfighting.

  9. Cage Fury Fighting Championship 56: No, it’s not live, but it is premiere combat sports on basic cable!

  10. Best of 2016: Ahhhh, those cherished days, before we had the utter huge disappointment of LFA.

Outside the Tube: Fighters you know or should know that won’t be appearing on your magic television box over the weekend.

• Claressa Shields [vs. Mery Rancier, June 16, Masonic Temple, Detroit, Michigan]
• Robert Helenius [vs. Ian Lewison, June 17, Kalev, Estonia]
• Edgar Sosa [vs. Julio Cesar Martinez Aguilar, June 17, Explanada Delegacion Cuauhtemoc, Mexico City, Mexico]
• Bogdan Stoica [vs. Hao Guanghua, June 16, Wu Lin Feng: China vs. Romania, Sala Olimpia, Timisoara, Romania]
• Kaew Fairtex vs. Masaaki Noiri [June 18, K-1 World 70kg Grand Prix, Saitama Super Arena, Saitama, Japan]
• Wei Rui [vs. Gunnapar Weerasakreck, June 18, K-1 World 70kg Grand Prix, Saitama Super Arena, Saitama, Japan]
• Takeru [vs. Buvaisar Paskhaev, June 18, K-1 World 70kg Grand Prix, Saitama Super Arena, Saitama, Japan]
• Sanny Dahlbeck [vs. Hironu Yu, June 18, K-1 World 70kg Grand Prix, Saitama Super Arena, Saitama, Japan]
• Jordan Pikeur [vs. Hinata, June 18, K-1 World 70kg Grand Prix, Saitama Super Arena, Saitama, Japan]
• Bethe Correia vs. Holly Holm [June 17, UFC Fight Night: Correia vs. Holm, Singapore Indoor Stadium, Kallang, Singapore]
• Andrei Arlovski vs. Marcin Tybura [June 17, UFC Fight Night: Correia vs. Holm, Singapore Indoor Stadium, Kallang, Singapore]
• Colby Covington vs. Dong-Hyun Kim [June 17, UFC Fight Night: Correia vs. Holm, Singapore Indoor Stadium, Kallang, Singapore]
• Rafael dos Anjos vs. Tarec Saffiedine [June 17, UFC Fight Night: Correia vs. Holm, Singapore Indoor Stadium, Kallang, Singapore]
• Jon Tuck vs. Takanori Gomi [June 17, UFC Fight Night: Correia vs. Holm, Singapore Indoor Stadium, Kallang, Singapore]
• Walt Harris [vs. Cyril Asker, June 17, UFC Fight Night: Correia vs. Holm, Singapore Indoor Stadium, Kallang, Singapore]
• Alex Caceres [vs. Rolando Gabriel Dy, June 17, UFC Fight Night: Correia vs. Holm, Singapore Indoor Stadium, Kallang, Singapore]
• Justin Scoggins vs. Ulka Sasaki [June 17, UFC Fight Night: Correia vs. Holm, Singapore Indoor Stadium, Kallang, Singapore]
• Li Jingliang [vs. Frank Camacho, June 17, UFC Fight Night: Correia vs. Holm, Singapore Indoor Stadium, Kallang, Singapore]
• Russell Doane [vs. Kwan Ho Kwak, June 17, UFC Fight Night: Correia vs. Holm, Singapore Indoor Stadium, Kallang, Singapore]
• Noaki Inoue [vs. Carls John de Tomas, June 17, UFC Fight Night: Correia vs. Holm, Singapore Indoor Stadium, Kallang, Singapore]
• Akop Stepanyan [vs. Felipe Cruz, June 17, Absolute Championship Berkut 62, Express Arena, Rostov, Russia]

Bold, Yet Probably Fruitless Predictions: A man who made a whopping three dollar profit last week attempts to guide you to financial success. PROFIT IS PROFIT.

Best Fight of the Weekend: Andre Ward vs. Sergey Kovalev
Most Underrated Fight of the Weekend: Gunnapar Weerasakreck vs. Wei Rui
If My Life Depended on One Pick: Claressa Shields over Mery Rancier
Best Card Top-to-Bottom: K-1 World 70kg Grand Prix
Upset of the Week: Dong-Hyun Kim over Colby Covington
Most Disappointing Fight of the Weekend: Bethe Correia vs. Holly Holm