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I have been following a few manga series over the years. Two of which are none other than DragonBall (not DragonBallZ or DragonBallGT) and Rurouni Kenshin (SamuraiX). Currently, I am reading Naruto, Shaman King, Bleach and some other shorter ones that I occasionally pick up. Moreover, I get my source of manga through scans and translations made possible by some manga groups.

Anyway, through my reading I have noticed some very similar patterns for mangas that fall into the category of action (fighting). So far Naruto, Shaman King, DragonBall all have a lot of fight scenes. So my "pattern" here only works for manga of this genre. I am in no position to claim that my observations are right. Neither have I seen these observations anyway else so these are indeed opinions of my own.

• Important pilot episode
  Most of the mangas I read had their pilot episode appear in Shonen Jump. The pilot episode is very important and is usually about 50 pages compared to the normal episodes which are usually around 20 pages only. The purpose of the pilot episode is to gauge how well the reader will respond to the manga. For me, I can decide whether I will continue reading this series by the style of drawing. Moreover, it is important for me to empathize with the protagonist of the story. If the artist is unable to achieve that then this series will not be successful.
• An unlikely hero
  The hero will be revealed in the first episode. He (the hero is seldom a she, I think) will always be someone who has some special ability. The hero himself might not know it yet but through the conversations of those around him, you can infer that the hero is no ordinary person. The artist will try to hint this to the reader casually and not explicitly. Moreover, the hero shall befriend an even more unlikely acquaintance. Together this pair will work together in the next few episodes as the mystery unravels.
• Ridiculous amount of never-ending power
  The hero will also be almost non-human or a human that possess some potent power or ability. In the first few episodes (it could run up to 50) the hero will vanquish all villains using his current level of "power" (which will definitely be higher than his power during his first battle). I have used the term power here because it is not limited to physical strength but includes other forms of abilties (the abilties to use some of the "spirits"). Moreover, the hero is able to advance in his level of power through a series of training and fighting.
• Ancient history
  To add depth to the character, the artist will insert pieces of the hero's past and history into the story as it unravels. Usually the hero will be of some special descent of people that possess some special ability. Sometimes, the artist will reveal the past of some other characters in the story too especially of those who are close to the hero.
• Simple endings first!
  The first few episodes will have simple endings. That is to say that there is a clear line between one story and the next. These first few episodes are meant to further elaborate on the character of the hero. Furthermore, these episodes will also introduce some of the main companions of the hero.
• Then greater evil!
  Greater evil will soon follow. This is where the hero will first lost the battle and will undergo more training. This will the part of the series where the fight scenes can take up an entire volume and still not end. Usually this is also the stage where all sorts of special combo moves are revealed. By this time, the manga series will have a steady number of readers. The steady rate of readers is important because the later part of the series is more enjoyable if the reader is familiar with the first few episodes.
• An enemy turn good
  There will be an enemy who will be turned to the hero's side. This will also be one of the hero's closest companion. This side-kick idolizes the hero and will strive to be like him. Of course there will be more than one enemy who will turn his back to the dark side but usually there will be one who is most prominent.
• A conspiracy
  The greatest evil will often be of the form of a conspiracy. This conspiracy involves factions of the supposedly good guys. Throughout the story before this conspiracy is revealed, the artist will insert suggestions of it. Suggestions usually take the form of masked characters, or shadows talking in the dark. It may also be as simple as a grin from the mouth of the enemy. The skilled artist is capable of such innuendoes.
• An apprenticeship
  The hero will also always fall under the tutelage of some master as the story unfolds. This is in accordance to the notion that the hero will have an infinite among of power which can be released through training.
• Extremely long fight scenes
  As the story unfolds, the fight scenes get longer. Moreover the fight scenes are not longer centered around the hero only. His companions will also have dangerous battles. To make the series of battle even longer, the artist usually relies on the idea of a tournament to determine the best fighter. Sometimes the artist will also include many more villains that help the antagonist. The hero and his friend will have to battle all of them before fighting the villain.
• A simple love story
  The artist, at his own discretion can choose to insert some form of romance in the story. The romance is usually not too elaborate but it serves rather to show that there is someone that cares about the hero in a way deeper than that of his closes companions.

Though there are some variations to this, this pattern of story-telling is usually the one that artists follow. Because this applies to a manga, the descriptions above are not necessarily embodied in writing. Instead the artist strives to describe them using his drawing and limits the conversation to provide some background to what is going on.

I guess that this time-tested pattern is what gets the reader excited about the manga and the fight scenes. Usually a good fighting manga will span about 200+ episodes.