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.
t1. Bellator Bantamweight Championship: Eduardo Dantas (c) (18-4) vs. Joe Warren (14-5)
When/Where: Friday, 9:00pm, Spike
Competitiveness: 5: The Bellator bantamweight division has been an incestual threesome for going on three years now. Marcos Galvao has Joe Warren’s number, Eduardo Dantas has Marcos Galvao’s number, and Dantas and Warren fought once with Warren winning the five-round fight by one point from each judge. This is, and has been, a three-man division for years.
Excitement: 3: When Warren takes a beating, Joe Warren takes a fucking beating.
Juice: 5: See “competitiveness” above.
Prestige: 4
Viewing Ease: 5
Total: 22
t1. UFC Flyweight Championship: Demetrious Johnson (c) (24-2-1) vs. Tim Elliott (13-6-1)
When/Where: Saturday, 10:00pm, Fox Sports 1
Competitiveness: 3
Excitement: 5
Juice: 4: Really like what the UFC did to inject new life into The Ultimate Fighter, bringing champions from all over the world and letting them duke it out. Unique and bold.
Prestige: 5: DJ is, in my opinion, the best champion in combat sports.
Viewing Ease: 5
Total: 22
3. EBI Bantamweight Championship
When/Where: Friday, 9:00pm, UFC Fight Pass
Competitiveness: 5: Well, it’s a sixteen-man tournament. Can’t get much more goddamned competitive than that.
Excitement: 4: Other promotions really need to copy EBI’s grappling rules and layout. Fantastic to watch.
Juice: 1
Prestige: 2
Viewing Ease: 4
Total: 16
4. Enfusion Live 90kg Championship: Ibraham El Boustati (c) (43-0) vs. Andrew Tate (43-7)
When/Where: Saturday, 3:00pm, EnfusionLive.com
Competitiveness: 5: This is a fantastic matchup, let’s get Tate in Glory.
Excitement: 4
Juice: 2: This is in El Boustati’s hometown, so that’s a nice wrinkle.
Prestige: 2
Viewing Ease: 2
Total: 15
5. WBO World Middleweight Championship: Billy Joe Saunders (c) (23-0) vs. Artur Akavov (16-1)
When/Where: Saturday, 2:00pm, BoxNation
Competitiveness: 1: Yeah no, this is atrocious. Champions shouldn’t take tune-up fights.
Excitement: 3
Juice: 1
Prestige: 5: The only boxing world championship on the list, and the biggest one of the weekend.
Viewing Ease: 1
Total: 11
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