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.
5. WBO World Junior Welterweight Championship: Maurice Hooker (c) (25-0-3) vs. Mikkel LesPierre (21-0-1)
When/Where: Saturday, 9:00pm, DAZN
Competitiveness: 2: LesPierre has a paper record. He’s a literal club fighter that’s being thrown to Hooker like a hamhock to an angry tiger. His last opponent was 8-6-1.
Excitement: 3
Juice: 1
Prestige: 5
Viewing Ease: 4: Solid weekend for DAZN this weekend, still worth the money to me.
Total: 15
t3. WBA World Light Heavyweight Championship: Dmitry Bivol (c) (15-0) vs. Joe Smith Jr. (24-2)
When/Where: Saturday, 9:00pm, DAZN
Competitiveness: 4
Excitement: 3
Juice: 2: Smith’s first world-title opportunity and for Bivol, his toughest test to date.
Prestige: 5: Sure, Bivol was promoted to world champion when Badou Jack couldn’t be bothered to defend it, but this is his fifth defense of the strap and he’s truly made it his own and has taken on a variety of championship-level fighters.
Viewing Ease: 4
Total: 18
t3. Glory Women’s Super Bantamweight Championship: Anissa Meksen (c) (97-4) vs. Tiffany van Soest (21-5-2)
When/Where: Saturday, 3:00pm, UFC Fight Pass
Competitiveness: 5
Excitement: 2
Juice: 3: This could be the makings of a really good, really long kickboxing rivalry in a sport that doesn’t have many of them these days.
Prestige: 4: This is basically a three-woman division right now. Not to say that the women involved, along with Jady Menezes aren’t terrific, but it needs a little more depth to be a true 5.
Viewing Ease: 4
Total: 18
2. WBC World Welterweight Championship: Shawn Porter (c) (29-2-1) vs. Yordenis Ugas (23-3)
When/Where: Saturday, 8:00pm, FOX
Competitiveness: 3
Excitement: 3
Juice: 3: Ugas’s story is a great one, from being 15-3 and out of contention to being fed to undefeated contenders that he kept on beating, to the chagrin of promoters, and now he’s crawled his way up to a world title shot.
Prestige: 5
Viewing Ease: 5: Get out the rabbit ears, cord-cutters! Love a network TV card.
Total: 19
1. Glory Welterweight Championship: Harut Grigorian (c) (59-11) vs. Cedric Doumbe (70-7-1)
When/Where: Saturday, 3:00pm, UFC Fight Pass
Competitiveness: 5
Excitement: 4
Juice: 2: Doumced has had to go 4-1 since losing his title (by split-decision, mind you) to earn another shot at it, which is especially strange since Glory loves to grant rematches or maybe only requires its former champions to win maybe one match after losing a title, especially by such a close margain. Now we have a fresh, never-before-seen matchup.
Prestige: 5
Viewing Ease: 4: With ESPN and ESPN+ taking over the remaining UFC fights that Fight Pass used to have, Fight Pass getting the full rights to all of Glory is pretty fantastic for them, maybe not so much for Glory now that they’re not on ESPN anymore.
Total: 20
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