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.
1. UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship: Amanda Nunes (c) (13-4) vs. Ronda Rousey (12-1)
When/Where: Friday, 10:00pm, Pay-Per-View
Competitiveness: 5
Excitement: 5: No matter which way this goes, it’s bound to make a highlight reel.
Juice: 5: As the UFC has been shoving down your throat, the story is an easy, but effective, one to tell.
Prestige: 5
Viewing Ease: 4
Total: 24
2. WBA Super World Junior Lightweight Championship: Jezreel Corrales (c) (20-1) vs. Takashi Uchiyama (24-1-1)
When/Where: Saturday, 3:00am, Untelevised
Competitiveness: 5
Excitement: 5: After a decision-filled early career, the last six wins for Corrales have been via stoppage, and Uchiyama has twenty KOs out of twenty-four wins.
Juice: 5: Corrales handed Uchiyama his first career loss via a second-round KO and his world championship he held for six years at his home arena of Ota-City Gymnasium in Tokyo in April. Now they’re doing it again, same title, and same arena.
Prestige: 5
Viewing Ease: 1
Total: 21
t3. UFC Bantamweight Championship: Dominick Cruz (c) (22-1) vs. Cody Garbrandt (10-0)
When/Where: Friday, 10:00pm, Pay-Per-View
Competitiveness: 3: Garbrandt is a solid fighter, but Cruz has defeated much better and with ease. Then again, everyone said that about TJ Dillashaw.
Excitement: 3
Juice: 3: God almighty, this would have been higher if it wasn’t for that Hall of Fame Cringe moment on the FOX card.
Prestige: 5
Viewing Ease: 4
Total: 18
t3. WSOF Welterweight Championship: Jon Fitch (c) (28-7) vs. Jake Shields (31-8)
When/Where: Saturday, 4:00pm, NBC
Competitiveness: 5
Excitement: 2: I mean…do you see the participants? This could get real ugly, real fast.
Juice: 3: Only because of the participants, two legendary gatekeepers and runners-up who seem like they should have fought eleven times, but somehow haven’t yet.
Prestige: 3
Viewing Ease: 5
Total: 18
5. WSOF Lightweight Championship: Justin Gaethje (c) (16-0) vs. Luiz Firmino (19-7)
When/Where: Saturday, 4:00pm, NBC
Competitiveness: 2: Not really. Firmino was a replacement and not in Gaethje’s galaxy.
Excitement: 4
Juice: 1
Prestige: 4
Viewing Ease: 5: Network TV, about as easy as it gets.
Total: 16
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
