MMAgenda: January 2020

Top Upcoming MMA Fights

***Card and dates subject to change. Click on the matchup for preview.***

January 18, UFC 246 (PPV)
Welterweight (170 lb): [Former #1] [Lightweight] Conor McGregor (Ireland) vs. (16) Donald Cerrone (United States)
Women’s Bantamweight (135 lb): (3) Holly Holm (United States) vs. (5) Raquel Pennington (United States)
Lightweight (155 lb): (5) Anthony Pettis (United States) vs. (16) Diego Ferreira (Brazil)

January 25, Bellator LA (DAZN)
Bellator Women’s Featherweight Championship (145 lb): (1) Cris Cyborg (Brazil) vs. (2) Julia Budd (Canada) (c)

January 25, UFC on ESPN+ 24 (ESPN+)
Heavyweight (205+ lb): (4) Junior dos Santos (Brazil) vs. (7) Curtis Blaydes (United States)
Welterweight (170 lb): (7) Rafael dos Anjos (Brazil) vs. (24) Michael Chiesa (United States)
Women’s Bantamweight (135 lb): (8) Lina Lansberg (Sweden) vs. [Former #10] Sara McMann (United States)

February 8, UFC 247 (PPV)
UFC Light Heavyweight Championship (205 lb): (1) Jon Jones (United States) (c) vs. (8) Dominick Reyes (United States)
UFC Women’s Flyweight Championship (125 lb): (1) Valentina Shevchenko (Peru) (c) vs. (2) Katlyn Chookagian (United States)

February 15, UFC on ESPN+ 25 (ESPN+)
Light Heavyweight (205 lb): (4) Jan Blachowicz (Poland) vs. (7) Corey Anderson (United States)

February 22, UFC on ESPN+ 26 (ESPN+)
Lightweight (155 lb): (8) Dan Hooker (Australia) vs. (9) Paul Felder (United States)

February 29, UFC on ESPN+ 27 (ESPN+)
UFC Flyweight Championship (125 lb) [Vacant]: (1) Joseph Benavidez (United States) vs. (3) Deiveson Figueiredo (Brazil)

March 7, UFC 248 (PPV)
UFC Women’s Strawweight Championship (115 lb): (1) Weili Zhang (China) (c) vs. (3) Joanna Jedrzejczyk (Poland)
Middleweight (185 lb): (3) Robert Whittaker (New Zealand) vs. (7) Jared Cannonier (United States)
Welterweight (170 lb): (20) Neil Magny (United States) vs. (28) Jingliang Li (China)

March 14, UFC on ESPN+ 28 (ESPN+)
Flyweight (125 lb): (2) Jussier Formiga (Brazil) vs. (6) Brandon Moreno (Mexico)

March 21, UFC on ESPN+ 29 (ESPN+)
Welterweight (170 lb): (2) Tyron Woodley (United States) vs. (5) Leon Edwards (United Kingdom)

March 28, UFC on ESPN 8 (ESPN)
Heavyweight (205+ lb): (3) Francis Ngannou (France) vs. (8) Jairzinho Rozenstruik (Suriname)

Top-Ranked Men’s Fights (Based on competitiveness and potential to impact rankings, not necessarily the “draw” of the fight)

(3) Robert Whittaker (New Zealand) vs. (7) Jared Cannonier (United States)
(2) Tyron Woodley (United States) vs. (5) Leon Edwards (United Kingdom)
(4) Junior dos Santos (Brazil) vs. (7) Curtis Blaydes (United States)
(3) Francis Ngannou (France) vs. (8) Jairzinho Rozenstruik (Suriname)
(4) Jan Blachowicz (Poland) vs. (7) Corey Anderson (United States)
(1) Jon Jones (United States) vs. (8) Dominick Reyes (United States)
(8) Dan Hooker (Australia) vs. (9) Paul Felder (United States)
[Former #1] [Lightweight] Conor McGregor (Ireland) vs. (16) Donald Cerrone (United States)
(7) Rafael dos Anjos (Brazil) vs. (24) Michael Chiesa (United States)
(5) Anthony Pettis (United States) vs. (16) Diego Ferreira (Brazil)

Top-Ranked Women’s Fights

(1) Weili Zhang (China) vs. (3) Joanna Jedrzejczyk (Poland)
(1) Valentina Shevchenko (Peru) vs. (2) Katlyn Chookagian (United States)
(3) Holly Holm (United States) vs. (5) Raquel Pennington (United States)
(1) Cris Cyborg (Brazil) vs. (2) Julia Budd (Canada)
(8) Lina Lansberg (Sweden) vs. [Former #10] Sara McMann (United States)

Top Upcoming Kickboxing Fights

Slim pickings this time around as most of the organizations did big year-end cards in December. I expect the agenda will be a bit more robust by the end of the month. Also, I’m not interested in seeing Petch beat Adamchuk for a 3rd time, sorry.

Kickboxing organizations and cards are notoriously difficult to find information on ahead of fight night. That’s why this section is fairly bare-boned compared to the MMA and boxing. It is also fairly difficult to determine where and how these events will actually be broadcast so I’ve included my best estimates with the information available.

February 29, Glory 75
Welterweight (170 lb): (8) Dmitry Menshikov (Russia) vs. (10) Mohamed Mezouari (Netherlands)

Top Upcoming Boxing Fights

***Card and dates subject to change. Click on the matchup for preview.***

January 30, (DAZN)
Super Featherweight (130 lb): (7) Tevin Farmer (United States) vs. (11) Joseph Diaz (United States)

February 2, (ESPN)
Super Lightweight (140 lb): (2) Jose Carlos Ramirez (United States) vs. (4) Viktor Postol (Ukraine)

February 8, (Showtime)
Featherweight (126 lb): (2) Gary Russell, Jr. (United States) vs. (6) Tugstsogt Nyambayar (Mongolia)

February 22, (PPV)
Heavyweight (200+ lb): (2) Deontay Wilder (United States) vs. (4) Tyson Fury (United Kingdom)

February 29, (DAZN)
Welterweight (147 lb): (8) Mikey Garcia (United States) vs. (7) [Super Welterweight] Jessie Vargas (United States)

Upcoming Boxing Fights (Ranked; bout significance indicated by stars ***-*****; just a little something I’m playing around with)

1. (1) Deontay Wilder (United States) vs. (5) Tyson Fury (United Kingdom) ****4
2. (8) Mikey Garcia (United States) vs. (7) [Super Welterweight] Jessie Vargas (United States)
3. (2) Jose Carlos Ramirez (United States) vs. (4) Viktor Postol (Ukraine) ****4
4. (7) Tevin Farmer (United States) vs. (11) Joseph Diaz (United States) ***3
5. (2) Gary Russell Jr. (United States) vs. (6) Tugstsogt Nyambayar (Mongolia) ***3