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?
1. Strawweight King Of Pancrase: Mitsuhisa Sunabe (c) (27-7-4) vs. Daichi Kitakata (16-7-1)
When/Where: Sunday, 1:00am, UFC Fight Pass
Competitiveness: 4:
Excitement: 4
Juice: 3: Like this a lot, the 37-year old king of the mountain against the hard-charging 25 year-old challenger who’s been on a year in Pancrase. It’s a classic storyline that always works.
Prestige: 4: King of Pancrase carries a lot of cache in the MMA community.
Viewing Ease: 4
Total: 19
t2. WBC International Light Heavyweight Championship: Joe Smith Jr. (c) (22-1) vs. Bernard Hopkins (55-7-2)
When/Where: Saturday, 10:00pm, HBO
Competitiveness: 3: I have NO idea how this will play out at all. Smith was never supposed to be here.
Excitement: 3: Well, it’s Bernard, so he’ll be “methodical” to the end.
Juice: 5: Happy retirement, Executioner.
Prestige: 1: This isn’t on the list because of the belt, it’s Bernard Hopkins’s retirement fight.
Viewing Ease: 4
Total: 16
t2. Bellator Kickboxing Female Flyweight Championship: Denise Kielholtz (45-3) vs. Gloria Peritore (11-1-1)
When/Where: Friday, 11:15pm, Spike TV
Competitiveness: 4
Excitement: 2
Juice: 3: It’s nice when you can crown a new title with actual rivals duking it out.
Prestige: 2: It’s an inaugural championship, but it has Bellator’s name across it, so it’s a good start.
Viewing Ease: 5
Total: 16
4. WBO World Cruiserweight Championship: Oleksandr Usyk (c) (10-0) vs. Thabiso Mchunu (17-2)
When/Where: Saturday, 10:00pm, HBO
Competitiveness: 2: Mchunu is a fine boxer, but Usyk is a gold-medalist Ukranian wrecking machine. This won’t be close.
Excitement: 3
Juice: 1
Prestige: 5: A rare boxing world title defended this weekend.
Viewing Ease: 4
Total: 15
5. Krush 53kg Championship: Yoshiki Takei (c) (8-2) vs. Ryusei (6-9)
When/Where: Sunday, 4:00am, Nicovideo.jp
Competitiveness: 2: Records don’t mean as much in kickboxing as they do in other combat sports, but still, yeesh.
Excitement: 4: Krush is always a good watch, and these two have a good amount of pop, especially for lighter weights.
Juice: 1
Prestige: 3
Viewing Ease: 3
Total: 13
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