Hey, fight fans, there’s some decent action going on this weekend in the world of combat sports. Let’s figure out who’s fighting, when it’s happening, and how we can all watch it.
FRIDAY
Bellator MMA is back with Bellator 144, live on Friday night from the Mohegan Sun Arena in Connecticut. The bouts kick off at 7 p.m. EST with prelims on Bellator.com. I have to be honest, there really isn’t much on the prelim portion to draw me in, but Bellator prelims are usually good for some wacky finishes, so I’ll keep a weather eye out for weird submissions and big knockouts.
The main card begins at 9 p.m. EST on Spike TV. English welterweight dynamo Michael “Venom” Page returns, taking on Charlie Ontiveros, featherweight blue chip prospect Goiti Yamauchi takes on Isao Kobayashi, and Brennan Ward faces Dennis Olson in the co-main event. The main-event is a middleweight title fight, with Brandon Halsey and Rafael Carvalho facing off for the vacant belt.
SATURDAY
UFC Fight Night 76, live from Dublin, has had some injury-related issues. Stipe Miocic had to pull out of the heavyweight co-main event against Ben Rothwell, and Big Ben didn’t get a replacement. Just days ago, Joe Duffy wasn’t cleared due to concussion symptoms, scuttling the main-event against Dustin Poirier.
The prelims kick off at 1:15 p.m. EST on Fight Pass, then the main card is at 4 p.m. EST on Fight Pass. The new main-event is a three-round flyweight contest between Paddy Holohan and Louis Smolka. The card isn’t heavy on star power, but the fights should be pretty fun, and hey, it’ll be over in time to enjoy your Saturday night if you’re in the States.
Join us for the live discussion as we talk about all the action. Hooray for fights!
