The Bottom Line: Enough Already with These Interim Titles

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Championships in boxing are subjects of derision and ridicule, symbols of what’s wrong with that sport. There are a number of champions at every weight class because of the multiple sanctioning bodies. The sanctioning bodies in their quest for more money take it a step further, often creating “super” and “interim” champions in addition to the “regular” champions. MMA fans have it a lot better. The best fighters tend to end up squaring off in every weight class, and we usually have a true champion in every division. That’s why the rise of the interim champions in the Ultimate Fighting Championship is a rather disconcerting trend.

It was one thing when Conor McGregor and Chad Mendes fought for the interim featherweight title. It was problematic in a number of ways, but at least they were two of the division’s elite, both of whom deserved to be competing for a championship. The same holds for the planned Frankie Edgar-Jose Aldo interim featherweight title bout at UFC 200. Fringe contender Ovince St. Preux fighting for a championship, on the other hand, is a completely different case.

St. Preux is a fine short-notice opponent for Jon Jones at UFC 197. Fans have waited long enough for Jones’ return that it’s a positive he’s still fighting after Daniel Cormier was forced to pull out of the bout. However, St. Preux has lost two of his last five and is clearly not one of his division’s best yet. It’s borderline that he should be receiving a title shot, even if there were a bunch of injuries; it’s silly that they are specifically creating an interim championship for this fight.

The Jones-Cormier interim title situation is a strange one all around. If Jones defeats St. Preux as expected, there will be a champion who was forced to relinquish his title because of his conduct outside the Octagon and another champion who won his title in the absence of the original champion. It’s pretty much exactly the description for an interim championship, only bizarrely the original champion will be the interim champion and the new champion will be the “full” champion.

Interim championships make sense from time to time when a champion is going to be out for an extended period of time. It hasn’t really been an issue for most of the UFC’s history. However, there really ought to be a serious injury in order for it to make sense. Aldo had a relatively minor injury when the company created the interim title that McGregor won. McGregor actually is healthy, as Edgar and Aldo now fight for an interim title. Cormier will be back soon enough himself. There’s no need to create a title in the interim.

The flood of interim championships devalues the idea of championships in the first place. The title ought to symbolize the undisputed best of the division. It’s a hook to sell an individual show at the expense of the bigger picture. Main-event fights are five rounds anyway; the same exact fight can take place on the same terms. The precedent is being set for more and more interim titles when championship stability and clarity is one of the UFC’s most positive hallmarks.

Unfortunately for the UFC, even if this trend slows down and doesn’t grow in scope, it presents another big problem. Hovering over these interim titles is the general feeling of promotional favoritism. If we only see interim titles created because of the interests of big stars like McGregor and Jones, it validates the perception that the UFC books its championship fights with the interests of its favorites prioritized over the interests of other fighters. That is of course going to happen to some degree in any individual sport where the stars bring in the money, but the key is that the public shouldn’t view it that way.

If it was Cub Swanson or Ricardo Lamas challenging for the title when Aldo pulled out, it’s pretty much impossible to imagine the UFC creating an interim title for the four-month delay. It was done to appease McGregor. The Edgar-Aldo interim title fight is likewise done in McGregor’s interest, to keep those worthy challengers from protesting too much while they wait for McGregor to finally defend his belt. Jones and St. Preux fighting for an interim title feels like a way to appease Jones for taking a new opponent on short notice -- something he has been hesitant to do in the past.

If there’s anyone on the UFC roster the company shouldn’t be encouraging right now, it’s Jones. His sense that he can get away with anything is a large part of why he keeps getting into trouble. It’s a strange time to be doing Jones favors, but that’s exactly how it comes across as he gets the opportunity to regain UFC gold without fighting one of the division’s elite fighters. The UFC made a gutsy decision to strip Jones of the title, but it took a step backwards in creating a new title for him before he had the opportunity to compete against the man who rose up in his absence.

There is absolutely a place for interim titles in MMA. The creation of three of them in a year without a single serious precipitating injury is more than a bit much. The UFC would do better by its fans, fighters and titles by reserving interim championships for the situations for which they were originally intended: serious, long-term injuries that genuinely hold up a given division.