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. Vacant WBA “Regular” World Junior Middleweight Championship: Magomed Kurbanov (17-0) vs. Michel Soro (33-2-1)
When/Where: Saturday, Untelevised
Competitiveness: 4
Excitement: 3
Juice: 2: Soro gets his shot at the “world” title that Brian Castano refused to give him while he was champion.
Prestige: 3: THIS IS SO FREAKING STUPID. In June, the WBA stripped Brian Castano of their “regular” junior middleweight title for not wanting to fight Michel Soro, his mandatory challenger. The WBA already HAS a “Super” champion in Julian Williams, WHY THE FUCK DO WE NEED A NEW REGULAR CHAMPION?! ABOLISH IT AND MAKE WILLIAMS THE ONLY CHAMPION! THIS WAS THE PERFECT TIME TO DO IT! GODDAMMIT.
Viewing Ease: 1
Total: 13
t3. WBA Super World Welterweight Championship: Keith Thurman (c) (29-0) vs. Manny Pacquiao (61-7-2)
When/Where: Saturday, 9:00pm, Pay-Per-View
Competitiveness: 5
Excitement: 3: Pac-man isn’t near his prime anymore, and Thurman has been blah in his last couple of tilts, but this has the potential to absolutely kill.
Juice: 2
Prestige: 5
Viewing Ease: 2: Seventy-five bucks to see 2019 Manny Pacquiao is a little tough to stomach.
Total: 17
t3. WBC Silver Bantamweight Championship: Luis Nery (c) (29-0) vs. Juan Carlos Payano (21-2)
When/Where: Saturday, 7:00pm, FOX
Competitiveness: 4: Don’t let the secondary title fool you, this is a banger of a matchup. Nery is a consensus #2 bantamweight in the world behind the flesh-eating monster that is Naoya Inoue. Nery and Payano are both former world champions, and while Nery is the heavy favorite, Payano won’t go down without a fight, and this is about as good as a matchup as you’ll get for a secondary title.
Excitement: 3
Juice: 2: Not huge, but you don’t often see two former world champions fighting for a secondary title.
Prestige: 3
Viewing Ease: 5
Total: 17
2. Fight To Win Women’s 125lb Black Belt Championship: Talita Alencar vs. Amanda Montiero
When/Where: Saturday, 7:00pm, FloGrappling
Competitiveness: 5: Hands-down the most competitive title fight of the weekend and maybe the most competitive bout, period. These two have swapped wins all over the world.
Excitement: 2
Juice: 3: These two know each other very, very well, and have battled all over the world in different events. The last time they clashed, it was in the black belt finals in the IBJJF Pan finals. Monteiro won on points.
Prestige: 4
Viewing Ease: 4
Total: 18
1. IBF World Super Middleweight Championship: Caleb Plant (c) (18-0) vs. Mike Lee (21-0)
When/Where: Saturday, 7:00pm, FOX
Competitiveness: 3
Excitement: 3
Juice: 3: Plant is positioning this as class warfare. The haves (Lee) against the havents, like himself. He openly mocked Lee’s talk of “pain” because Plant himself has gone through some nightmarish scenarios in his own life.
Prestige: 5
Viewing Ease: 5: Even though it won’t be on the PPV, I think this is a cherry spot. Tons of exposure leading into the PPV on free TV.
Total: 19
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