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 27
4:00am: Ultimate Legends VII ($12.99 Fite.tv)
5:00am: Big Time Boxing: Melbourne ($14.99 Fite.tv)
7:00am: Thunderdome 26 ($14.99 Fite.tv)
7:00am: OneFC: Reign of Kings (OneFC App)
9:00am: 2018 Mid Summer Mat Bash (FloWrestling)
10:00am: 2018 Central American and Caribbean Games: Karate Preliminaries (ESPN3)
2:00pm: Top Rank on ESPN Weigh-Ins (ESPN+)
4:00pm: 2018 Central American and Caribbean Games: Karate Finals (ESPN3)
6:00pm: American Kombat Alliance: Rite of Passage 4 (FloCombat)
8:00pm: UFC on FOX Weigh-Ins (Fox Sports 2)
9:00pm: Legacy Fighting Alliance 46 (AXS)
9:00pm: Dynasty Combat Sports 44: Night One ($14.99 Fite.tv)
11:30pm: Mario Andreade vs. Saul Juarez (Telemundo)
Saturday July 28
7:00am: Road Fighting Championship 48 (FREE Epicentre.tv)
7:20am: The Champion Muay Thai (YouTube)
9:00am: 2018 Mid Summer Mat Bash (FloWrestling)
11:30am: Karate Combat: Olympus (UFC Fight Pass)
5:00pm: UFC on FOX Pre-Fight Show (Fox Sports 2)
5:30pm: Fight To Win Pro 82 (FloGrappling)
6:00pm: UFC on FOX Prelims (Fox)
6:30pm: Top Rank on ESPN Prelims (ESPN+)
7:00pm: Ring of Combat 64 (FloCombat)
8:00pm: UFC on FOX: Alvarez vs. Poirier 2 (Fox)
8:00pm: Lion Fight 45 (FloCombat)
9:00pm: Dynasty Combat Sports 44: Night Two ($14.99 Fite.tv)
9:30pm: Christopher Diaz vs. Masayuki Ito/Artemio Reyes vs. Carlos Adames (ESPN+)
9:30pm: UAEJJF Abu Dhabi Grand Slam Tokyo (FloGrappling)
10:00pm: Mikey Garcia vs. Robert Easter Jr./Andrey Klimov vs. Fabian Andres Maidana (Showtime)
10:00pm: UFC on FOX Post-Fight Show (Fox Sports 1)
Sunday July 29
2:00am: RIZIN 11 ($19.99 Fite.tv)
7:20am: MAX Muay Thai (YouTube)
9:00am: 2018 Mid Summer Mat Bash (FloWrestling)
4:00pm: 2018 Central American and Caribbean Games: Men’s Boxing Eliminations (ESPN3)
8:00pm: 2018 Central American and Caribbean Games: Men’s Boxing Finals (ESPN3)
9:00pm: Superbox Live: Rise Up ($9.99 Fite.tv)
Top-10 Viewing Options: A man who’s prepared to have his face rocked clean off by Alvarez-Poirier and then Mikey Garcia prepares for disappointment!
1. UFC on FOX: Alvarez vs. Poirier 2: This card freaking bangs. The three top fights could headline just about any card. This is more like it, UFC.
2. Mikey Garcia vs. Robert Easter Jr./Andrey Klimov vs. Fabian Andres Maidana: Champion vs. champion, as title unification is all the rage this summer.
3. Christopher Diaz vs. Masayuki Ito/Artemio Reyes vs. Carlos Adames: Two first-time world title challengers in Diaz and Ito, with someone becoming a world champ for the first time makes for hungry fighters and good fights.
4. UAEJJF Abu Dhabi Grand Slam Tokyo: Some huge names gunning for Abu Dhabi cash.
5. OneFC: Reign of Kings: Solid variety from OneFC again. Introducing kickboxing and muay thai really gave the promotion a shot in the arm.
6. RIZIN 11: Pretty homogenized card for RIZIN standards, no grappling or kickboxing, just a standard JMMA card.
7. Legacy Fighting Alliance 46: Really, really like the main event here, the rest of the card, not so much.
8. Fight To Win Pro 82: Ol’ reliable!
9. Road Fighting Championship 48: Unfortunately lacking on freakshow fights, to my insane disappointment.
10. Karate Combat: Olympus: Alrighty! Full-contact karate, let’s get weird with it.
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. 71kg Bout: Giannis Boukis vs. Yodwicha Por Boonsit (171-52-3) [EMei Legend 32]
4. Super Series 72.5kg Catchweight Bout: Armen Petrosyan (69-17-1) vs. Chris Ngimbi (45-25) [OneFC: Reign of Kings]
3. 63kg Bout: Sasa Jovanovic (70-19-5) vs. Wei Rui (50-3) [Glory Of Heroes 33]
2. 70kg Bout: Yodsanklai Fairtex (199-71-4) vs. Yuan Bing [EMei Legend 32]
1. 67kg Bout: Issam Chadid (25-2) vs. Qiu Jianliang (48-7) [Glory Of Heroes 33]
BOXING
5. Heavyweight Bout: Luis Ortiz (28-1) vs. Razvan Cojanu (16-3) [Showtime Championship Boxing]
4. WBA/IBF World Female Lightweight Championships: Katie Taylor (c) (9-0) vs. Kimberly Connor (13-3-2)
3. Vacant WBO World Junior Lightweight Championship: Christopher Diaz (23-0) vs. Masayuki Ito (23-1-1)
2. WBC Silver Heavyweight Championship/Vacant WBO International Heavyweight Championship: Dillian Whyte (c) (23-1) vs. Joseph Parker (24-1)
1. WBC World Lightweight Championship: Mikey Garcia (c) (38-0) vs. Robert Easter Jr. (21-0) [Showtime Championship Boxing]
MMA
5. LFA Welterweight Championship: James Nakashima (c) (8-0) vs. Kyle Stewart (10-0) [Legacy Fighting Alliance 46]
4. Bantamweight Bout: Hiromasa Ogikobu (17-3-2) vs. Kyoji Horiguchi (24-2) [RIZIN 11]
3. Women’s Strawweight Bout: Joanna Jedrzejczyk (14-2) vs. Tecia Torres (10-2) [UFC on FOX: Alvarez vs. Poirier II]
2. Featherweight Bout: Jeremy Stephens (28-14) vs. Jose Aldo (26-4) [UFC on FOX: Alvarez vs. Poirier II]
1. Lightweight Bout: Dustin Poirier (23-5) vs. Eddie Alvarez (29-5) [UFC on FOX: Alvarez vs. Poirier II]
GRAPPLING/WRESTLING
5. Legends Series Bout: Daisuke Sugie vs. Vitor Ribeiro [Abu Dhabi Grand Slam Tokyo]
4. Legends Series Bout: Alexandre Dantas vs. Ricco Rodriguez [Abu Dhabi Grand Slam Tokyo]
3. Black Belt 77kg Tournament [Abu Dhabi Grand Slam Tokyo]
2. Black Belt 69kg Tournament [Abu Dhabi Grand Slam Tokyo]
1. Black Belt 85kg Tournament [Abu Dhabi Grand Slam Tokyo]
Bold, Yet Probably Fruitless Predictions: Five dollar-plus profit last weekend, boys and girls! The money train is a-rolling in!
Best Fight of the Weekend: Dustin Poirier vs. Eddie Alvarez
Most Underrated Fight of the Weekend: Issam Chadid vs. Qiu Jianliang
If My Life Depended on One Pick: Katie Taylor over Kimberly Connor
Best Card Top-to-Bottom: UFC on FOX: Alvarez vs. Poirier 2
Upset of the Week: Eddie Alvarez over Dustin Poirier
Most Disappointing Fight of the Weekend: Melvin Guillard vs. Takanori Gomi
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