Hey fight gang, it’s the weekend, so that means it is time for some combat sports. There’s two solid Saturday cards, both with championships at stake, so let’s figure out who is fighting, when they are going to throw down, and how to watch it.
SATURDAY
UFC on Fox 16 is the much anticipated free-TV rematch of the amazing PPV bout from last year. Of course, there are a lot of fights before the big main event. The card starts at 4:15 PM ET on Fight Pass with the early prelims. Jessamyn Duke and Elizabeth Phillips will look to remain relevant in the bantamweight division, while Daron Cruickshank and James Krause should put on a good show at lightweight.
The regular prelims will start at 6PM ET on Fox. Ben Saunders faces Kenny Robertson in what should be a very solid welterweight affair, while Jim Miller and Danny Castillo are set to throw down at lightweight. In the top prelim bout, light heavyweights Gian Villante and Tom Lawlor go toe to toe.
The main card, also on Fox, starts at 8PM ET. There are only four fights, but they all look very solid. Joe Lauzon takes on Takanori Gomi at lightweight, while Paul Felder and Edson Barboza will bring their individual styles of violence against one another, also at 155 pounds. The co-main event is a bantamweight contest with title implications as two top 5 fighters square off in Miesha Tate and Jessica Eye. The big story is still the bantamweight title bout, as champ TJ Dillashaw defends against Renan Barao. That should be a really great card!
HBO Boxing: Kovalev vs Mohammedi
Meanwhile, over on HBO starting at 10PM ET, which might be just as the UFC card is winding down, there are two light heavyweight bouts on tap. Former champ Jean Pascal, who is 29-3-1 with 17 KOs, takes on undefeated up and comer Yunieski Gonzalez, who sits at 16-0-0, with 12 stoppage wins. The main event features the champ, Sergey “The Crusher” Kovalev, putting his belt and undefeated record of 27-0-1 with 24 knockouts on the line as he takes on Nadjib Mohammedi, who is 37-3-0, with 23 KOs. That should also be a good set of fights.