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.
Misc./Combination combat sports programming is in GREEN.

Friday November 17

11:00am: Iowa vs. Iowa Central (FloWrestling)
12:30pm: Iowa vs. Buffalo (FloWrestling)
2:30pm: Iowa vs. North Dakota State (FloWrestling)
5:00pm: 2017 FloWrestling Kickoff (FloWrestling)
7:00pm: Central Michigan vs. Michigan State (ESPN3)
7:00pm: Binghamton vs. Penn State (ESPN3)
7:00pm: UFC Fight Night Weigh-Ins (Fox Sports 2)
7:00pm: Titan Fighting Championship 46 (UFC Fight Pass)
7:00pm: Pitt vs. Cal-State Bakersfield (FloWrestling)
8:00pm: Fight To Win Pro 55 (FloGrappling)
8:00pm: Nebraska vs. Wyoming (FloWrestling)
8:00pm: South Dakota State vs. Minnesota (FloWrestling)
8:00pm: Glory of Heroes ($4.99 Fite.tv)8:30pm: Pitt vs. Wisconsin (FloWrestling)
9:00pm: Classic Entertainment & Sports MMA 47 (AXS)
9:00pm: Max Ornelas vs. Nick Otieno/Abel Ramos vs. Eudy Bernardo (BeIn Sports)
9:00pm: Bellator 188 (Spike)
10:00pm: Fresno State vs. Illinois (FloWrestling)
10:30pm: Anthony Dirrell vs. Dennis Douglin/Domonique Dolton vs. Jamontay Clark (Fox Sports 1)

Saturday November 18

9:00am: 2017 FloWrestling Kickoff (FloWrestling)
10:00am: Doug Parker Invitational (FloWrestling)
10:00am: 2017 Lindenwood Open (FloWrestling)
12:00pm: Absolute Championship Berkut 74 (FREE Fite.tv/YouTube)
12:00pm: King of Kings 51 Prelims ($4.99 Fite.tv)
1:00pm: Number One Fight Show Season 8 ($9.99 EliteBoxing.tv)
2:00pm: Lion Fight 39 (FloCombat)
2:00pm: Hard Fighting Championship 11 ($9.99 Fite.tv)
2:00pm: We Love MMA 34 (FREE Fite.tv)
2:00pm: King of Kings 51 ($9.99 Fite.tv)
6:30pm: UFC Fight Night: Tybura vs. Werdum Prelims (UFC Fight Pass)
7:00pm: UFC Fight Night Pre-Fight Show (Fox Sports 2)

7:00pm: 360 Fight Club: Bad Blood ($14.99 Fite.tv)
7:30pm: UFC Fight Night Pre-Fight Show (Fox Sports 1)
8:00pm: UFC Fight Night: Tybura vs. Werdum Prelims (Fox Sports 1)
9:00pm: Ishe Smith vs. Julian Williams/Earl Newman vs. Lionell Thompson (Bounce TV)
10:00pm: UFC Fight Night: Tybura vs. Werdum (Fox Sports 1)

Sunday November 19

1:00am: UFC Fight Night: Post-Fight Show (Fox Sports 1)
8:20am: MAX Muay Thai ($10.99 Fite.tv)
9:00am: 2017 Keystone Classic (FloWrestling)
10:00am: 2017 Wolfpack Open (FloWrestling)
1:00pm: 2017 Roadrunner Open (FloWrestling)
3:00pm: Northern Iowa vs. North Dakota State (FloWrestling)
6:00pm: Oklahoma State vs. Minnesota (FloWrestling)
8:00pm: Fight Card Entertainment: Takeover 2017 ($16.99 Fite.tv)

Top-10 Viewing Options: A man gleefully watching Jerry Jones vs. Roger Goodell hopefully fight to the death takes a minute to actually do his job.

  1. UFC Fight Night: Tybura vs. Werdum: That is, if Colby Covington hasn’t gotten Werdum taken away in a paddy wagon by then.

  2. Titan Fighting Championship 46: Featuring Jose Torres. At only five pro fights in, he’s one of the best bantamweights that aren’t in the big leagues.

  3. Lion Fight 39: Wish it was more accessible on its usual AXS home instead of being on the Flo Family, but nonetheless entertaining.

  4. Fight To Win Pro 55: Three title fights, as F2W is starting to flesh out their brown and purple belts. Features Andrea “KGB” Lee, who seemingly wants to perform in every martial art on the planet.

  5. Bellator 188: This card was brutal BEFORE Freire/Weichel got scrapped.

  6. Anthony Dirrell vs. Dennis Douglin/Domonique Dolton vs. Jamontay Clark: The Dirrell brothers on basic cable is a bit of a coup for FS1, and 168 desperately needs some new blood.

  7. Ishe Smith vs. Julian Williams/Earl Newman vs. Lionell Thompson: Break out the antennas, it’s time for Bounce!

  8. Classic Entertainment & Sports MMA 47: CES is usually short on big names and Rhode Island doesn’t pump out a ton of quality fighters, but they’re putting on shows more consistently, and that’s damned important.

  9. Minnesota vs. Oklahoma State: Two powerhouse programs throwing down with tons of top-10 wrestlers.

  10. King of Kings 51: Lean weekend for kickboxing, so this might be your best option. KOK usually hosts some decent, midcard European fighters.

Under The Radar: Five things to keep an eye on away from the headline events.

1. Jose Torres. Only five professional fights in, and he’s won the Titan Fighting Championship flyweight AND bantamweight champion with wins over Pedro Nobre and Farkhad Sharipov. He’s an absolute monster that can win a variety of ways and might be the challenger for DJ down the road.

2. Andrea “KGB” Lee is competing for a purple belt championship at Fight To Win, which means she’s competed professionally in kickboxing, MMA, and BJJ in just over two years. Gotta love that type of gumption and well-roundedness. And since she’s never boring, this too should be a fun watch.

3. The Heavyweight Black Belt Division gold medal bout could come down to Tarsis Humphreys and Keenan Cornelius. That’s a fantastic matchup in and of itself, but their previous two matchups ended in a 2-0 decision and a DQ.

4. South Dakota State is a hell of a wrestling program and is starting to enter the national conversation, and last year they came up a knuckle-hair short of defeating Minnesota and inserting themselves among the nation’s elite. This weekend, they get their rematch.

5. FloWrestling is calling this “the biggest weekend in FloWrestling history”. So, y’know, if you needed a reason to subscribe to FloSports and you like amateur wrestling, here ya go. Lots of huge matchups and lots of season-opening tournaments.

Bold, Yet Probably Fruitless Predictions: A man content to give his loved ones the gift of his absence this year gives you his picks while trying to obtain a number of various passports.

Best Fight of the Weekend: Gleidson DeJesus vs. Jose Torres
Most Underrated Fight of the Weekend: Alex Chambers vs. Nadia Kassem
If My Life Depended on One Pick: Carl Frampton over Horacio Garcia
Best Card Top-to-Bottom: UFC Fight Night: Tybura vs. Werdum
Upset of the Week: Dan Kelly over Elias Theodorou
Most Disappointing Fight of the Weekend: Fabricio Werdum vs. Marcin Tybura