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.
t4. WBC Silver/Interim WBA World Light Heavyweight Championships: Marcus Browne (c) (23-0) vs. Jean Pascal (33-6-1)
When/Where: Saturday, 8:00pm, FOX
Competitiveness: 3
Excitement: 3
Juice: 1
Prestige: 3: It’s a secondary title AND an interim title. A cocktail of blah!
Viewing Ease: 5: Championship(ish) boxing on network TV. Break out the rabbit ears!
Total: 15
t4. WBC World Female Junior Lightweight Championship: Eva Wahlstrom (c) (22-1-1) vs. Ronica Jeffrey (17-1)
When/Where: Friday, 10:00pm, Fight Pass
Competitiveness: 2: Wahlstrom is coming off of her first career defeat, HOWEVA!, it was to Katie Taylor, and she moved up in weight to take on that challenge. At 130lbs, she’s held this championship since 2015 and at worst, the second-best fighter in the division.
Excitement: 2
Juice: 2: Very, very happy this is headlining on a Fight Pass card. Wahlstrom deserves it. Support women’s boxing!
Prestige: 5
Viewing Ease: 4
Total: 15
t2. OneFC World Featherweight Championship: Martin Nguyen (c) (12-3) vs. Koyomi Matsushima (11-3)
When/Where: Friday, 8:30am, OneFC App
Competitiveness: 3
Excitement: 4: Nguyen is always a blast to watch. Matsushima is a more conservative fighter, but I have faith that Nguyen can drag a fun fight out of him. It could certainly and probably end with Nguyen making the highlight reel with again.
Juice: 1
Prestige: 4
Viewing Ease: 5: The OneFC App, folks! Free!
Total: 17
t2. Fight To Win Black Belt Middleweight No-Gi Championship: DJ Jackson (c) vs. Edwin Najmi
When/Where: Saturday, 5:00pm, FloGrappling
Competitiveness: 5: Two of the best in BJJ, locking up in the main event they should have had two and a half years ago.
Excitement: 4
Juice: 2: These two were supposed to tangle in the main event of Fight To Win 24, but got changed at the last minute. This time, they’re battling for F2W gold.
Prestige: 3
Viewing Ease: 3
Total: 17
1. OneFC Muay Thai Flyweight Championship: Jonathan Haggerty (c) (15-1) vs. Rodtang Jitmuangnon (256-41-10)
When/Where: Friday, 8:30am, OneFC App
Competitiveness: 5: If there were odds, I think Rodtang might be the rare favorited challenger. He’s been everyhwere, and has fought everyone. Last year, he pushed Tenshin Nasukawa to an extra round and arguably took the fight.
Excitement: 3
Juice: 2
Prestige: 3: The kickboxing and muay thai championships of OneFC don’t have much weight behind them, but they’re very, very new, and many fighters are making their first defense. If they continue at the clip they’re on, they’ll be right behind Glory within a year or so.
Viewing Ease: 5
Total: 18
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