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?
t1. IBF/WBC World Super Middleweight Championship: Badou Jack (c) (20-1-2) vs. James DeGale (c) (23-1)
When/Where: Saturday, 9:00pm, Showtime
Competitiveness: 5: Their dance cards are absurdly similar. Groves, Bute, Rogelio Medina, Marco Antonio Periban, a Dirrell brother. They were bound to face each other.
Excitement: 3
Juice: 4
Prestige: 5: Title unification! I’m always a fan of any steps towards a true lone world champion.
Viewing Ease: 4
Total: 21
t1. LFA Bantamweight Championship Unification: Leandro Higo (c) (16-2) vs. Steven Peterson (c) (14-4)
When/Where: Friday, 9:00pm, AXS
Competitiveness: 5
Excitement: 5: Both of these guys are a blast, Peterson is well rounded and has a great gas tank, excelling in the championship rounds, and Higo is a submission whiz.
Juice: 4: The nice thing about combat sports is that things really could go either way. Any wrestling fans remember the Invasion angle? **shudder**. This is a pretty big deal, we’re seeing champs from two predominant organizations slugging it out to become the unified champion.
Prestige: 3: With the merger, their titles really do become the Intercontinental Championship (of if you’re from the south, the United States Championship) of MMA championships.
Viewing Ease: 4
Total: 21
3. IBF World Junior Lightweight Championship: Jose Pedraza (c) (22-0) vs. Gervonta Davis (16-0)
When/Where: Saturday, 9:00pm, Showtime
Competitiveness: 5: Pedraza is primed for a loss. He can lose rounds to hard-nosed punchers that he should win. Davis will probably be a world champion sooner than later, and while he’s only 22, he has a shot at it here.
Excitement: 4
Juice: 1
Prestige: 5: Pedraza is an uninspiring champion, but he’s still a bonafide world champion.
Viewing Ease: 4
Total: 19
4. WBO Female World Junior Featherweight Championship: Amanda Serrano (c) (30-1-1) vs. Yazmin Rivas (35-9-1)
When/Where: Saturday, 7:00pm, Showtime Extreme
Competitiveness: 2
Excitement: 4: Serrano packs an absurd amount of power in her hands. It is exceptionally rare for a women’s featherweight/junior featherweight to have 23/30 wins by stoppage. That’s unreal. Her last five fights have lasted under ten rounds. Combined.
Juice: 1
Prestige: 4
Viewing Ease: 3: Most Showtime customers get Showtime Extreme, but it’s much harder to find a stream, and this should really be on Showtime proper. Women’s boxing is finally, FINALLY, starting to get a stronghold, and they don’t put this on the main card.
Total: 14
5. WBA Super/IBO World Junior Middleweight Championship: Erislandy Lara (c) (23-2-2) vs. Yuri Foreman (34-2)
When/Where: Friday, 9:00pm, Spike
Competitiveness: 1: This is ridiculous, Lara hasn’t head a great win since he beat Trout in 2013, and let alone title eliminators, Foreman hasn’t even fought a 10-round bout since 2011.
Excitement: 2: Boy, Lara vs. Foreman, this fight should really be som….zzzzzzzz……….
Juice: 1
Prestige: 5
Viewing Ease: 4
Total: 13
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