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.
t1. Glory Middleweight Championship: Jason Wilnis (c) (29-6-1) vs. Israel Adesanya (50-3-2)
When/Where: Saturday, 1:00am, ESPN3
Competitiveness: 4
Excitement: 3: Wilnis can be a little deliberate at times, but The StyleBender is a blast to watch and will bring the fireworks.
Juice: 1: Adesanya is a hell of an entertaining guy, but they haven’t really let that show through.
Prestige: 5
Viewing Ease: 5
Total: 18
t1. Titan Fighting Championship Flyweight Championship: Jose Torres (c) (3-0) vs. Pedro Nobre (18-2-2)
When/Where: Saturday, 7:00pm, UFC Fight Pass
Competitiveness: 5: Love this matchup. The 24-year old green champion against the grizzled journeyman
Excitement: 3
Juice: 3: More than you think. Veteran versus hotshot champ. This is also Nobre’s second chance at the Titan Flyweight Title, losing to Tim Elliott in March for only the second loss of his career.
Prestige: 3
Viewing Ease: 4
Total: 18
3. Vacant Titan Fighting Championship Heavyweight Championship: Muhammed DeReese (5-0) vs. Volkan Oezdemir (12-1)
When/Where: Saturday, 7:00pm, UFC Fight Pass
Competitiveness: 5
Excitement: 4: Just two big heavyweights that can throw bombs, cheap and easy fun!
Juice: 1
Prestige: 2
Viewing Ease: 4: Everyone should really have Fight Pass, and UFC content isn’t even the best part, not by a long shot. Hell, Invicta had their best card ever on Saturday, when Fight Pass was free.
Total: 16
4. Glory Featherweight Championship: Robin van Roosmalen (c) (47-16-3) vs. Alan Embree (39-7)
When/Where: Friday, 9:30pm, UFC Fight Pass
Competitiveness: 3
Excitement: 3
Juice: 1: A title fight where only one man can win it is not a good title fight.
Prestige: 3: Well this is rough. RVR missed weight, so now the title is only available to Embree with a win. Losing the title on the scales is never a good look.
Viewing Ease: 4
Total: 14
5. IBF World Female Junior Lightweight Bout: Maiva Hamadouche (c) (14-1) vs. Milena Koleva (9-6-1)
When/Where: Saturday, 3:00pm, Not televised
Competitiveness: 1: Hamadouche is a legit world champ, having only lost to Delfine Persoon, who is possibly the best female boxer in the world. Koleva’s last win was over a boxer who was 0-3.
Excitement: 4: Both of these ladies do have some serious punching power, however.
Juice: 1
Prestige: 5: The only boxing world championship on the line this weekend.
Viewing Ease: 1
Total: 12
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