Miesha Tate & Kenny Florian Dislike Recent Influx Of Interim Titles

The sudden influx of interim UFC titles has seemed to rub many in the mixed martial arts (MMA) world the wrong way as of late.

In its heyday, interim titles were used for more understandable cases when champions were held out of the Octagon for more than a year, but the moniker has gotten a bit out of hand in recent years. Last year while then-featherweight champion Conor McGregor was embroiled in a welterweight rivalry with Nate Diaz, the UFC implemented an interim 145-pound title that was won by Jose Aldo just seven months after ‘The Notorious One’ won the strap.

When UFC light heavyweight champ Daniel Cormier was forced out of his scheduled title defense against Anthony Johnson at UFC 206, the UFC stripped McGregor of his featherweight title, promoted interim champion Aldo to undisputed champ, and made the 145-pound bout between Anthony Pettis and Max Holloway for the new interim championship of the division.

McGregor won the UFC’s lightweight title with a second round knockout during his main event meeting at Madison Square Garden against Eddie Alvarez in November, and now less than four months later on March 4th an interim 155-pound title bout between No. 1-ranked Khabib Nurmagomedov and No. 2-ranked Tony Ferguson will co-main event UFC 209.

On yesterday’s (Wed. February 8, 2017) episode of UFC Tonight, former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Miesha Tate and former lightweight and featherweight title challenger Kenny Florian voiced their opinions regarding the matter. Florian believes the UFC had the formula for utilizing interim titles right in the past, but have strayed from the path as of late (quotes via FOX Sports):

“There should only be one reason for an interim title, that’s if the champion’s going to be out for a period about a year or longer,” Florian said. “Other than that, I think people are seeing right through it.

“It’s kind of just a marketing gimmick if you ask me.”

Tate compared implementing interim titles to handing out two gold medals in the Olympics:

“Yes it does [devalue the title] and here’s why — it’s like giving out two gold medals at the Olympics,” Tate said. “I think there should be one champion per division, period.

“Otherwise, you’re really just crowning a No. 1 contender.”

Do you agree with the two former combatants?