3 UFC interim title fights that nobody remembers
The UFC creates interim titles when a champion in a particular division is not able to defend their belt for any reason. Interim titles help in keeping a weight division moving.
Once the UFC champion decides to return, they must face the interim champion in a title unification match. Over time, interim belts have been made to facilitate the commercial needs of the UFC when a champion of a division is not active. These belts serve as an assurance to the fighters that they aren’t just hanging around.
More often than not, in situations where the UFC champion takes too long to return, interim champions defend their belts to keep their weight division moving. It is these title defense fights that fight fans tend to forget.
Here are three such UFC interim title fights fans would have forgotten:
#3 Andrei Arlovski vs Justin Eilers at UFC 53
Andrei 'The Pitbull' Arlovski made his UFC debut with a first-round submission win by way of an armbar over Aaron Brink.
However, he faced consecutive losses against future UFC heavyweight champion Rico Rodriguez and UFC heavyweight contender Pedro Ricco. Despite those losses, a three-fight win streak against Ian Freeman, Vladimir Matyushenko and Wesley Correira brought Arlovski back into the title contention race.
The UFC heavyweight champion at the time, Frank Mir, was injured after a motorcycle accident. That led to the creation of an interim belt for the second time in the UFC.
A bout for the interim heavyweight title was booked at UFC 51 between Tim Sylvia and Andrei Arlovski. 'Pitbull' won the fight to become the second UFC interim champion in history.
As Frank Mir did not recover from his injuries, the Belarusian fighter went on to defend his interim title against Justin Eilers. Although 'Pitbull' knocked his opponent out in the first round, this fight is just a speck in the long career of the Belarusian heavyweight legend. Hence it was not as memorable as the highlights of his career.
A few months later, 'Pitbull' was made the UFC heavyweight champion, as Frank Mir had still not recovered from the injuries he sustained in the accident. 'Pitbull' is still an active fighter in the UFC at the age of 42. His last fight was a decision victory over Chase Sherman at UFC on ESPN 22.
#2 Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs Tim Sylvia at UFC 81
'Minotauro' Nogueira was scheduled to face former long-time heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia at UFC 81 for the Interim heavyweight championship.
'Minotauro' had been knocked down once by Sylvia's punches. In the third round, Sylvia went into Nogueira's half guard, from where the Brazilian secured a sweep and made an armbar attempt.
The attempt failed, but 'Big Nog' skillfully transitioned to a guillotine choke to force a tap out from Sylvia. That made Nogueira the third Interim UFC heavyweight champion in the history of the promotion.
However, this was the only belt he earned in the UFC. Nogueira would go on to lose his belt against Frank Mir at UFC 92.
'Minotauro's next few years in the UFC would see victories against Randy Couture, Brendan Schaub and Dave Herman. He would also lose to Cain Velasquez and Frank Mir during that time.
But after his latest UFC victory over Dave Herman, Nogueira would go on a three-fight losing streak against Fabricio Werdum, Roy Nelson and Stefan Struve to eventually be released from the UFC.
#1 Renan Barao vs Michael McDonald at UFC on Fuel TV 7
Renan 'The Baron' Barao is the only Interim UFC Bantamweight champion in the division's history.
After losing his MMA debut fight, Barao would go on a 32-fight undefeated streak, with only one of these fights being a draw. He was ranked as a top-3 pound-for-pound fighter by Sherdog and regarded as one of the best mixed martial artists in the world.
The UFC bantamweight champion at the time, Dominick 'The Dominator' Cruz, was suffering from injuries, which led to an interim title bout between Barao and Urijah Faber.
'The Baron' won this fight by unanimous decision to extend his winning streak to 29. He was expected to face champion Cruz in a title unification bout at a later date. However, it was announced that Cruz suffered another injury that required surgery.
That led to 'The Baron' making his first interim title defense against Michael McDonald at UFC on Fuel TV 7.
Barao wore his opponent with a varied skillset of kicks, knees and takedowns. It was in the fourth round where Barao took his opponent down and made him tap out after securing an arm-triangle choke from the side control position. That was a 30th victory on the trot for Barao.
Barao would later become the champion after defending his interim belt against Eddie Wineland. However, it was only after his loss to TJ Dillashaw that his career went downhill. 'The Baron' would go on to lose six more fights, thus making his interim title defense less memorable.