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 November 25

12:00am: SC Featured: Pin Kings (ESPNEWS)
12:00am: UFC Reloaded (Fox Sports 2)
2:00am: Liam Cameron vs. Zac Dunn/Czar Amonsot vs. Yutthapol Sudnongbua ($11.28 Epicentre.tv)
3:00am: UFC Unleashed (Fox Sports 2)
3:00am: Rocky Balboa (Showtime)
4:00am: The Ultimate Fighter (Fox Sports 2)
5:00am: The Ultimate Fighter (Fox Sports 2)
6:00am: UFC Unleashed (Fox Sports 2)
7:00am: UFC Reloaded (Fox Sports 2)
8:00am: SC Featured: Pin Kings (ESPNEWS)
10:00am: UFC Main Event (Fox Sports 2)
1:15pm: Southpaw (Showtime Showcase)
7:00pm: UFC Fight Night Weigh-Ins (Fox Sports 1)
8:00pm: UFC Fight Night Weigh-Ins (Fox Sports 2)
9:00pm: UFC Unleashed (Fox Sports 2)
9:30pm: Southpaw (Showtime Showcase)
10:00pm: UFC Ultimate Knockouts (Fox Sports 2)
10:30pm: UFC Ultimate Knockouts (Fox Sports 2)
11:00pm: UFC Fight Night Weigh-Ins (Fox Sports 2)

Saturday November 26

12:00am: UFC Reloaded (Fox Sports 2)
2:00am: UFC Reloaded (Fox Sports 2)
4:00am: ESPN Films: The Real Rocky (ESPN Classic)
4:00am: BRACE 45 (UFC Fight Pass)
5:30am: UFC Ultimate Insider (Fox Sports 1)
7:00am: SC Featured: Pin Kings (ESPNEWS)
8:00am: Rocky Balboa (Showtime Family Zone)
9:05am: SCB30: Lopez vs. Marquez (Showtime Extreme)
9:45am: SCB30: DeLeon vs. Lopez (Showtime Extreme)
10:00am: SCB30: Martinez vs. Salido II (Showtime Extreme)
11:00am: SCB30: Klimov vs. Pedraza (Showtime Extreme)
12:00pm: Miguel Cotto vs. Ricardo Mayorga (Showtime Extreme)
1:00pm: Number One Fight Show Season 6 ($4.99 Eliteboxing.tv)
2:30pm: Southpaw (Showtime)
2:45pm: Rocky Balboa (Showtime Family Zone)
3:30pm: The Fight Game With Jim Lampley (HBO/HBO Latino)
4:00pm: Heavy Hitters (ESPN Deportes)
6:30pm: UFC Fight Night: Brunson vs. Whittaker Prelims (UFC Fight Pass)
7:00pm: UFC Fight Night Prefight Show (Fox Sports 1)
7:30pm: Assault In The Ring (ESPN Classic)
8:00pm: UFC Fight Night: Brunson vs. Whittaker Prelims (Fox Sports 1)
9:35pm: Rocky Balboa (Showtime Family Zone)
10:00pm: UFC Fight Night: Brunson vs. Whittaker (Fox Sports 1)
10:35pm: Nicholas Walters vs. Vasyl Lomachenko/Egidijus Kavaliauskas vs. Juan Ruiz (HBO/HBO Latino)
11:00pm: SC Featured: Pin Kings (ESPNEWS)
11:00pm: World Series of Fighting 31 (NBC Sports)

Sunday November 27

1:00am: UFC Fight Night Post-Fight Show (Fox Sports 1)
1:00am: Southpaw (Showtime)
2:00am: ESPN Films: The Real Rocky (ESPN Classic)
2:00am: UFC Fight Night: Brunson vs. Whittaker (Fox Sports 1)
5:00am: UFC Fight Night Post-Fight Show (Fox Sports 1)
6:00am: UFC Fight Night Post-Fight Show (Fox Sports 2)
7:00am: UFC Unleashed (Fox Sports 2)
8:00am: UFC Fight Night Post-Fight Show (Fox Sports 2)
8:00am: Bloodsport (The Movie Channel)
8:30am: 2016 Grapple at the Garden (FloWrestling)
9:15am: Nicholas Walters vs. Vasyl Lomachenko/Egidijus Kavaliauskas vs. Juan Ruiz (HBO/HBO Latino)
9:30am: The Fight Game With Jim Lampley (HBO2)
11:00am: UFC Ultimate Knockouts (Fox Sports 2)
11:30am: UFC Fight Night: Brunson vs. Whittaker Prelims (Fox Sports 2)
12:45pm: Southpaw (Showtime 2)
1:30pm: UFC Fight Night: Brunson vs. Whittaker (Fox Sports 2)
3:00pm: Northern Iowa vs. Old Dominion (FloWrestling)
4:00pm: Wyoming vs. Iowa State (FloWrestling)
5:30pm: Nicholas Walters vs. Vasyl Lomachenko/Egidijus Kavaliauskas vs. Juan Ruiz (HBO Signature)
6:00pm: Assault In The Ring (ESPN Classic)
6:30pm: UFC Fight Night: Brunson vs. Whittaker (Fox Sports 1)
9:30pm: Vice World of Sports: Boys of Bukom (ESPN2)
9:30pm: UFC Ultimate Knockouts (Fox Sports 1)
10:00pm: The Ultimate Fighter (Fox Sports 1)
10:00pm: Round 7: Operation Knockout (CBS Sports)
11:00pm: UFC Unleashed (Fox Sports 1)
11:00pm: Sports Jeopardy! (NBC Sports)
11:30pm: Sports Jeopardy! (NBC Sports)

Top-10 Viewing Options: An absolutely desolate fight weekend. C’mon, fight community, we’re all home, drunk, and trying to avoid our relatives. We need you.

  1. Nicholas Walters vs. Vasyl Lomachenko/Egidijus Kavaliauskas vs. Juan Ruiz: Now THIS is a fantastic matchup.  Walters’s concrete hands meets Loma’s silky-smooth movement and efficiency.

  2. UFC Fight Night: Brunson vs. Whittaker: An absolutely despicable card.  Christ almighty.

  3. 2016 Grapple at the Garden: One of the absolute premier wrestling events in the country ever year and I’m glad it’s not earning the prestige that it deserves.

  4. UFC Fight Night Post-Fight Show: Unless Brunson or Whittaker literally dropped their trunks and took a dump in the middle of the canvas after a win, I can’t imagine this will be very interesting at all, but maybe they’ll do some fight announcements to spruce it up.

  5. Bloodsport: I say a true Thanksgiving weekend isn’t complete without some Ray Jackson, the cornbread stuffing of fight movie characters.

  6. The Fight Game With Jim Lampley: Always been a Lampley guy, he’s the narrator to a lot of my formitative boxing memories.

  7. BRACE 45: If you’re up that late after a four-hour coma nap, watch some Aussie MMA.

  8. Rocky Balboa: There really should be a Rocky marathon on some channel this weekend. Missed opportunity.

  9. UFC Fight Night Prefight Show: Do your best to sell this card, UFC.  You have Karyn Bryant running the point here, so I don’t like your odds.

  10. SC Featured: Pin Kings: This will be great to lose yourself in on the couch with a plate full of leftovers.

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

• Blake Caparello [vs. Ricky Torrez, November 25, The Melbourne Pavilion, Flemington, Australia]
• Kiko Martinez [vs. Leonel Hernandez, November 25, Palacio de los Deportes, Gijon, Spain]
• Terry Flanagan vs. Orlando Cruz [November 26, Motorpoint Arena, Cardiff, Wales]
• Liam Williams [vs. Gabor Gorbics, November 26, Motorpoint Arena, Cardiff, Wales]
• Ray Edwards [vs. Keenan Hickman, November 26, Firebird Athletic Center, Bedford, Ohio]
• Katie Taylor [vs. Karina Kopinska, November 26, Wembley Arena, London, England]
• Rungravee Sasiprapa [vs. Mathias Gallo Cassarino, November 27, TopKing TK 11, Nangchang, China]
• Erberth Santos [Black Belt Super Heavyweight Division, November 25, IBJJF South American Championship, Ginásio Poliesportivo José Corrêa Av. Guilherme Perereca Guglielmo, Barueri, Brazil]
• Mackenzie Dern [Black Belt Lightweight Division, November 25, IBJJF South American Championship, Ginásio Poliesportivo José Corrêa Av. Guilherme Perereca Guglielmo, Barueri, Brazil]
• Steve Carl [vs. Beslan Isaev, November 26, Absolute Championship Berkut 49, Roston-On-Don, Rostov, Russia]
• Yao Zhikui [vs. Jenel Lausa, November 27, UFC Fight Night: Brunson vs. Whittaker, Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne, Australia]
• Marlon Vera vs. Ning Guangyou [November 27, UFC Fight Night: Brunson vs. Whittaker, Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne, Australia]
• Dan Hooker [vs. Jason Knight, November 27, UFC Fight Night: Brunson vs. Whittaker, Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne, Australia]
• Motonobu Tezuka [vs. Go Kashiwazaki, November 27, ZST 54, Differ Ariake, Tokyo, Japan]

Bold, Yet Probably Fruitless Predictions: I picked Kovalev, put a chunk of change on him…not mad…anything can happen in these sports…not mad…could have made me a profit…not mad…it was a close fight…

Best Fight of the Weekend: Nicholas Walters vs. Vasyl Lomachenko
Most Underrated Fight of the Weekend: Orlando Cruz vs. Terry Flanagan
If My Life Depended on One Pick: Katie Taylor over Karina Kopinska
Best Card Top-to-Bottom: BoxNation Saturday
Upset of the Week: Danielle Taylor over Seo Hee Ham
Most Disappointing Fight of the Weekend: Gabor Gorbics vs. Liam Williams