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.
t5. WBC World Junior Featherweight Championship: Rey Vargas (c) (32-0) vs. Franklin Manzanilla (18-4)
When/Where: Saturday, 7:30pm, DAZN
Competitiveness: 2: Julio Ceja is a common opponent for a lot of fighters on this week’s card, as two of his three losses have come to Manzanilla and Hugo Ruiz, and he’s a fine stepping stone to a title fight, but Manzanilla as a mandatory isn’t much of a threat, here. Plus, Manzanilla’s last fight before fighting Ceja for that mandatory was against a 1-46-2 fighter. Tremendous.
Excitement: 2
Juice: 1
Prestige: 5: This will be Vargas’s fourth defense of his WBC strap, and I hope 2019 is the year for long defenses. Dominant champs are good for the titles, which are good for the prestige, which is good for the sport.
Viewing Ease: 4
Total: 14
t5. WBA “Regular” World Junior Lightweight Championship: Alberto Machado (c) (21-0) vs. Andrew Cancio (19-4-2)
When/Where: Saturday, 7:30pm, DAZN
Competitiveness: 2: Cancio is a fine secondary fighter, but when he takes a step up in competition, be it Ronny Rios, or lately, Joseph Diaz, he can’t get it done.
Excitement: 3
Juice: 1
Prestige: 4: Maybe one day, maybe it’ll be when the meek inherit the world, but we’ll be done with the WBA’s “Regular” and “Super” world championships.
Viewing Ease: 4
Total: 14
3. WBA “Super” World Junior Lightweight Championship: Gervonta Davis (c) (20-0) vs. Hugo Ruiz (39-4)
When/Where: Saturday, 10:00pm, Showtime
Competitiveness: 3: Fortunately, you could do much, much worse than Ruiz for a fill-in (like Carmine Tommasone!), he’s a former world champion at junior featherweight, but he’s out of his class in weight and in talent.
Excitement: 4
Juice: 1: Unfortunately, Ruiz is a last-minute fill-in for Abner Mares, which, y’know, a bit of a step down, but good on Ruiz for stepping up and Davis for taking the risk.
Prestige: 5
Viewing Ease: 3
Total: 16
2. UFC Middleweight Championship: Robert Whittaker (c) (20-4) vs. Kelvin Gastelum (15-3)
When/Where: Saturday, 10:00pm, Pay-Per-View
Competitiveness: 4
Excitement: 5: Gastelum is always down to bring the ruckus, and Bobby Knuckles is Bobby Knuckles. Hell yes.
Juice: 3: A seven-month ordeal to finally get here, from announcing in July that they’ll be coaches on The Ultimate Fighter to finally now…where Gastelum’s weight cut might sabotage this.
Prestige: 5
Viewing Ease: 3
Total: 20
1. WBC World Junior Welterweight Championship: Jose Carlos Ramirez (c) (23-0) vs. Jose Zepeda (30-1)
When/Where: Sunday, 7:00pm, ESPN
Competitiveness: 5
Excitement: 5: Since his injury loss against Terry Flanagan, Zepeda has taken that unfortunate situation out on his opponents. Aside from a no-contest, he’s won seven-straight, six by stoppage, and none of his stoppages going into the eighth round.
Juice: 4: Well, whether you view Ramirez’s cause as legit or Arum-pushed public relations, it’s still a good cause. Also, Zepeda fell short in his first attempt at a world title when he dislocated his shoulder against Terry Flanagan in the second round. It’s taken him over three and a half years to work his way back to a world title shot.
Prestige: 5
Viewing Ease: 4
Total: 23
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