Every week there are roughly fifty organizations putting on fights, and that’s just in Brazil. Normally, we focus entirely on the shenanigans surrounding UFC, but with this weekend having so much to offer, I felt compelled to detail more stuff.
FRIDAY
Bellator Fighting Championships returns to action with a loaded card as the company moves away from their weekly, tournament-based format and into more of a super-card set up. This card starts with online prelims at 6:00 PM ET, featuring the return to active competition after a 5-year hiatus, Tamdan “The Barncat” McCrory. The main card starts at 8:00PM ET and there are some actual people I’ve heard of here. Current TNA heavyweight champion Bobby Lashley returns to mixed martial arts as he takes on Josh Burns. There’s light heavyweight action as Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal (Another sometimes TNA participant) faces Glory kickboxing’s Dustin Jacoby. Another heavyweight throw-down as Cheick Kongo and Lavar Johnson square off, and in the main event, a featherweight title fight as Pat “Paddy Mike” Curran rematches Patricio “Pitbull” Freire. That should be a really great fight.
Also on Friday night is UFC Fight Night 50, which incidentally, takes place just down the road from where Bellator’s having their event. The action begins with prelims on Fox Sports 1 at 7:00 PM ET. Chas Skelly will be making the quickest turnaround ever at 13 days as he takes on Sean Soriano in featherweight action. Al Iaquinta faces off against Rodrigo Damm at lightweight, former title challenge John Moraga fights Justin Scoggins in a flyweight contest, and there’s a rematch between Nik Lentz and Charles Oliveira. The main card will also be on Fox Sports 1, at 10:00 PM ET. Joe Lauzon is fighting Michael Chiesa at lightweight, then it’s off to the big guys as Matt Mitrione takes on Derrick Lewis, and Alistair Overeem battles Ben Rothwell. The main event is a middleweight fight that should set up the next person in line for a title shot behind Vitor Belfort, as Ronaldo Souza and Gegard Mousasi meet for the second time.
SATURDAY
I’ve said it roughly a million times, and now there’s an actual card to watch! The all-female Invicta Fighting Championships returns with a ten-fight night this Saturday. Everything will be available on UFC’s Fight Pass, starting at 8:00 PM ET. Charmaine Tweet will be fighting Veronica Rothenhausler at lightweight, which is interesting since those really seem to be the only 155-pounders on the Invicta roster. There’s also going to be a bantamweight clash between veterans of the WMMA scene as Tara LaRosa and Roxanne Modafferi meet once more. After having much of its talent poached by the UFC, Invicta’s co-main and main event will be title fights. Katja Kankaanpaa takes on Stephanie Eggink for the vacant strawweight title, while Michelle Waterson will defend her atomweight belt against Yasuko Tamada. WATCH INVICTA, YO!
Don’t gnash your teeth too much, MMA fans. Boxing isn’t THE DEVIL as some would lead you to believe. It can be a fun method of watching people smash faces to pulp, and there’s a solid card on Showtime on Saturday night, starting at 9:30 PM ET. Steve Upsher, who I’ve never heard of (This isn’t saying much) takes on Andre Berto, who’s been in a lot of good fights and has solid knockout power. Another guy I know little about, Roberto Ortiz, takes on the super-hard hitting Lucas Matthysse, and in the main event, Emanuel Taylor faces off against the ultra-flashy associate of Floyd Mayweather, Adrien Broner.
