Not many mixed martial arts (MMA) fans are in favor of interim titles. Oftentimes it seems like they’re implemented in unnecessary situations, and ignored when a situation actually calls for one. Add UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley to that list. Speaking at a media scrum to promote UFC 235 this weekend, Woodley called interim straps the “biggest joke on earth” (via MMA Junkie):
“This is the funny thing to me,” Woodley said. “The interim belt is the biggest joke on earth. Ooh, a stacked card! A double interim belt. I’m not trying to hate, because I’m not trying to get my ass back in the dog house. … But when you think about it, you’ve got a current champion, which out of all champions, Max Holloway may be our favorite champion.
“If you ask all the champions who their favorite champion is, we might all say Max Holloway. He don’t have to go up to fight for an interim belt. Unless he’s fighting for an actual lightweight belt, it doesn’t make sense.”
Two Interims
As of this writing, there are two interim title fights on the horizon. Both will take place at the UFC 236 pay-per-view (PPV) in Atlanta, Georgia on April 13th. UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway headlines against Dustin Poirier for the interim lightweight throne. Current division champ Khabib Nurmagomedov is sitting out a nine-month suspension for his involvement in the post-UFC 229 brawl.
However, he’s expected to sit a full year along with his teammates, who were handed one-year suspensions for their involvement. Also, in the co-main event of UFC 236, an interim middleweight title will be implemented. Israel Adesanya faces Kelvin Gastelum for the honors. 185-pound champ Robert Whittaker will be benched after his hospitalization prior to UFC 234.
As for Woodley, he has a title fight of his own to worry about. He’ll defend his welterweight crown against Kamaru Usman at UFC 235 this weekend. The action goes down on PPV from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada Saturday night (March 2, 2019).
Do you agree with Woodley’s assessment of interim straps?
