[alnorth]

This is a solid weekend with a well above-average PPV.

Friday

8pm - (Spike) - Bellator 174

Not really excited about the main event since it is the inaugural Bellator women's FW title, but whatever. The main card as a whole is pretty good by Bellator's low standards, with lots of top-100 fighters.

Saturday

3pm - (Fightpass) - Cage Warriors, local promotion with regional talent, no one ranked. If you can't wait for the evening, then I guess its still live MMA.

7pm for TV - (5:30pm Fightpass/FS1/PPV) - UFC 209 Woodley vs Thompson 2

On paper, this is a very good PPV. In the main card we start with a fun heavyweight match that will likely end in a 1st round KO, and we end with two very good title fights. In between..... eh, whatever, those other 2 fights aren't why we're watching this. The prelims aren't great, which makes sense, they are probably saving their good non-PPV fights for FOX. They don't need a good prelim to sell this.

The co-main is only for an interim title, but its probably more important than most interim title fights because who knows if Conor will ever defend his belt, so this may end up being a real championship fight. The Eagle is 24-0, a solid favorite to get win #25, and could be a nightmare matchup for Conor. Obviously Conor could get the early KO again if they ever fought, but Khabib quickly wrecks almost anyone he takes down. Anyway, he's got to get by Ferguson first.

Sunday

8pm - (Fightpass) - EBI 11: The Welterweights

I love the Eddie Bravo Invitational, and its the welterweight tournament this time around. EBI is a submission-only grappling tournament with no judges, no scoring, and very clever overtime rules if it goes too long.

EBI always has a gimmick between the rounds of the main tournament, and this time they are going to try a small 4-man "combat jiu-jitsu" tournament between rounds where open-hand striking will be permitted.