Author: Luke Irwin

  UFC Light Heavyweight Championship: Jan Blachowicz (c) (27-8) vs. Israel Adesanya (20-0) Luke Irwin: What exactly can Blachowicz do here, exactly? What are the odds that Jan Blachowicz, 38 years old, lands the killshot that finally ends the reign of Adesanya? This isn’t Corey Anderson or a beyond-shot Luke Rockhold. This is the most proficient and elusive striker the UFC has possibly ever seen. Not since Anderson Silva’s prime has the UFC seen such a baffling striker that’s like trying to nail Jell-O to the wall. Izzy’s too quick, and despite moving up in weight, has the reach...

  Here at Undercard Superstar, we’re in the business of your business! Just follow our sound betting advice, and you too can commandeer your fast-food franchise to engage in an all-hands-on-deck arms war against the Shamrock Shake. As usual, we’ll take a hundred dollars and divide it among five fights. Let’s make some cashola.   Amanda Nunes -1100 over Megan Anderson ($25) Thiago Santos +130 over Aleksandar Rakic ($5) Claressa Shields -1400 over Marie Eve Dicaire ($60) Dominick Cruz +105 over Casey Kennedy ($5) Israel Adesanya -235 over Jan Blachowicz ($5)   You know how I always preach about...

  Date: October 11, 1998Card: Pride 4Championship(s):Venue: Tokyo DomeLocation: Tokyo, Japan   View the original article on Undercard Superstar: Fight of the Day: Gary Goodridge vs. Igor...

  Date: April 22, 2001Card: Thunder in AfricaChampionship(s): WBC, IBF, IBO World Heavyweight Championships (Lewis)Venue: Carnival City CasinoLocation: Brakpan, South Africa   View the original article on Undercard Superstar: Fight of the Day: Hasim Rahman vs. Lennox Lewis...

  Date: September 12, 2015Card: Polaris Pro 2Championship(s): Venue: Ice Arena WalesLocation: Cardiff, Wales   View the original article on Undercard Superstar: Fight of the Day: AJ Agazarm vs. Dan...

  Date: December 6, 2003Card: K-1 World Grand Prix 2003 FinalChampionship(s): Venue: Tokyo DomeLocation: Tokyo, Japan   View the original article on Undercard Superstar: Fight of the Day: Peter Graham vs. Remy...

  Heavyweight Bout: Ciryl Gane (7-0) vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik (11-1) Luke Irwin: Coming off last week’s spectacular heavyweight knockout, the UFC is bringing us (checks notes) two spectacular heavyweight knockout artists, ok then! Neither are afraid to throw the leather, and both have kickboxing backgrounds, but Gane is a little more well-rounded. I think he takes a more analytical approach and paces the fight out, before choosing his spot, then following it up with a sub. Gane via R4 Submission.   Light Heavyweight Bout: Magomed Ankalaev (14-1) vs. Nikita Krylov (26-7) Luke: Ankalaev is finally free from Ion Cutelaba...

  WBC/WBA Super World Super Middleweight Championships: Saul Alvarez (c) (54-1-2) vs. Avni Yildirim (21-2) Luke Irwin: By some bizarre-ass metric, Yildirim was the WBC mandatory for this slot. Canelo is just a fucking blast to watch these days. He’ll give you your money’s worth most of the time. A limited fighter like Yildirim might look good for a round or hang with Canelo for a little, but over twelve rounds? No, eventually it becomes too much. Alvarez via R7 KO.   Heavyweight Bout: Jerry Forrest (26-4) vs. Zhilei Zhang (22-0) Luke: Forrest is undersized for a heavyweight, and...

  WBC/WBA Super World Super Middleweight Championships: Saul Alvarez (c) (54-1-2) vs. Avni Yildirim (21-2) Luke Irwin: By some bizarre-ass metric, Yildirim was the WBC mandatory for this slot. Canelo is just a fucking blast to watch these days. He’ll give you your money’s worth most of the time. A limited fighter like Yildirim might look good for a round or hang with Canelo for a little, but over twelve rounds? No, eventually it becomes too much. Alvarez via R7 KO.   Heavyweight Bout: Jerry Forrest (26-4) vs. Zhilei Zhang (22-0) Luke: Forrest is undersized for a heavyweight, and...

  Here at Undercard Superstar, we’re in the business of your business! Just follow our sound betting advice, and you too can pay out the ass for 2020’s Boxer of the Year, the man who toppled the P4P king, and say he’s a co-main with an “influencer“! As usual, we’ll take a hundred dollars and divide it among five fights. Let’s make some cashola.   Kevin Croom +170 over Alex Caceres ($10) Junior Fa +750 over Joseph Parker ($5) Angela Hill -400 over Ashley Yoder ($40) Anthony Dirrell -400 over Kyrone Davis ($30) Dustin Jacoby -190 over Maxim Grishin...

  Here at Undercard Superstar, we’re in the business of your business! Just follow our sound betting advice, and you too can pay out the ass for 2020’s Boxer of the Year, the man who toppled the P4P king, and say he’s a co-main with an “influencer“! As usual, we’ll take a hundred dollars and divide it among five fights. Let’s make some cashola.   Kevin Croom +170 over Alex Caceres ($10) Junior Fa +750 over Joseph Parker ($5) Angela Hill -400 over Ashley Yoder ($40) Anthony Dirrell -400 over Kyrone Davis ($30) Dustin Jacoby -190 over Maxim Grishin...

  Date: September 15, 2007Card: EliteXC: UprisingChampionship(s): EliteXC Middleweight Championship (Rua), ICON Sport Middleweight Championship (Lawler)Venue: Neal S. Blaisdell ArenaLocation: Honolulu, Hawaii   View the original article on Undercard Superstar: Fight of the Day: Murilo Rua vs. Robbie...

  Date: September 15, 2007Card: EliteXC: UprisingChampionship(s): EliteXC Middleweight Championship (Rua), ICON Sport Middleweight Championship (Lawler)Venue: Neal S. Blaisdell ArenaLocation: Honolulu, Hawaii   View the original article on Undercard Superstar: Fight of the Day: Murilo Rua vs. Robbie...

  Date: June 17, 2000Card: Championship(s): WBC World Lightweight Championship (Johnston)Venue: The Bicycle CasinoLocation: Bell Gardens, California   View the original article on Undercard Superstar: Fight of the Day: Jose Luis Castillo vs. Stevie Johnston...

  Date: August 29, 2015Card: 2015 Abu Dhabi Combat ClubChampionship(s):Venue: Location: Sao Paulo, Brazil   View the original article on Undercard Superstar: Fight of the Day: Dillon Danis vs. Garry...

  Date: October 11, 2003Card: K-1 World Grand Prix 2003 Final EliminationChampionship(s): Venue: Osaka DomeLocation: Osaka, Japan   View the original article on Undercard Superstar: Fight of the Day: Alexey Ignashov vs. Mike...

  Date: October 7, 2006Card: Strikeforce: Tank vs. BuentelloChampionship(s): Venue: Save Mart CenterLocation: Fresno, California   View the original article on Undercard Superstar: Fight of the Day: Paul Buentello vs. Tank...

  Heavyweight Bout: Curtis Blaydes (14-2) vs. Derrick Lewis (24-7) Luke Irwin: Unless you’re Francis Ngannou, as a Curtis Blaydes opponent, your fate is pretty much sealed. Looking up at the lights while avoiding lunchbox fists raining down on you. Blaydes via R2 TKO.         Women’s Bantamweight Bout: Ketlen Vieira (11-1) vs. Yana Kunitskaya (13-5) Luke: Vieira is kryptonite against wrestlers, but Kunitskaya is a striker by trade, and Vieira’s only loss was getting her lights turned out by Irene Aldana, who’s hardly a fearsome striker. I’m calling an upset, as Kunitskaya dots her up at...

  WBC World Junior Lightweight Championship: Miguel Berchelt (c) (37-1) vs. Oscar Valdez (28-0) Luke Irwin: One of the best fights that can be made in boxing. The immovable four-year champion against the unstoppable, undefeated former champion coming up to attempt to rule another division. Valdez has played it much more conservatively in recent bouts, and if he comes in trying to outbox Berchelt, he’s going to be in for a bad time. Berchelt is going to bring the dog out of him. Valdez in his younger days was a hell of a scrapper, but in Berchelt, he’s met...

  The championship fight. The pinnacle of achievement across combat sports for centuries. A premiere attraction that draws millions every year. But not all title bouts are created equally. So which title bouts every week are the ones to watch? We’ll look over every title fight from across the combat sports landscape and give you the five best based on five criteria:   Competitiveness: Is this an even matchup? Or just a warm body to throw at a champion? It’s a title fight, so we want the best possible at that division in that promotion. Excitement: How exciting will...