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. WGP Super Heavyweight Championship: Guto Inocente (c) (36-9) vs. Haime Morais (36-8-1)
When/Where: Saturday, 8:00pm, Fite.tv ($9.99)
Competitiveness: 3: Inocente has wins over the likes of Hesdy Gerges, Benjamin Adegbuyi, D’Angelo Marshall, and went the distance with Rico Verhoeven for the Glory Heavyweight title. Morais is a really good regional fighter, but Inocente’s one of the best heavyweights in the world.
Excitement: 3
Juice: 1
Prestige: 3
Viewing Ease: 2: With every streaming service these days, it does feel a little odd to pay for events in 2019. Still, decent price.
Total: 12
t4. Black Belt Masters Lightweight Championship: Marcos Torregrosa vs. Sean Nkmorad
When/Where: Saturday, 8:00pm, FloGrappling
Competitiveness: 4
Excitement: 2: Your mileage may vary, these are two fighters on the senior circuit, so it won’t exactly be blistering action.
Juice: 1
Prestige: 2: Masters is sort-of the senior circuit on F2W, so it doesn’t carry as much cache.
Viewing Ease: 3
Total: 12
3. WBO World Super Middleweight Championship: Billy Joe Saunders (c) (28-0) vs. Marcelo Estaban Coceres (28-0-1)
When/Where: Saturday, 7:00pm, DAZN
Competitiveness: 2: Different continent, same weak-ass Billy Joe opponents.
Excitement: 2
Juice: 1: As I said before, Billy Joe finally coming stateside and playing second-fiddle to YouTube beef is hilarious.
Prestige: 5
Viewing Ease: 4
Total: 14
2. OneFC Strawweight Championship: Joshua Pacio (c) (14-3) vs. Rene Catalan (6-2)
When/Where: Friday, 7:30am, OneFC App
Competitiveness: 3
Excitement: 5: Knee, inverted kimura, spinning backfist…and those are finishes Pacio’s used in just the last two years.
Juice: 1
Prestige: 3: Pacio’s been a two-time OneFC strawweight champ for almost a year combined, and has yet to make a successful defense.
Viewing Ease: 5: FREE APP! C’mon now, if you don’t have this, you’re not a true fight fan, and I am getting paid less than zero dollars to say that.
Total: 17
1. WBO World Junior Lightweight Championship: Jamel Herring (c) (20-2) vs. Lamont Roach Jr. (19-0-1)
When/Where: Saturday, 10:00pm, ESPN+
Competitiveness: 5: Easily the most competitive title fight of the entire weekend. Roach gobbled up every secondary WBO title he could.
Excitement: 3: These two are definitely more tactical than guns-a-blazin’.
Juice: 1
Prestige: 5
Viewing Ease: 4
Total: 18
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