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 May 11
6:00am: Thunderdome 25 ($14.99 Fite.tv)
11:30am: 2018 Women’s National Wrestling Championships (FloWrestling)
4:45pm: Top Rank Boxing on ESPN In Studio (ESPN+)
5:00pm: Linares vs. Lomachenko Weigh-Ins (ESPN2)
6:00pm: Shamrock Fighting Championships 305 (FloCombat)
6:00pm: 2018 Women’s National Wrestling Championships (FloWrestling)
7:00pm: UFC 224 Weigh-Ins (Fox Sports 2)
7:00pm: Fight To Win Pro 74 (FloGrappling)
9:00pm: Ishe Smith vs. Tony Harrison/Cameron Krael vs. Erick Bone (Bounce TV)
9:00pm: Unified MMA 33 ($19.99 Fite.tv)
10:00pm: Devin Haney vs. Mason Menard/Glenn Dezurn vs. Joshua Greer Jr. (Showtime)
Saturday May 12
3:00am: Chin Woo Men Semifinals (FREE Fite.tv)
4:00am: Road Fighting Championship 47 Prelims (YouTube)
6:30am: M-1 Challenge 91 Prelims (FREE Fite.tv)
7:00am: Road Fighting Championship 47 (YouTube)
9:30am: OneFC: Grit & Glory (YouTube)
9:30am: M-1 Challenge 91 ($7.99 Fite.tv)
10:00am: 2018 Women’s National Wrestling Championships (FloWrestling)
11:30am: Glory 53 Prelims (YouTube)
12:00pm: FightArena 4 ($9.99 Fite.tv)
1:00pm: Glory 53 Superfight Series (UFC Fight Pass)
1:00pm: Ultimate Challenge MMA 55 ($14.99 Fite.tv)
2:00pm: Mix Fight 36 ($9.99 Fite.tv)
2:00pm: Hard Fighting Championship 14 ($9.99 Fite.tv)
2:30pm: Partouche Kickboxing Tour ($9.99 Fite.tv)
2:30pm: Enfusion Live 67 ($9.99 Fite.tv)
3:30pm: Glory 53 (ESPNEWS)
4:00pm: 2018 Women’s National Wrestling Championships (FloWrestling)
4:30pm: Top Rank on ESPN Prelims (ESPN+)
4:30pm: BAMMA 35 ($14.99 Fite.tv)
6:15pm: UFC 224 Prelims (UFC Fight Pass)
7:00pm: Night of Champions: Pre-Fight Show (ESPN Deportes)
7:00pm: Bellator 199 Prelims (ParamountNetwork.com)
7:00pm: Warriors Cup XXXVI ($9.99 Fite.tv)
8:00pm: Jorge Linares vs. Vasyl Lomachenko/Ibon Larrinaga vs. Michael Conlan (ESPN)
8:00pm: UFC 224 Prelims (FX)
8:00pm: Pyramid Fight 7 ($14.99 Fite.tv)
9:00pm: Bellator 199 (Paramount Network)
10:00pm: Jaime Munguia vs. Sadam Ali/Azat Hovhannisyan vs. Rey Vargas (HBO)
10:00pm: UFC 224 ($59.99 Pay-Per-View)
Sunday May 13
1:00am: UFC 224 Post-Fight Show (Fox Sports 1)
2:40am: Kunlun Fight 74 ($5.99 Fite.tv)
7:20am: MAX Muay Thai (YouTube)
11:00am: 2018 Women’s National Wrestling Championships (FloWrestling)
Top-10 Viewing Options: At long last, a return to PPV for the UFC, but an absolutely loaded weekend from all things combat overshadows it.
1. Jorge Linares vs. Vasyl Lomachenko/Ibon Larrinaga vs. Michael Conlan: An absolutely bonkers fight between two of the best in the world FOR FREE?! I just wish the undercard was a little better, but Top Rank is pushing Conlan.
2. UFC 224: Not sure Nunes-Pennington is headline material, much as I enjoy both. They needed some support and the card doesn’t have much. UFC is still trying to push Ronda transitive properties as strategy.
3. Glory 53: Yikes, ESPNEWS on an afternoon isn’t exactly prime-viewing for Glory, and the re-air at 4am doesn’t do them any favors, either. Shame because it’s a fantastic card. Gotta think they would’ve been happier with a tape delay on ESPN2 Saturday night. Shame, because this is probably the best card of the weekend.
4. Jaime Munguia vs. Sadam Ali/Azat Hovhannisyan vs. Rey Vargas: Ali had a career-making performance in his last bout, retiring Miguel Cotto. Let’s see what he can do now that the spotlight is on him.
5. Bellator 199: The card has names, but the matchups are horrible and not viewer-friendly whatsoever.
6. Devin Haney vs. Mason Menard/Glenn Dezurn vs. Joshua Greer Jr.: Fairly standard ShoBox fare. The most interesting fight on the card might be a a women’s junior bantamweight bout between Tyrieshia Douglas and Helen Joseph.
7. Ishe Smith vs. Tony Harrison/Cameron Krael vs. Erick Bone: Break out the antennas, it’s Bounce TV time! The cruiserweight bout between Andrew Tabiti and Lateef Kayode should be interesting.
8. OneFC: Grit & Glory: Decent offering from OneFC, and Silva-Naito II is a nice headliner, just wish they’d decide on a streaming platform and stick with it, even if it’s a pay-mode.
9. Road Fighting Championship 47: Road bringing the strangeness this weekend like only an Openweight tournament can.
10. 2018 Women’s National Wrestling Championships: Some future Olympians, grapplers, and fighters here. Support women’s wrestling.
Under The Radar: A few things to keep an eye on away from the headlines.
- The entire RoadFC 47 card is bananas, because that’s the thunder you call down when you host an Openweight tournament. Gilbert Yvel, Kazuyuki Fujita, Oli Thompson, Aori Gele, Chris Barnett, and so forth. But the most interesting/strange matchup just might be…
- Gabi Garcia taking on fellow giantess Veronika Futina, who checks in at 5’11” 202. The Russian has called Garcia’s boxing ability “childlike” and the two have gone back and for months now. Futina seems absolutely unscared of Garcia, which is very rare for her opponents.
- In a very underrated bout, UFC four-fight win streak’s Caio Magalhaes takes on Bellator and M-1 mainstay Mikhail Zayats at M-1 Challenge 91. Light Heavyweight is the most lacking division in MMA today and those two would be a prize in a big league fed. Magalhaes shouldn’t have been cut in the first place.
- One of the best P4P kickboxers in the world is at work this weekend. Middleweight Artur Kyshenko is taking on journeyman Timor Aylyarov at a, frankly disappointing, Kunlun Fight 74. Alas, getting to see one of the best ply his trade is a treat.
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. Featherweight Contender Tournament Semfinal: Azize Hlali (99-16-1) vs. Serhiy Adamchuk (35-9) [Glory 53]
4. Heavyweight Bout: Jahfarr Wilnis (30-9-1) vs. Jamal Ben Saddik (32-7) [Glory 53]
3. Glory Women’s Super Bantamweight Championship: Anissa Meksen (c) (95-4) vs. Amel Dehby (29-1) [Glory 53]
2. Glory Lightweight Championship: Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong (c) (119-30-5) vs. Tyjani Beztati (16-2) [Glory 53]
1. Welterweight Bout: Cedric Doumbe (67-7-1) vs. Thongchai Sitsongpeenong (137-36) [Glory 53]
BOXING
5. Vacant USBA Lightweight Championship: Devin Haney (18-0) vs. Mason Menard (33-2) [ShoBox]
4. BBBofC British Heavyweight Championship: Sam Sexton (c) (24-3) vs. Hughie Fury (20-1) [UK Channel Five Boxing]
3. WBC World Junior Featherweight Championship: Rey Vargas (c) (31-0) vs. Azat Hovhannisyan (14-2) [HBO Championship Boxing]
2. WBO World Junior Middleweight Championship: Sadam Ali (c) (26-1) vs. Jaime Munguia (28-0) [HBO Championship Boxing]
1. WBA World Lightweight Championship: Jorge Linares (c) (44-3) vs. Vasyl Lomachenko (10-1) [Top Rank on ESPN]
MMA
5. Women’s Strawweight Bout: Amanda Cooper (3-3) vs. Mackenzie Dern (6-0) [UFC 224]
4. Bellator Heavyweight World Grand Prix Tournament Quarterfinals: Muhammed Lawal (21-6) vs. Ryan Bader (24-5) [Bellator 199]
3. OneFC Strawweight Championship: Alex Silva (c) vs. Yoshitaka Naito [OneFC: Grit and Glory]
2. Middleweight Bout: Kelvin Gastelum (14-3) vs. Ronaldo Souza (25-5) [UFC 224]
1. Bantamweight Bout: Brian Kelleher (19-8) vs. John Lineker (30-8) [UFC 224]
GRAPPLING/WRESTLING
5. IBJJF Black Belt Light Featherweight Division Tournament [IBJJF Miami Spring International Open]
4. IBJJF Black Belt Middleweight Division Tournament [IBJJF Paris Spring International Open]
3. 170lb Black Belt No-Gi Bout: John Combs vs. Rajacic Aleksandar [Fight To Win Pro 74]
2. 160lb Black Belt No-Gi Bout: Conor Heun vs. Nick Marr [Fight To Win Pro 74]
1. Black Belt Heavyweight No-Gi Bout: Eliot Marshall vs. Stephen Hall [Fight To Win Pro 74]
Bold, Yet Probably Fruitless Predictions: A man who thought Vanes Martirosyan had a puncher’s chance against GGG attempts to tell you what to do with your money. You should hate me more than my family does. Good luck with that.
Best Fight of the Weekend: Jorge Linares vs. Vasyl Lomachenko
Most Underrated Fight of the Weekend: Brian Kelleher vs. John Lineker
If My Life Depended on One Pick: Artur Kyshenko over Timor Aylyarov
Best Card Top-to-Bottom: Glory 53
Upset of the Week: Muhammaed Lawal over Ryan Bader
Most Disappointing Fight of the Weekend: Amanda Nunes vs. Raquel Pennington
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