The UFC returns on Saturday, and a title will be on the line in the main event.
There’s an asterisk there, though. The title up for grabs will be of the interim variety – and that’s something that has become a common occurrence in the UFC.
The reasons for interim titles have been varied, but usually come from the champion being injured. Just what level of severity of the injury or the expected time the champ will be out, though, seems to change.
When bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz couldn’t stay healthy and his inactivity stretched onward, an interim champ was created until he could return. (Ultimately, Cruz’s time on the sidelines grew long enough he was stripped completely, though he won the title back in January.)
When Jose Aldo was supposed to fight Conor McGregor this past July with his featherweight title on the line, but got hurt, the UFC made McGregor’s fight with replacement Chad Mendes for an interim belt, even though Aldo was expected to be ready in a matter of months.
When McGregor signed on for a welterweight rematch with Nate Diaz this summer at UFC 200 – a fight he has since been pulled from, for now – the UFC booked Frankie Edgar and Aldo for an interim featherweight title.
This week, Jon Jones (21-1 MMA, 15-1 UFC) returns for the first time in 16 months after a suspension and after being stripped of his light heavyweight title – and he’ll fight Ovince Saint Preux (19-7 MMA, 7-2 UFC) for an interim belt since champ Daniel Cormier is injured. Their fight headlines UFC 197 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on FOX Sports 1 and UFC Fight Pass.
The argument from one side is that interim titles are meaningless and are in place mainly for the UFC to be able to better market a fight and draw up interest in it when a champ is going to be idle, even for a short amount of time. And the argument from the other side is that even if that’s the case, business is business.
“I think that over time, you start to realize when they’re making interim belts for certain people here and there, it takes away the appeal of the belt sometimes,” Cruz recently told MMAjunkie.
Khabib Nurmagomedov, who recently returned from a two-year injury layoff, doesn’t agree with interim titles regardless of the circumstances.
“Interim champion? What is this? I don’t understand this,” Nurmagomedov said. “For me, it’s nothing. I don’t know how you can take a fake belt when you have a real belt in your weight (class). This is bull(expletive).”
Check out the video above to get many more fighters’ thoughts on interim titles, including middleweight champ Luke Rockhold, former 185-pound champ Chris Weidman, former light heavyweight champ Rashad Evans, Urijah Faber and more.
View full post on News | MMAjunkie