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 this fight be? A clash of two elite talents throwing everything they have at each other in an attempt to win the gold? Or a half-dead plod-fest devoid of action or risk?
- Juice: A sort of catch-all term for all the factors behind the matchup. Is there a story leading up to the match? A true rivalry? Anticipated rematch? Do the fighters dislike each other? Were the circumstances leading to the fight extraordinary, or was it just a promoter putting two names against each other? Is there a lot of excitement or hype going into it?
- Prestige: Applies to the belt itself, but also to the fighter wearing it. Is this a long-tenured champion defending? Is this an interim title or one that was vacated? Has the champion increased the prestige of the title or is this a fight that will increase the prestige of it?
- Viewing Ease: We all don’t mind suffering for our art (or hobbies), but sometimes paying twenty dollars for a choppy stream, or searching your cable plan for a channel you’re pretty sure was just invented three days ago in the 6000s isn’t the best of times. How easy, affordable, and stress-free is this bout to watch?
So here are your five best gold options for the weekend.
5. Fight To Win Black Belt Welterweight Championship: Marcio Andre vs. Michael Liera Jr.
When/Where: Friday, 7:00pm, FloGrappling
Competitiveness: 4
Excitement: 3
Juice: 1
Prestige: 3: With all the subcategories and divisions F2W has, the fact that this is just straight-up black belt grappling carries more weight.
Viewing Ease: 3: I always extoll FloSports if you’re a grappling fan, but especially during collegiate wrestling season, it’s essential.
Total: 14
t3. Inaugural Combat Jiu Jitsu Worlds Featherweight Championship
When/Where: Sunday, 8:00pm, UFC Fight Pass
Competitiveness: 5: It’s a 16-man tournament featuring some of the best grapplers in the world. You probably can’t get any more competitive.
Excitement: 4
Juice: 2
Prestige: 2: I personally enjoy Combat Jiu Jitsu and what Eddie Bravo is putting together, but it’s going to take some time to make it a brand.
Viewing Ease: 4
Total: 17
t3. Vacant Invicta Bantamweight Championship: Julija Stoliarenko (8-3-2) vs. Lisa Verzosa (5-0)
When/Where: Friday, 8:00pm, UFC Fight Pass
Competitiveness: 5
Excitement: 4: Stoliarenko, who even looks like she could be Ronda Rousey’s Lithuanian couson, has all eight of her wins by armbar. She’s going for it, and it should be fascinating to watch.
Juice: 1
Prestige: 3: Yes, this is just a temporary title until the champion signs with a bigger promotion, but Invicta still holds cache. And thanks to Ronda, Holly, Miesha, and Amanda, bantamweight is still the crown jewel of WMMA.
Viewing Ease: 4
Total: 17
2. UFC Middleweight Championship: Israel Adesanya (c) (18-0) vs. Yoel Romero (13-4)
When/Where: Saturday, 10:00pm, Pay-Per-View
Competitiveness: 4: You may be thinking why on Earth is Romero, currently riding a two-fight losing streak fighting for the title? Well, it’s a little complicated.
Excitement: 5
Juice: 2: You often don’t hear of a champion calling out a challenger, but Izzy isn’t like most fighters.
Prestige: 5
Viewing Ease: 2
Total: 18
1. UFC Women’s Strawweight Championship: Zhang Weili (c) (20-1) vs. Joanna Jędrzejczyk (16-3)
When/Where: Saturday, 10:00pm, Pay-Per-View
Competitiveness: 5
Excitement: 5: You can be forgiven for not seeing the best of Weili, has her two PPV appearences stateside were rather pedestrian. However, in her other two UFC appearences, including for the title, in China, she finished Jessicas Aguilar and Andrade in under five minutes total.
Juice: 4: The last time Joanna held UFC gold was November 4, 2017. Three minutes after the bell of the first round, Joanna had been dethroned forcefully. Now, she returns as a challenger to the division that she built, two and a half years later, and looks, once again, to be on top of the strawweight division.
Prestige: 5
Viewing Ease: 2
Total: 21
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