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?
5. WBA (regular) World Junior Middleweight Championship: Brian Carlos Castano (c) (15-0) vs. Erislandy Lara (25-3-2)
When/Where: Saturday, 9:00pm, Showtime
Competitiveness: 4
Excitement: 2: Well, it’s Lara, so you know what you’re getting into. Not exactly a rollercoaster through a fireworks factory.
Juice: 1
Prestige: 4: As usual, the WBA and their “regular” world titles can drink my ass.
Viewing Ease: 3
Total: 14
t3. 2019 NJCAA Wrestling Championships:
When/Where: Saturday, 11:30am, FloWrestling
Competitiveness: 5
Excitement: 3: Your mileage may vary, so we’ll split it down the middle, if you like watching a metric shitload of wrestling, you’ll be in heaven.
Juice: 1
Prestige: 3: No, they’re not the D1 championships with the prestige behind them, but some of the best wrestlers started out as JuCo champs and some of the best fighters in the world, namely this weekend’s Jon Jones, amongst many others, have been NJCAA national champions.
Viewing Ease: 3
Total: 15
t3. UFC Welterweight Championship: Tyron Woodley (c) (19-3-1) vs. Kamaru Usman (14-1)
When/Where: Saturday, 10:00pm, Pay-Per-View
Competitiveness: 3
Excitement: 3: It’s a Woodley title fight, so he’ll look very, very impressive, but it probably won’t be pretty.
Juice: 2
Prestige: 4: Woodley is an outstanding champion, but the UFC’s matchmaking for challengers, especially lately, has been very suspect, but not always through their felt. Champions refusing challengers, challengers refusing certain dates, fighters wanting higher paydays. Just a mess, anymore.
Viewing Ease: 3
Total: 15
2. UFC Light Heavyweight Championship: Jon Jones (c) (23-1) vs. Anthony Smith (31-13)
When/Where: Saturday, 10:00pm, Pay-Per-View
Competitiveness: 3: Probably could be a 2, but we’ve seen fighters change weights and become seemingly totally different fighters. If we’re just judging Smith by how he’s done as a light heavyweight and dismissing his pedestrian run at middleweight, his viability looks a lot better.
Excitement: 5
Juice: 1
Prestige: 4: As always with Jones, it’s just an hourglass of when he’s going to have to vacate it, yet again.
Viewing Ease: 3
Total: 16
1. Vacant Cage Warriors Middleweight Championship: James Webb (5-1) vs. Thomas Robertsen (7-1)
When/Where: Saturday, 4:00pm, UFC Fight Pass
Competitiveness: 5
Excitement: 5: Twelve wins between them, eleven by finish. Both prefer a choke, but they can finish with fists when need be.
Juice: 1
Prestige: 3: CWFC was on the way to being the next great feeder system to the UFC, but the British scene has slowed a little bit. In a rush for every hot prospect to be the next McGregor, everyone forgot that there are Russians and Eastern Bloc fighters like Khabib ready to snuff out your “Snatch” street-fight boxing game.
Viewing Ease: 3
Total: 17
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