Your Weekend in Combat Sports

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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 February 12

8:30am: Absolute Championship Akhmat 117 (ACA-MMA.com)
12:00pm: UFC 258 Pre-Fight Show (ESPN+)
4:00pm: Top Rank on ESPN Weigh-Ins (ESPN+)
4:00pm: Golden Boy on DAZN Weigh-Ins (DAZN)
4:00pm: UFC 258: On The Line (UFC Fight Pass)
5:00pm: Max on Boxing (ESPN2)
5:30pm: UFC Live (ESPN2)
6:00pm: Pitt vs. Virginia Tech (ACC Network)
6:00pm: JABS with Mannix & Mora (DAZN)
6:30pm: B1G Wrestling: On The Mat (BigTen)
7:00pm: Duke vs. NC State (ACC Network)
7:00pm: Playback: De La Hoya vs. Pacquiao w/Big E & Andreas Hale (DAZN)
7:00pm: Michigan vs. Ohio State (BigTen)
7:00pm: Titan Fighting Championship 67 (UFC Fight Pass)
9:00pm: The Ak & Barak Show (DAZN)
9:00pm: Lion Fight 63 (UFC Fight Pass)
9:00pm: Legacy Fighting Alliance 99 (UFC Fight Pass)

 

Saturday February 13

12:00pm: 2021 South Dakota State Quad Meet (FloWrestling)
2:00pm: Josh Warrington vs. Mauricio Lara/Leigh Wood vs. Reece Mould (DAZN)
3:00pm: 2021 Women’s Captains Cup (FloWrestling)
4:00pm: Fight To Win 163 (FloGrappling)
6:00pm: Virginia vs. North Carolina (ACC Network)
6:15pm: UFC 258 Prelims (ESPN+)
7:00pm: Top Rank on ESPN Prelims (ESPN+)
7:00pm: The Making of GGG: Episode 3 (DAZN)
8:00pm: UFC 258 Prelims (ESPN/ESPN+)
8:00pm: Joseph Diaz vs. Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov/Patrick Teixeira vs. Brian Carlos Castano (DAZN)
8:00pm: Blunt Force Trauma 2 ($19.99 Fite.tv)
10:00pm: Joe Smith Jr. vs. Maxim Vlasov/Jackson Marinez vs. Richard Commey (ESPN)
10:00pm: UFC 258 ($69.99 Pay-Per-View)

 

Sunday February 14

1:00am: UFC 258 Post-Fight Show (ESPN+)
1:15am: UFC 258 Post-Fight Press Conference (UFC Fight Pass)
2:00am: Eternal MMA 56 (UFC Fight Pass)
3:00pm: Cleveland State vs. Ohio (ESPN+)
3:00pm: 2021 Women’s Captains Cup (FloWrestling)
4:00pm: 2021 Fresno State Tri-Meet (FloWrestling)
5:00pm: Cowboy Challenge Tournament (ESPN+)

 

Top-10 Viewing Options: After some lackluster weekends, Saturday rolls around with UFC, Matchroom, Golden Boy, AND Top Rank putting on major cards.

 

Your Weekend in Combat Sports  1. Joseph Diaz vs. Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov/Patrick Teixeira vs. Brian Carlos Castano: Golden Boy wins the weekend, putting on back-to-back competitive world title fights.

Your Weekend in Combat Sports  2. UFC 258: Great headliner, absolutely brutal card.

Your Weekend in Combat Sports  3. Joe Smith Jr. vs. Maxim Vlasov/Jackson Marinez vs. Richard Commey: After 77 combined professional bouts and multiple failed world title challenges, either Smith or Vlasov is walking away a legitimate world champion.

Your Weekend in Combat Sports  4. Josh Warrington vs. Mauricio Lara/Leigh Wood vs. Reece Mould: This isn’t the kind of nothing matchup I want to see Warrington in.

Your Weekend in Combat Sports  5. Legacy Fighting Alliance 99: You can finally re-start setting your clock to LFA once again.

Your Weekend in Combat Sports  6. Lion Fight 63: Muay Thai returns to Fight Pass!

Your Weekend in Combat Sports  7. Fight To Win 163: Routinely solid cards being put on by the grappling folks, recently.

Your Weekend in Combat Sports  8. Michigan vs. Ohio State: The Wolvervines and Buckeyes continue their feud, this time on the mat with a few top-10 matchups.

Your Weekend in Combat Sports  9. The Making of GGG: Episode 3: The series finale of DAZN’s Golovkin series. After AJ and GGG, I’m curious who their next subject will be.

Your Weekend in Combat Sports  10. Playback: De La Hoya vs. Pacquiao w/Big E & Andreas Hale: IT’S A NEW PLAYBACK, YES IT IS!

 

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. Lightweight Bout: Kawakita Kosei (1-0) vs. Rioya (5-2) [Krush-EX 2021 Vol.1] [Lion Fight 63]

4. Women’s Featherweight Bout: Candice Mitchell (13-3) vs. Natalie Morgan (7-3) [Lion Fight 63]

3. Super Welterweight Bout: Jake Peacock (3-0) vs. Keermaan Diop (2-0) [Lion Fight 63]

2. Light Heavyweight Bout: Larawnt-T Nelson (12-2) vs. Washington Luis Dos Santos (22-1) [Lion Fight 63]

1. Vacant Lion Fight North American Cruiserweight Championship: Chris Tramell (8-2) vs. Hassan Oseni (8-1) [Lion Fight 63]

 

BOXING

5. Featherweight Bout: Josh Warrington (30-0) vs. Mauricio Lara (21-2) [Matchroom on DAZN]

4. Lightweight Bout: Jackson Marinez (19-1) vs. Richard Commey (29-3) [Top Rank on ESPN]

3. WBO World Junior Middleweight Championship: Patrick Teixeira (c) (31-1) vs. Brian Carlos Castano (16-0-1) [Golden Boy on DAZN]

2. Vacant WBO World Light Heavyweight Championship: Joe Smith Jr. (26-3) vs. Maxim Vlasov (45-3) [Top Rank on ESPN]

1. IBF World Junior Lightweight Championship: Joseph Diaz (c) (31-1) vs. Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov (15-0) [Golden Boy on DAZN]

 

MMA

5. Women’s Flyweight Bout: Alexa Grasso (12-3) vs. Maycee Barber (8-1) [UFC 258]

4. Welterweight Bout: Belal Muhammad (17-3) vs. Dhiego Lima (15-7) [UFC 258]

3. Lightweight Bout: Bobby Green (27-11-1) vs. Jim Miller (32-15) [UFC 258]

2. Featherweight Bout: Brian Kelleher (22-11) vs. Ricky Simon (17-3) [UFC 258]

1. UFC Welterweight Championship: Kamaru Usman (c) (17-1) vs. Gilbert Burns (19-3) [UFC 258]

 

GRAPPLING/WRESTLING

5. 149lb Bout: #2 Sammy Sasso (OSU) vs. #6 Kanen Storr (UM) [Michigan vs. Ohio State]

4. 174lb Bout: #2 Logan Massa (UM) vs. #4 Kaleb Romero (OSU) [Michigan vs. Ohio State]

3. Black Belt Superfight: Diego Oliveira vs. Kennedy Maciel [Fight To Win 163]

2. Black Belt Superfight: Max Gimenis vs. Tex Johnson [Fight To Win 163]

1. Black Belt Superfight: Matheus Luna vs. Pedro Marinho [Fight To Win 163]

 

Bold, Yet Probably Fruitless Predictions: A profit! A goddamned profit! We’re in the black, ladies and gents! Four whole American dollars!

Best Fight of the Weekend: Joe Smith Jr. vs. Maxim Vlasov
Most Underrated Fight of the Weekend: Brian Kelleher vs. Ricky Simon
If My Life Depended on One Pick: Josh Warrington over Mauricio Lara
Best Card Top-to-Bottom: Golden Boy on DAZN
Upset of the Week: Ian Heinisch over Kelvin Gastelum
Most Disappointing Fight of the Weekend: Kamaru Usman vs. Gilbert Burns

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