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Saturday MMA: A TV Viewer’s Guide
By: Jeff Sherwood
Saturday
3:00 a.m. ET Fox Sports 2: UFC Primetime
Cain Velasquez vs. Junior dos Santos 3
5:30 a.m. ET Fox Sports 2: UFC Ultimate Insider
Gustafsson on the Brink. Alexander Gustafsson prepares for UFC 165.
6:00 a.m. ET Fox sports 2: UFC Unleashed
Rory MacDonald vs. Mike Pyle; Carlos Condit vs. Dong Hyun Kim; Brendan Schaub vs Mirko Cro Cop; Rashad Evans vs Tito Ortiz.
7:00 a.m. ET Fox Sports 2: UFC Ultimate 100 Knockouts
Part 3: Knockouts 40-11
8:00 a.m. ET Fox Sports 2: UFC Fight Night Episode 20
Greg Maynard vs. Nate Diaz; Efrain Escudero vs. Evan Dunham; Tom Lawlor vs. Aaron Simpson; Amir Sadollah vs. Brad Blackburn. From Fairfax, Va.
2:00 p.m. ET Fox Sports 2: The Ultimate Fighter
Season 18 Episode 6: Team Rousey vs. Team Tate: Little Princesses Anthony Gutierrez annoys everyone; Julianna Pena gives two female fighters makeovers; Raquel Pennington takes on Jessamyn Duke.
3:00 p.m. ET Fox Sports 2: UFC Primetime
Cain Velasquez vs. Junior dos Santos 3
3:30 p.m. ET Fox Sports 2: UFC Primetime
Cain Velasquez vs. Junior dos Santos 3
4:00 p.m. ET Fox Sports 2: UFC Unleashed
Nate Diaz vs. Takanori Gomi; Nick Diaz vs. Josh Neer; Nick Diaz vs. B.J. Penn.
6:30 p.m. ET Fox Sports 2: UFC Primetime
Cain Velasquez vs. Junior dos Santos 3
7:00 p.m. ET Fox Sports 2: UFC Reloaded
UFC 68: Tim Sylvia vs. Randy Couture. Randy Couture comes out of retirement to challenge for the heavyweight title; Matt Hughes and Rich Franklin.
8:00 p.m. ET Sportsnet 360: UFC Unleashed
The best fights from the UFC archives
9:00 p.m. ET SpikeTV: Glory 11 - Chicago
Tyrone Spong vs. Nathan Corbett; Joseph Valtellini vs. Karim Ghajji. From Chicago.
9:00 p.m. ET AXS: AXS TV Fights
Championship Fighting Alliance 12 Joshua Sampo defends his flyweight title against Sam Thao; Fallon Fox vs. Ashlee Evans-Smith in women's featherweight tournament; Live from Miami.
10:00 p.m. ET Fox Sports 2: UFC Primetime
Cain Velasquez vs. Junior dos Santos 3
10:30 p.m. ET Fox Sports 2: UFC Primetime
Cain Velasquez vs. Junior dos Santos 3 Read more -
Wednesday MMA: A TV Viewer’s Guide
By: Jeff Sherwood
Wednesday
3:00 a.m. ET Fox Sports 1: UFC Unleashed
Forrest Griffin vs. Tito Ortiz
4:00 a.m. ET MavTV: King of the Cage
4:00 a.m. ET Fox Sports 1: UFC Primetime
Cain Velasquez vs. Junior dos Santos 3
4:30 a.m. ET Fox Sports 1: UFC Primetime
Cain Velasquez vs. Junior dos Santos 3
5:00 a.m. ET Fox Sports 1: The Ultimate Fighter
Season 18 Episode 5: Team Rousey vs. Team Tate: Redemption Rousey invites her mother to guest coach at practice; bantamweights struggle to keep their weight down; Team Tate's Louis Fisette looks to redeem his elimination fight loss.
6:00 a.m. ET Fox Sports 2: The Ultimate Fighter
Season 18 Episode 4: Team Rousey vs. Team Tate: Use the Force The feud between coaches escalates when Edmond Traverdyan and Dennis Hallman get into a post-fight altercation.
7:00 a.m. ET Fox Sports 2: The Ultimate Fighter
Season 18 Episode 5: Team Rousey vs. Team Tate: Redemption Rousey invites her mother to guest coach at practice; bantamweights struggle to keep their weight down; Team Tate's Louis Fisette looks to redeem his elimination fight loss.
8:00 p.m. ET Fox Sports 2: UFC Unleashed
Rory MacDonald vs. Mike Pyle; Carlos Condit vs. Dong Hyun Kim; Brendan Schaub vs Mirko Cro Cop; Rashad Evans vs. Tito Ortiz.
9:00 a.m. ET Fox Sports 2: UFC Weigh-In
Demian Maia vs. Jake Shields
10:00 a.m. ET Fox Sports 2: UFC: Maynard vs. Guida
Gray Maynard vs. Clay Guida; Spencer Fisher vs. Sam Stout; Brian Ebersole vs. T.J. Waldburger. From Atlantic City, N.J.
1:00 p.m. ET Fox Sports 2: UFC Fight Night Episode 20
Greg Maynard vs. Nate Diaz; Efrain Escudero vs. Evan Dunham; Tom Lawlor vs. Aaron Simpson; Amir Sadollah vs. Brad Blackburn. From Fairfax, Va.
2:00 p.m. ET Sportsnet 360 West: UFC Preliminary Fights
Chris Cariaso vs. Iliarde Santos; David Mitchell vs. Yan Cabral; Igor Araujo vs. Ildemar Alcantara; Hacran Dias vs. Rodrigo Damm. From Sao Paulo, Brazil.
3:00 p.m. ET Fox Sports 2: UFC Weigh-In
Demian Maia vs. Jake Shields
4:00 p.m. ET Fox Sports 1: UFC Prefight Show
Previewing the night's bouts Demian Maia vs. Jake Shields
4:30 p.m. ET Sportsnet 360: UFC Ultimate Knockouts
5:00 p.m. ET Fox Sports 1: UFC Fight Night
Prelims: Maia vs. Shields Chris Cariaso vs. Iliarde Santos; David Mitchell vs. Yan Cabral; Igor Araujo vs. Ildemar Alcantara; Hacran Dias vs. Rodrigo Damm. From Sao Paulo, Brazil.
5:00 p.m. ET Sportsnet 360: UFC Preliminary Fights
UFC on Sportsnet Prelims Chris Cariaso vs. Iliarde Santos; David Mitchell vs. Yan Cabral; Igor Araujo vs. Ildemar Alcantara; Hacran Dias vs. Rodrigo Damm. From Sao Paulo, Brazil
7:00 p.m. ET Fox Sports 1: UFC Fight Night
T.J. Dillashaw vs. Raphael Assuncao; Mike Pierce vs. Rousimar Palhares; Joey Beltran vs. Fabio Maldonado; Matt Hamill vs. Thiago Silva; Dong Hyun Kim vs. Erick Silva; Jake Shields vs. Demian Maia. From Sao Paulo, Brazil.
7:00 p.m. ET Sportsnet 360: UFC Fight Night
TJ Dillashaw vs. Raphael Assuncao; Mike Pierce vs. Rousimar Palhares; Joey Beltran vs. Fabio Maldonado; Matt Hamill vs. Thiago Silva; Dong Hyun Kim vs. Erick Silva; Jake Shields vs. Demian Maia. From Sao Paulo, Brazil.
8:00 p.m. ET Sportsnet 360 West: UFC Wired
Joe Rogan hosts this UFC highlight show featuring some of the best bouts from years past.
9:00 p.m. ET Sportsnet 360 West: UFC Unleashed
The best fights from the UFC archives
10:00 p.m. ET Sportsnet 360: The Ultimate Fighter
Season 18 Episode 6: Team Rousey vs. Team Tate: Little Princesses Anthony Gutierrez annoys everyone; Julianna Pena gives two female fighters makeovers; Raquel Pennington takes on Jessamyn Duke.
10:00 p.m. ET Fox Sports 1: The Ultimate Fighter
Season 18 Episode 6: Team Rousey vs. Team Tate: Little Princesses Anthony Gutierrez annoys everyone; Julianna Pena gives two female fighters makeovers; Raquel Pennington takes on Jessamyn Duke.
11:00 p.m. ET Sportsnet 360: UFC Ultimate Knockouts
11:00 p.m. ET Fox Sports 2: UFC Ultimate 100 Knockouts
Part 3: Knockouts 40-11
12:00 a.m. ET Fox Sports 2: UFC Post-Fight Show
Demian Maia vs. Jake Shields Read more -
Proof: MMA Role Models Exist
By: Jeff Sherwood
On Wednesday, those that wrestle for Selma High School’s youth program in Lemoore, Calif., and a local little league baseball team (coached by yours truly) got a nice surprise.
With Tachi Palace Fights 9 taking place in Lemoore on Friday (Sherdog stream starts at 8:15 ET/5:15 PT), two decorated UFC veterans in Gerald Harris and Efrain Escudero traveled all day less than 24 hours before weigh-ins to tackle topics such as motivation, work ethic and the importance of an education. They also touched on how important it is for youngsters to listen to their coaches and learn proper sportsmanship.
Explaining why he continued his education even after winning “The Ultimate Fighter” season 8, Escudero spoke with wisdom and honesty.
“I wanted to have a backup plan,” said Escudero. “I cannot fight forever.” Read more -
Weekend Rundown: Cote Returns, Tops Starnes at Ringside 10
By: Chris Nelson
Sherdog.com Illustration
Former UFC middleweight title contender Patrick Cote began his post-Octagon campaign with a unanimous decision win over Kalib Starnes at Saturday’s Ringside MMA 10. Before a hometown crowd of approximately 3,500 at Montreal’s Bell Centre, the 31-year-old “Predator” survived an early scare on the ground to outstrike Starnes in the final two periods and earn a trio of 29-28 scorecards. Cote was released by the UFC in October and had not won a bout since defeating Ricardo Almeida at UFC 86 in July 2008.
Fighting on less than one month’s notice, “Polish Pistola” Seth Baczynski claimed the Ringside interim welterweight title by punching out local favorite Alex Garcia at 2:44 of the second round. The previously unbeaten Garcia was slated to meet welterweight champ Chris Clements before Clements was sidelined with an ankle injury in early March. A contestant on the eleventh season of “The Ultimate Fighter,” Baczynski has notched back-to-back knockout wins since losing to Brad Tavares at the “TUF 11” finale in June 2010.
Elsewhere on the bill, Michel Gagnon retained his Ringside featherweight strap by slamming Rejean Groulx into submission at 3:47 of the third round; Georges St. Pierre training partner Mike Ricci returned from a year-long hiatus with a TKO win over Jesse Ronson at 3:12 of the opening frame; and light heavyweight Roger Hollett clubbed Martin Desilets 99 seconds into round two, stopping the Team Legion fighter with knees and hooks. Read more -
Primer: UFC Fight Night 22
By: Jake Rossen
Nate Marquardt file photo: Dave Mandel | Sherdog.com
A little nip and tuck here and there and it’s entirely possible the UFC will one day be broadcasting biweekly or weekly fight cards, completing their assimilation of pro wrestling marketing. Shave down those 10- or 11-bout pay-per-views, absorb the WEC and recruit some of the global talent they’re grooming for international expansion, and you’ve got at least 26 weeks of programming.
Until then, you’ll have to settle for Wednesday’s broadcast of UFC Fight Night 22, headlined by Nate Marquardt mixing it up with Rousimar Palhares. Marquardt was last seen suffering a debilitating, contender-nicking loss to Chael Sonnen; Palhares drew some heat for cranking a submission on Tomasz Drwal after a tap. While Palhares has only lost to Dan Henderson in the Octagon, his other opposition has been less than stellar: Marquardt represents a quantum step in competition since Henderson. The story of how Palhares responds to those new demands on his ability is probably the most intriguing of the night.
What: UFC Fight Night 22, a 10-bout card from the Frank Irvin Center in Austin, Texas
When: Wednesday, Sept. 15, at 8 p.m. ET on Spike Read more -
Tough Weight Cut Didn't Deter Escudero
By: Greg Savage