Toronto – Fight Network, the world’s premier 24/7 multi-platform channel dedicated to complete coverage of combat sports, presents live coverage of the official prelims for UFC FIGHT NIGHT®: MACDONALD vs. THOMPSON from TD Place Arena in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada this Saturday, June 18 at 8:30 p.m. ET.
Fight Network will air the live UFC FIGHT NIGHT®: MACDONALD vs. THOMPSON prelims exclusively in Canada at 8:30 p.m. ET, preceded by a live pre-show at 7:30 p.m. ET. The main card airs live on TSN5 at 10:30 p.m. ET.
In featured preliminary bouts, Toronto native Jason Saggo (11-2) takes on Brazil’s Leandro Silva (19-2-1, 1NC) in a lightweight matchup, Latvian-Canadian powerhouse Misha Cirkunov (11-2) welcomes Moldova’s Ion Cutelaba (11-1, 1NC) to the sport’s biggest stage for a light heavyweight showdown, slick Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist Tamdam McCrory (14-3) faces Polish veteran Krzysztof Jotko (17-1) in a middleweight clash, plus bantamweights Chris Beal (10-2) and Joe Soto (15-5) will kick off the televised festivities with a bang.
Before all the action, the fighters will come face-to-face during Fight Network’s live broadcast of the UFC FIGHT NIGHT®: MACDONALD vs. THOMPSON weigh-ins on Friday, June 17 at 5 p.m. ET, as headliners Rory MacDonald and Stephen Thompson, plus co-main event stars Donald Cerrone and Patrick Cote, tip the scales ahead of their highly anticipated clashes.
Following Saturday’s main card, Fight Network will broadcast the live UFC FIGHT NIGHT®: MACDONALD vs. THOMPSON post-fight press conference in its entirety.
In addition to all the live events, Fight Network is the destination for UFC library content, specials and series, including The Ultimate Fighter, UFC Unleashed, UFC Now, UFC Ultimate Insider and classic UFC PPV events.
This Sunday, June 19 at 9 p.m. ET, Fight Network presents UFC 74: Respect from August 2007 in Las Vegas, featuring a heavyweight championship showdown between Randy Couture and Gabriel Gonzaga, plus Georges St-Pierre battles Josh Koscheck and Patrick Cote collides with Kendall Grove.
The full card for UFC FIGHT NIGHT®: MACDONALD vs. THOMPSON includes:
Main Card (Live on TSN5, 10:30 p.m. ET):
-Rory MacDonald (18-3) vs. Stephen Thompson (12-1)
-Donald Cerrone (29-7, 1NC) vs. Patrick Cote (24-9)
-Steve Bosse (11-2) vs. Sean O’Connell (17-7)
-Olivier Aubin-Mercier (8-2) vs. Thibault Gouti (11-1)
-Valerie Letourneau (8-4) vs. Joanne Calderwood (10-1)
Preliminary Card (Live on Fight Network, 8:30 p.m. ET):
-Jason Saggo (11-2) vs. Leandro Silva (19-2-1, 1NC)
-Misha Cirkunov (11-2) vs. Ion Cutelaba (11-1)
-Tamdan McCrory (14-3) vs. Krzysztof Jotko (17-1)
-Chris Beal (10-2) vs. Joe Soto (15-5)
Preliminary Card (Live on UFC Fight Pass, 6:45 p.m. ET):
-Elias Theodorou (12-1) vs. Sam Alvey (26-7, 1NC)
-Randa Markos (5-4) vs. Jocelyn Jones-Lybarger (6-2)
-Colby Covington (8-1) vs. Jonathan Meunier (7-0)
-Ali Bagautinov (13-4) vs. Geane Herrera (9-1)
But first, Fight Network gets the live action underway on Friday, June 17 with a mixed martial arts tripleheader, beginning with a live 9 p.m. ET broadcast of World Series of Fighting 31: Ivanov vs. Copeland from Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Conn., followed by Hard Knocks Fighting 50 live from Calgary, Alberta, Canada’s Century Casino at 11 p.m. ET. Finally, RFA 39: Barcelos vs. Moffett will air via short tape delay from Indiana’s Hammond Civic Center at 2 a.m. ET.
All three cards will air on Fight Network across Canada and globally in over 30 countries in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. The live presentation of Hard Knocks Fighting 50 will also air on Fight Network in the U.S. on Cablevision’s Optimum TV, CenturyLink, Suddenlink Communications, Grande Communications, Shentel Cable, Armstrong Cable and other select carriers, as well as digitally on Roku, Apple TV and Amazon Fire TV.
Headlining the live World Series of Fighting lineup, reigning kingpin Blagoy Ivanov (13-1) defends the WSOF heavyweight title against Josh “Cuddly Bear” Copeland (13-1). In the lightweight co-main event, superstars Jason “The Kansas City Bandit” High (19-5) and Mike “The Martian” Ricci (11-4) will square off with the No. 1 contender ranking at stake. Rounding out the star-studded main card, undefeated Jackson-Winkeljohn middleweight prospect Phil Hawes (3-0) makes his promotional debut against Joshua “The Prince of MMA” Key (6-11, 2NC), battle-tested warrior John “Doomsday” Howard (23-12) will face late replacement “Mad” Mike Arrant (15-10) in a middleweight bout, plus Luis “Baboon” Palomino (24-12) returns to the featherweight division for a scrap with former title challenger Sheymon Moraes (8-1).
The live broadcast of Hard Knocks Fighting 50 is topped by a bantamweight championship showdown pitting red-hot Jesse Arnett (10-4) against surging Michigan Top Team representative Mike Hernandez (10-2). In other action, Stephanie Essensa (2-1) battles Brazil’s Paula Baack (2-4) in a women’s strawweight tilt, Josh Griffin (3-4) meets Trenton Rowell (3-4) in a middleweight affair and Leo Xavier (3-0-1) takes on Thomas Richardson (3-0) in a clash of undefeated welterweights.
RFA’s first trip to Chicagoland will feature RFA featherweight champion Raoni Barcelos (9-1) defending his title for the first time against local favorite Bobby “The Wolfman” Moffett (8-1). The event will also feature a featherweight encounter between Luis Saldana (11-4) and Mike Santiago (17-9), a middleweight matchup pitting undefeated Joseph Gigliotti (7-0) against Daniel Vizcaya (9-3), a light heavyweight bout between Jordan Johnson (4-0) and Shaun Asher (11-2-1), a bantamweight fight between unbeaten prospects Ode Osbourne (3-0) and Antonio Sanchez (2-0), plus a welterweight homecoming for Deray Davis (7-2-1), as he welcomes Bobby Nash (7-1) into enemy territory.
For a full listing of Fight Network’s broadcast schedule, please visit www.fightnetwork.com, follow us on Twitter @fightnet, become a fan on Facebook and visit us on Instagram @fightnet.
