Eddie Alvarez doesn’t see the value in interim Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) titles.
Tomorrow night (July 28), Alvarez will take on Dustin Poirier in a rematch from their May 2017 bout. The two will clash inside the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Earlier today, both men made weight to make their bout official.
Interim Titles in UFC
Interim championships have become a hot topic in mixed martial arts. It’s at a fever pitch now due to the Colby Covington situation. Covington captured the interim UFC welterweight title when he earned a unanimous decision win over Rafael dos Anjos last month. Despite this, he will not receive a title unification bout against Tyron Woodley.
Covington recently had nasal surgery and the UFC didn’t want to wait to book a welterweight title fight. On Sept. 8 at UFC 228, Woodley will defend his title against Darren Till. “The Chosen One” hasn’t fought since July 2017, so some people aren’t as harsh on the decision as others. Those who do criticize the UFC’s route, question the point of having interim titles.
Eddie Alvarez: Interim UFC Titles Aren’t Valuable
During the UFC Calgary media day session, fighters were asked about the meaning of interim titles. Alvarez was one of them and he made it clear that he doesn’t hold interim championships in high regard (via MMAFighting.com):
“They’re meaningless. They’re used as a point of leverage for the promotion. They mean absolutely nothing, it’s proven. The media should talk about it a little more, it’s proven that an interim title means zilch. They give ‘em to a fighter, they take it from them. It’s a way for the promotion to leverage, that’s it. They mean nothing. And for a fighter to put any value behind it is foolish. I’m more concerned with the opponent. I don’t care about titles. Interim, world title, it doesn’t mean much. If the promotion doesn’t hold it as valuable, then why should the fighters?”
Do you agree with Eddie Alvarez?
