There are plenty of things that separate combat sports from the numerous other sports that fill our television screens each week. The violence involved in a sport where knockouts earn you paychecks is slightly different from the ball and stick games that have captured American imaginations.
But the other major factor that separates combat sports from everything else is how championships are decided. In hockey, baseball, basketball, or football, you take part in a season which results in top teams making a playoff system of some sort and eventually earning that year’s championship.
Instead of that, the system in combat sports is based on who will make money for the company and which fight will be most appealing to fans.