‘UFC 299,’ College Basketball’s Championship Week: What’s On This Weekend in TV Sports (March 9-10)

Sean O'Malley (L) kicks Marlon Vera of Ecuador in their bantamweight bout during the UFC 252 event at UFC APEX on August 15, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Sean O'Malley (l.) kicks Marlon Vera of Ecuador in their bantamweight bout during the UFC 252 in 2020. (Image credit: Getty Images)

The UFC 299 mixed-martial arts pay-per-view event and the start of college basketball’s championship week lead the list of live TV sports events airing this weekend. 

ESPN Plus on Saturday will distribute UFC 299, featuring the main-event rematch between bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley and Marlon Vera. O’Malley lost to Vera in their 2020 fight.   

College basketball jumps into its championship week slate of games, with teams competing in conference tournaments for automatic bids to March Madness. On the women’s side, conferences such as the Big Ten (CBS), ACC (ESPN), Pac-12 (ESPN), and Atlantic 10 (ESPN2) will crown champions this weekend.  

For the men, Saturday's games featuring top-ranked men’s teams include No. 1 Houston facing Kansas on ESPN, second-ranked UConn playing Providence on Fox, fourth-ranked Tennessee hosting Kentucky on CBS, and fifth-ranked Arizona taking on USC on ESPN. On Sunday, third-ranked Purdue hosts Wisconsin on Fox. 

In the NBA, ABC’s Saturday primetime telecast features the Boston Celtics and Phoenix Suns, while on Sunday, ESPN will air the Philadelphia 76ers-New York Knicks and the Minnesota Timberwolves-Los Angeles Lakers games. 

On the ice, ABC on Saturday will air the Carolina Hurricanes-New Jersey Devils and the Pittsburgh Penguins-Boston Bruins contests. On Sunday, TNT will televise the Edmonton Oilers-Pittsburgh Penguins and Nashville Predators-Minnesota Wild matches.

On the racetrack, NBC on Sunday will televise the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg IndyCar race, while Fox will air the NASCAR Cup Shriners Children’s 500 event. On the soccer field, USA Network, NBC and Peacock will air nine Premier League games across two days. 

On the links, NBC and Golf Channel will air weekend coverage of the Arnold Palmer Invitational PGA Tour event, while The CW will offer live action from the LIV Golf Hong Kong tournament. 

R. Thomas Umstead

R. Thomas Umstead serves as senior content producer, programming for Multichannel News, Broadcasting + Cable and Next TV. During his more than 30-year career as a print and online journalist, Umstead has written articles on a variety of subjects ranging from TV technology, marketing and sports production to content distribution and development. He has provided expert commentary on television issues and trends for such TV, print, radio and streaming outlets as Fox News, CNBC, the Today show, USA Today, The New York Times and National Public Radio. Umstead has also filmed, produced and edited more than 100 original video interviews, profiles and news reports featuring key cable television executives as well as entertainers and celebrity personalities.