RIZIN - I honestly love RIZIN. People shit on it because, let’s be real, most of their fighters have bad or nonexistent records, but there is tons of heart in display. RIZIN also employs a nice mix of MMA, Muay Thai, kickboxing, etc. so you never get bogged down with one style. RIZIN MMA rules also allow for strikes to grounded opponents, so you’ll see nice soccer kicks on downed opponents. If you can get past all of the Japanese pageantry, and don’t mind (mostly) smaller framed men and women going to war, it’s a good watch. Would recommend the supercut because these events are anywhere from 6-9 hours long with all of the theatrics and pageantry.
ONE Championship - ONE is a lot of fun to watch. Like RIZIN, they employ kickboxing, MMA, MT, etc. so you get a nice blend of action. ONE is basically a puppy mill for combat sports and there’s a lot of controversy following it; fighters not getting paid, having unrealistic expectations as far as cutting weight to make super fights, etc. Personally, I don’t care, and I find it hilarious that it’s made a huge deal that these fighters get 50,000 or whatever Baht for a good performance (which is like 20 dollars USD). I’d especially recommend ONE if you’re interested in Muay Thai.
DWCS - DWCS is better than the UFC. You’ve got a bunch of hungry young prospects who give it 100% out the gate. Not much to say, but it’s super entertaining. I can scarcely recall a DWCS showing that I felt compelled to tune off.
PFL - it’s UFC without elbows. I’d rank Bellator here, but sadly, PFL absorbed them and did nothing with their marquee fighters. Most of the fights are pretty good, but the business itself makes no sense and the matchmaking suffers from it.
LFA/CF/etc. - I call these “Fight Pass shows” because all they do is promote the UFC. Good fights to be had in all of these feeder promotions. Not much else to say, it’s MMA that’s there for you if you want it.
BKFC - Not for everyone, but a nice palette cleanser if you’ve just wasted the last hour watching an MMA event that was no more than pinning your opponents down on the ground. There isn’t much technique here… it’s a step above Redneck Brawl and Rough n’ Rowdy, but if you’re looking for carnage, you’ll find plenty of it. Lots of blood, poor/baffling reffing, and plenty of movements that will make you question someone else’s life decisions. You also get unhinged, coked out Conor McGregor commentary, if that’s your thing. I like BKFC a lot, but not in the same vein that I do MMA. This is more of a “get a load of these morons” type thing to me while having a huge grin on my face.
King of the Streets - honestly would rank #1 on the list for me, but I know this thing wouldn’t go over well with most. It’s street fighting in its purest form. Football hooligans beating the absolute fuck out of each other. The only real rule is to not die. Y’all complain about eye pokes, well, imagine if fish hooking your opponent in the eye was legal. Fights on pavement with people’s heads getting absolutely cracked against it. It’s brutal and I love it. Lots of these guys participate in BKFC too. Recent events have been a bit toned down as far as the unhinged violence, but they’re still great. If you want to see people get the fuck knocked into them and come close to dying, this is it.
