Across the pond and into the cage, the UFC is heading back to England.
On October 26th, in the inaugural UFC Fight Night on FOX Sports 2, the former UFC light-heavyweight champion Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida is dropping twenty pounds to make a run at the elites at 185 pounds with first-up being #5 ranked “The Filipino Wrecking Machine” Mark Munoz. The marquee middleweight matchup will headline three hours of live fights from the Phones 4U Arena in Manchester.
UFC FIGHT NIGHT: MACHIDA VS. MUNOZ: FOX SPORTS PROGRAMMING SCHEDULE
Friday, Oct. 25 at 11:00 AM (ET)
UFC WEIGH IN
FOX Sports 2
Saturday, Oct. 26 at 12:00 PM (ET)
UFC FIGHT NIGHT ONLINE PRELIMS
FOXSports.com
Saturday, Oct. 26 at 2:00 PM (ET)
UFC FIGHT NIGHT PREFIGHT SHOW
FOX Sports 2
Saturday, Oct. 26 at 3:00 PM (ET)
UFC FIGHT NIGHT: MACHIDA VS. MUNOZ
FOX Sports 2 / FOX Deportes
Saturday, Oct. 26 at 6:00 PM (ET)
UFC FIGHT NIGHT POSTFIGHT SHOW
FOX Sports 2
In the co-main event, hard-hitting lightweight Melvin Guillard takes on England’s own, The Ultimate Fighter season 9 winner Ross “The Real Deal” Pearson.
On paper, Machida vs. Munoz is a classic “striker vs. grappler”, but there is more than meets the eye to this pair’s fighting history. “Mark Munoz is a world class wrestler and has trained with Machida in the past, so he’ll know his mannerisms and style,” affirms UFC TV analyst Joe Rogan about Munoz possibly having a behind-the-scenes knowledge to the enigmatic stand-up tactician Machida. “Machida brings a really unique aspect to the middleweight division that hasn’t been seen before: his crazy karate game, wild and unpredictable kicking technique, and sniper-like attacks. It’s going to be really interesting to see him battle against a guy like Munoz, a top-flight 185er.”
Besides Machida (19-4) against Munoz (13-3) for a five round fracas and the striker’s duel between the technical brawler Pearson (17-6) and the power-punching veteran Guillard (48-13-3, 1NC), there are 4 fireworks ready fights spanning the divisions, starting at 205 and ending at 125.
Runaway freight train Jimi Manuwa (13-0) will put his undefeated streak on the line against the Knockout of the Night winner Ryan Jimmo (18-2). Another TUF winner will take to the cage as Norman Parke (19-2) will collide against undefeated lightweight, the Guamanian Jon Tuck (7-0). At 185 pounds, fan-favorite UFC vet Alessio Sakara (19-10) tangles with Octagon newcomer Nicholas Musoke (10-2, 1NC). Last mentioned but first up, those wild flyweights will kick off the broadcast when Phil Harris (22-10, 1NC) scraps with #5 ranked John Lineker (22-6) who is within arm’s reach of a title shot.
Rogan and Jon Anik will hype-up the match-ups and break-down the action.
Can’t wait for the fights, but don’t have anyone to talk to about it? Luckily for you, there is a litany of pre-fight shows, weigh-ins, analysis, online videos, and Twitter accounts with all the coverage one could ever ask for.
The UFC Fight Night: Machida vs. Munoz weigh-ins begin on Friday, October 25th at 11:00 AM ET on FOX Sports 2. The FOX Sports big desk duties from Los Angeles will be handled by the talented sports journalist Karyn Bryant, current UFC bantamweight champ Dominick Cruz, and UFC heavyweight (soon-to-be light-heavyweight) Daniel Cormier. Also, British MMA journalist and great hair-haver Gareth A. Davies will be in Manchester with his finger on the pulse.
The following day aka FIGHT DAY on Saturday, October 26th the online prelims will be streaming - for free, mind you - on FOXSports.com starting at 12:00 PM ET. The UFC Fight Night pre-fight show will being on FOX Sports 2 at 2:00 PM ET with the host with the most Jay Glazer as well as Cormier and Cruz who will provide in-depth analysis for each and every fight scheduled. When the fights are over, the post-fight show is just beginning, so watch the UFC Fight Night post-fight show on FOX Sports 2 at 6:00 PM ET.
If you happen to speak Spanish, FOX Sports’ Spanish-language network FOX Deportes (sports in Spanish) will have live coverage of the main card fights with Victor Davila and UFC heavyweight #1 contender Fabricio Werdum calling the action.
Of course, there are always features, previews, interviews, and live blogs for UFC Fight Night right here on FOXSports.com. Also, in 140 characters or less, follow @UFConFOX on Twitter. Do all your tweeting to #UFCFightNight or watch it for the latest updates.
To whet the appetite, here are UFC commentating duo Mike Goldberg and Rogan previewing this forthcoming UFC Fight Night: Machida vs. Munoz.
