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. WBC/WBA/IBF/WBO/IBO World Women’s Welterweight Championships: Cecilia Braekhus (c) (35-0) vs. Victoria Noelia Bustos (19-5)
When/Where: Saturday, 2:00pm, DAZN
Competitiveness: 2: Bustos is a worthy challenger to the title, but not to Braekhus. Truly, there will be no true challenger for the First Lady until Katie Taylor or Jessica McCaskill can find a way up or Claressa Shields can find a way down.
Excitement: 2
Juice: 1
Prestige: 5: All four world titles AND the top secondary title. Suffice it to say, this is for all the marbles.
Viewing Ease: 4
Total: 14
4. BBBofC British Junior Lightweight Championship: Sam Bowen (c) (15-0) vs. Anthony Cacace (17-1)
When/Where: Saturday, 2:00pm, ESPN+
Competitiveness: 4: These are two very-evenly matched fighters. Bowen has a higher ceiling, and at 30, it’s questionable how much more Cacace has to give at 30 and how high his own ceiling will be.
Excitement: 3
Juice: 1
Prestige: 3: BBBofC titles are the stepping stones towards British fighters fighting for world titles, and are draws on their own.
Viewing Ease: 4
Total: 15
t2. Vacant WBA “Regular” Welterweight Championship: Alexander Besputin (13-0) vs. Radzhab Butaev (12-0)
When/Where: Saturday, 2:00pm, DAZN
Competitiveness: 3: Besputin is the USBA champion, which is usually the secondary federation to the IBF, but he’s getting a shot at the WBA title, here. Butaev has only been in one ten-round fight in his career.
Excitement: 4
Juice: 1
Prestige: 4: Death to the WBA and their “Regular” titles. By the by, the “Super” champ? Manny Pacquiao.
Viewing Ease: 4
Total: 16
t2. ACA Welterweight Championship: Albert Tumenov (c) (21-4) vs. Beslan Ushukov (17-3) [Absolute Championship Akhmat 102]
When/Where: Friday, 7:00am, aca-mma.com
Competitiveness: 5
Excitement: 5: This should be an absolute barnburner. I still don’t know why the hell Tumenov was released by the UFC. He dropped a split-decision in his debut, then reeled off five wins, only to get submitted by Gunnar Nelson and Leon Edwards, not exactly veils of shame, they’re two of the best. Since then, he’s 4-0 in ACB/ACA and the reigning champ, while still bringing the heat with his fists and feet. Meanwhile, Ushukov has pure fire in his strikes. Someone’s gonna drop.
Juice: 1
Prestige: 2: ACA, the former ACB, still carries some weight as a Russian/Eastern European federation that mostly takes on released UFC and Bellator fighters and giving them a place to fight.
Viewing Ease: 3
Total: 16
1. WBO World Bantamweight Unification Championship: Zolani Tete (c) (28-3) vs. John Riel Casimero (ic) (28-4)
When/Where: Saturday, 2:00pm, ESPN+
Competitiveness: 5: God bless the WBO for actually matching up their interim champ in an actual unification bout.
Excitement: 5: Casimero usually knocks out his opponents late, while Tete prefers to starch them early. This is going to be a fantastic tilt.
Juice: 2
Prestige: 5
Viewing Ease: 4
Total: 21
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