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MLS Cup, Heisman ceremony, UFC title bouts pack weekend sports schedule

The 2021 Heisman Trophy ceremony takes place at 8 p.m. EST Saturday and airs on ESPN. File Photo by Corey Sipkin/UPI
1 of 5 | The 2021 Heisman Trophy ceremony takes place at 8 p.m. EST Saturday and airs on ESPN. File Photo by Corey Sipkin/UPI | License Photo

MIAMI, Dec. 10 (UPI) -- The 2021 college football Heisman Trophy ceremony, the MLS Cup Playoffs title game, two UFC title bouts and dozens of regular-season college basketball, NBA, NHL and NFL games fill the weekend sports schedule.

Several international soccer games, Division I Football Championship Subdivision playoff games and a three-day golf tournament also take place from Friday through Sunday.

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The Heisman Trophy, the most prestigious individual honor in college football, will be presented Saturday at the Jazz at Lincoln Center concert venue in New York City.

The ceremony takes place a week before the start of a full slate of Division I Football Bowl Subdivision bowl games.

College football

The 2021 Heisman Trophy ceremony starts at 8 p.m. EST Saturday and airs on ESPN.

Alabama quarterback Bryce Young, Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud, Pittsburgh quarterback Kenny Pickett and Michigan defensive end Aidan Hutchinson are this year's Heisman Trophy finalists.

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Young is a heavy favorite to claim the honor. He totaled the fourth-most passing yards and second-most passing touchdowns this season for the Crimson Tide.

Nearly 900 sports journalists, 57 living former Heisman Trophy winners and fans vote to determine the winner of the annual award.

In the FCS Quarterfinals, James Madison battles Montana at 7 p.m. Friday on ESPN2. North Dakota State faces East Tennessee State in another FCS Quarterfinal at noon Saturday on ESPN. Villanova State faces South Dakota State in the next FCS Quarterfinal at 2 p.m. Saturday on ESPN.

Sam Houston battles Montana State in the final FCS Quarterfinal at 8:30 p.m. Saturday on ESPN+

The annual Army vs. Navy game also airs at 3 p.m. Saturday on CBS.

Soccer

The Portland Timbers host New York City FC in the 2021 MLS Cup Playoffs final at 3 p.m. EST Saturday at Providence Park in Portland. That game airs on ABC.

Portland and NYCFC each advanced as No. 4 seeds out of the Western Conference and Eastern Conference, respectively. NYCFC is a slight favorite to claim the title.

NYCFC forward Valentin Castellanos claimed the MLS Golden Boot, as the league's top scorer this season. He totaled 19 goals and eight assists in 32 games for NYCFC.

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Forwards Felipa Mora and Dairon Asprilla led the Timbers with 11 and 10 goals, respectively, in the regular season.

NBC also will air several Premier League matches on its affiliates throughout the weekend. Brentwood hosts Watford at 2 p.m. Friday on NBCSN.

Aston Villa faces Liverpool at 10 a.m. Saturday on USA. Manchester United battles Norwich City at 12:30 p.m. Saturday on NBC.

On Sunday, Lionel Messi and Paris Saint-Germain host AS Monaco in France's Ligue 1 at 2:45 p.m. Sunday on beIN Sports.

In Spain's La Liga, Real Madrid hosts Atletico Madrid at 3 p.m. Sunday on ESPN+.

UFC

Two title bouts take place as part of UFC 269 on Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nev. The main card, which starts at 10 p.m. EST, airs on ESPN+.

Raulian Paiva (21-3) faces Sean O'Malley (14-1) in a bantamweight bout to launch the main card. Kai Kara-France (22-9) battles Cody Garbrandt (12-4) in a flyweight matchup for the next fight.

Welterweights Geoff Neal (13-4) faces Santiago Ponzinibbio (29-4) in the third bout.

Amanda Nunes (21-4) matchups up with Julianna Pena (11-4) in the fourth bout. Nunes is a heavy favorite to win the women's bantamweight bout and keep her title belt.

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Dustin Poirier (28-6) battles Charles Oliveira (31-8) in the main event. The lightweight bout is for Oliveira's title belt.

Poirier, who is favored to win the bout, claimed the lightweight title in 2019, but lost it to Khabib Nurmagomedov in his next fight.

He beat Conor McGregor in each of his last two fights.

Oliveira beat Michael Chandler on May 15 to claim the lightweight belt. He enters the bout with nine-consecutive wins.

Nunes, a winner in her last 12 fights, is the reigning champion of the women's bantamweight and featherweight divisions. She is No. 1 in the UFC women's pound-for-pound rankings.

Her bout with Pena was planned for July, but rescheduled for Saturday this summer when Nunes tested positive for COVID-19.

Weekend schedule (all times EST)

Friday

Golf

QBE Shootout: First round from noon to 4 p.m. on Golf Channel

Soccer

Premier League: Watford at Brentwood at 2 p.m. on NBCSN

College football

FCS Quarterfinal: James Madison vs. Montana at 7 p.m. on ESPN2

NHL

Rangers at Sabres at 7 p.m. on ESPN+

Penguins at Capitals at 7 p.m. on ESPN+

Predators at Devils at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN+

Red WIngs at Avalanche at 9 p.m. on ESPN+

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Panthers at Coyotes at 9 p.m. on ESPN+

Jets at Canucks at 10 p.m. on ESPN+

Flyers at Golden Knights at 10 p.m. on ESPN+

College basketball

Women's

NC State at Pittsburgh at 6 p.m. on ACC Network

NBA

Nets at Hawks at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN

Celtics at Suns at 10 p.m. on ESPN

Saturday

Soccer

Premier League: Wolves at Manchester City at 7 a.m. on NBCSN

Premier League: Southampton at Arsenal at 9:30 a.m. on NBCSN

Bundesliga: Mainz at Bayern Munich at 9:30 a.m. on ESPN+

Bundesliga: Borussia Dortmund at VfL Bochum at 9:30 a.m. on ESPN+

Premier League: Aston Villa at Liverpool at 10 a.m. on USA

Serie A: Juventus at Venezia at noon on beIN Sports

Premier League: Manchester United at Norwich City at 12:30 p.m. on NBC

Serie A: AC Milan at Udinese at 2:45 p.m. on beIN Sports

MLS Cup final: NYCFC at Portland at 3 p.m. on ABC

La Liga: Sevilla at Athletic Bilbao at 3 p.m. on ESPN+

College basketball

Men's

Nebraska vs. Auburn at 11:30 a.m. on ESPN2

Wisconsin at Ohio State at noon on Big Ten Network

BYU at Creighton at noon on FS1

Syracuse at Georgetown at noon on Fox

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Penn State at Michigan State at 2 p.m. on Big Ten Network

UCLA at Marquette at 2:30 p.m. on Fox

Missouri at Kansas at 3:15 p.m. on ESPN

St. Bonaventure at UConn at 3:30 p.m. on ESPN2

Eastern Illinois at Butler at 4 p.m. on FS1

UNC Greensboro at Tennessee at 4:30 p.m. on SEC Network

Arizona at Illinois at 5 p.m. on Fox

Kentucky at Notre Dame at 5:15 p.m. on ESPN

LSU at Georgia Tech at 6 p.m. on ESPN2

Minnesota at Michigan at 6:30 p.m. on FS1

Cincinnati at Xavier at 8:30 p.m. on FS1

Houston at Alabama at 10 p.m. on ESPN2

Women's

UCLA vs. UConn at 1 p.m. on ABC

Idaho at Texas at 2 p.m. on Longhorn Network

College football

FCS Quarterfinal: North Dakota State vs. East Tennessee State at noon on ESPN

FCS Quarterfinal: Villanova vs. South Dakota State at 2 p.m. on ESPN+

Army vs. Navy at 3 p.m. on CBS

Heisman Trophy ceremony at 8 p.m. on ESPN

FCS Quarterfinal: Sam Houston vs. Montana State at 8:30 p.m. on ESPN+

NHL

Lightning at Senators at 1 p.m. on ESPN+

Capitals at Sabres at 7 p.m. on ESPN+

Blackhawks at Maple Leafs at 7 p.m. on NHL Network

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Ducks at Penguins at 7 p.m. on ESPN+

Canadiens at Blues at 7 p.m. on ESPN+

Devils at Islanders at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN+

Flyers at Coyotes at 9 p.m. on ESPN+

Bruins at Flames at 10 p.m. on ESPN+

Hurricanes at Oilers at 10 p.m. on ESPN+

Blue Jackets at Kraken at 10 p.m. on ESPN+

Wild at Kings at 10:30 p.m. on ESPN+

Stars at Sharks at 10:30 p.m. on ESPN+

Golf

QBE Shootout: Second round from 1 to 3 p.m. on Golf Channel; from 3 to 5 p.m. on NBC

NBA

Warriors at 76ers at 8:30 p.m. on ABC

UFC 269 on ESPN+

Raulian Paiva vs. Sean O'Malley at 10 p.m.

Kai Kara-France vs. Cody Garbrandt after first fight

Geoff Neal vs. Santiago Ponzinibbio after second fight

Amanda Nunes vs. Julianna Pena after third fight

Charles Oliveira vs. Dustin Poirier after fourth fight

Sunday

Soccer

Premier League: Tottenham Hotspur at Brighton at 7 a.m. on NBCSN

La Liga: Barcelona at Osasuna at 10:15 a.m. on ESPN+

Premier League: Everton at Crystal Palace at 11 a.m. on NBCSN

Serie A: Empoli at Napoli at noon on beIN Sports

La Liga: Real Sociedad at Real Betis at 12:30 p.m. on ESPN+

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Ligue 1: AS Monaco at Paris Saint-Germain at 2:45 p.m. on beIN Sports

La Liga: Atletico Madrid at Real Madrid at 3 p.m. on ESPN+

College basketball

Men's

Florida State vs. South Carolina at noon on ESPN2

Jackson State at Iowa State at 1 p.m. on ESPN+

Purdue vs. NC State at 2 p.m. on Big Ten Network

Villanova at Baylor at 3 p.m. on ABC

Kent State at West Virginia at 4 p.m. on ESPN2

Washington at Gonzaga at 5 p.m. on ESPN

Rutgers at Seton Hall at 7:30 p.m. on FS1

Women's

Kentucky at Louisville at 1 p.m. on ESPN

South Florida at VCU at 1 p.m. on ESPN+

Saint Mary's at NC State at 2 p.m. on ACC Network

Georgia State at Tennessee at 2 p.m. on SEC Network

Texas A&M at TCU at 2 p.m. on ESPN+

Maryland at South Carolina at 3 p.m. on ESPN

Indiana at Ohio State at 7 p.m. on Big Ten Network

NFL

Cowboys at Washington at 1 p.m. on Fox

Jaguars at Titans at 1 p.m. on CBS

Seahawks at Texans at 1 p.m. on Fox

Raiders at Chiefs at 1 p.m. on CBS

Saints at Jets at 1 p.m. on CBS

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Falcons at Panthers at 1 p.m. on Fox

Ravens at Browns at 1 p.m. on CBS

Giants at Chargers at 4:05 p.m. on Fox

Lions at Broncos at 4:05 p.m. on Fox

49ers at Bengals at 4:25 p.m. on CBS

Bills at Buccaneers at 4:25 p.m. on CBS

Bears at Packers at 8:20 p.m. on NBC

Golf

QBE Shootout: Final round from noon to 2 p.m. on Golf Channel; from 2 to 4 p.m. on NBC

NHL

Predators at Rangers at 7 p.m. on ESPN+

Ducks at Blues at 7 p.m. on ESPN+

Panthers at Avalanche at 8 p.m. on ESPN+

Wild at Golden Knights at 9 p.m. on ESPN+

Hurricanes at Canucks at 10 p.m. on ESPN+

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