MMA Rundown – from July 27 to 29: RFA Grenoble against Yuki Kondo

There's a big UFC on the Fox card this weekend, but that's not the only thing to watch for. We have some hot Asian cards, and some reliable fighters for a title at LFA.

But everything starts very early Friday morning when ONE Championship: Reign of Kings. The leading billing honors go to ONE stalwart Kevin Belingon (18-5) while he defeats Martin Nguyen (11-2) for the interim title of Roosters. If you are not familiar with Belingon, you should be. It is a product of the Philippine circuit, mainly via URCC. His first career loss was won by Masakatsu Imanari (of course), and he really lost only to the best fights against Dae Hwan Kim, Masakatsu Ueda and Bibiano Fernandes, bantamweight teammate (19659003). He was victorious and won two wins over Christian Lee (twice), Kazunari Yokota and Eduard Folayang, and avenged his defeat against Marat Gafurov through strikes. Nguyen seems to be close to a finished product at this point, refining his defense game and takedown submission while putting more English on his strikes.

The grappling legend Shinya Aoki (40-8) also returns to action against Shannon Wiratchai (9-2) in what is clearly the closest thing to a classic striker vs grappler match these days. It's almost Aoki's specialty these days, and Wiratchai is not just crafty, he can be pretty naughty.

But wait! More legends are on the map, like a showdown between Renzo Gracie (13-7, 1 draw, 1 no contest) and Yuki Kondo (59-34, 9 draws). Kondo has been fighting for longer than many fans have been alive. Half-god Pancrase faced everyone from Masakatsu Funaki, Frank Shamrock and Jason DeLucia to a win last year against Ikuhisa Minowa (MINOWAMAN !!).

Kondo has one of the most stellar races in the brief history of sports, competing in PRIDE, Sengoku and the UFC. As for Gracie, he's been doing it since … well …

Gracie is coming out of retirement for a very appropriate legendary match, and against a very active gambling opponent for the entirety of his MMA career . It's still a very intriguing fight between two pioneers.

Eduard Folayang (19-6) is also back in action when he faces the very dangerous finisher Aziz Pakhrudinov (17-0, 1 draw). Folayang's strike is amusing, and his defensive fight helped him fend Shinya Aoki by TKO. Pakhrudinov is just vicious, and pretty good everywhere. In addition, the grappling phenomenon and connoisseur of Five Guys Garry Tonon (1-0) face Indian heavyweight Rahul Raju (5-2).

ONE Championship: Reign of Kings starts at 07:00 EST live from the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila, live streaming via the ONE application

LFA sets up his tent for Friday night, when James Nakashima ( 8-0) defends his welterweight title against another promising prospect in Kyle Stewart (10-0). It's Nakashima's first defense since he won the belt by split decision against Derrick Krantz last September. Stewart has mostly finished in his professional and amateur career, and this should be a challenge for both competitors.

Still on the map, Sam Toomer (11-2) faces Alexander "Popo" Bezerra (20-5) at the featherweight. Toomer started working on the Southern California circuit with the infamous Xplode and Gladiator Challenge outfits, but has been very successful since then against more established opposition. Bezerra began on the Brazilian regional circuit, made its way to Bellator and eventually toured other national organizations. It's a submissive threat that has a decent attack, but a very fun melee game that makes it tough to deal with anybody.

LFA 46: Nakashima vs Stewart is broadcast live on their home network AXS TV, from 22:00. ] ROAD FC has a fun game of fights scheduled for early Saturday morning (and I mean start ). Middleweight champion Young Choi (20-11, 3 draws) defends his title against In Jae La (7-0, 1 draw). Both are tough hitters who are still rounding up their games, but that should make a fun piece.

The Brazilian Michel Pereira (19-8) is in the same position against Hae Jun Yang (11-5). Pereira has had brutal encounters in the past, with a kill or be killed combat approach. Yang has not fought since July 2016, having early career finishes, but ultimately having a more cautious style that leads to decision wins.

ROAD FC 48 starts at 3:00 am EST Friday night until Saturday morning. Previous fights can be found on their YouTube channel.