What Is an Interim Title in MMA?
An interim title is a second, temporary championship a promotion creates in a division when the undisputed champion can't defend the belt. Two people are called champion at the same time, and the arrangement is supposed to end with them in the same cage. Sometimes it does. Often it doesn't.
Why would a promotion create a second belt?
Because a champion who can't fight freezes everyone behind him. A title reign is the spine of a division: contenders line up, the rankings sort themselves, and the biggest fights sell on the belt. Take the champion out for a year and the whole queue stops moving — top contenders age out of their prime waiting, and main events have to be sold on names alone. An interim title unfreezes the line.
When does an interim title get made?
There's no rule that triggers one. It's a promotional decision, made case by case, and in practice it comes down to three situations:
- A long injury layoff. The champion is out with a timeline measured in quarters, not weeks.
- Contract or legal limbo. The champion can't be booked, for reasons that have nothing to do with health.
- A fight that keeps collapsing. The title bout is made, then broken, then made again.
The unofficial fourth reason: the promotion has a pay-per-view to sell and needs a belt in the main event. Nobody puts that one in writing.
How does unification work?
When the undisputed champion is cleared, the two are booked against each other in a unification bout. The winner holds one belt; the interim title is retired. If the undisputed champion retires, vacates, or is stripped before that happens, the interim champion is typically elevated to undisputed, and their next fight counts as a normal defense.
What does history say about interim champions?
Three reigns cover the range of outcomes.
Unified. Conor McGregor beat Chad Mendes at UFC 189 in July 2015 for the interim featherweight title, after José Aldo withdrew from their scheduled bout with a rib injury. He then unified against Aldo at UFC 194 — the cleanest version of how the system is meant to work.
Lost the unification. Ciryl Gane took the interim heavyweight title from Derrick Lewis at UFC 265 in August 2021, then met undisputed champion Francis Ngannou at UFC 270 in January 2022 and lost. The interim belt bought him the shot, not the result.
Never unified at all. Tony Ferguson won the interim lightweight title against Kevin Lee at UFC 216 in October 2017 and was stripped on April 7, 2018 after a knee injury removed him from a booking against Khabib Nurmagomedov. The two were scheduled four separate times. They never fought.
Does an interim champion outrank a contender?
Formally, yes — interim and undisputed champions both sit above the top-15 and aren't ranked inside it. Practically, the gap is smaller than it looks. An interim champion has done exactly what a No. 1 contender did: won a hard fight and earned the next one. The belt is mostly a promise the promotion is making about what comes next, and promises in this sport carry an injury rate.
Think You Could Turn an Interim Belt Into a Real One?
Rising Fighter is a free MMA career sim where the title picture moves without you — champions get hurt, contenders jump the line, and the shot you were promised can vanish between camps. Build a fighter and find out what you'd do with the opening.
“Played it all night and got an earful from my wife.” — 앤쵸비바이퍼 (player review, translated)
Start Your Career — FreeNo download. Runs in your browser.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does interim title mean in MMA?
An interim title is a second, temporary championship a promotion creates in a division when the undisputed champion cannot defend the belt — usually because of injury, inactivity, or a contract dispute. The interim champion is the active, promotable titleholder until the two belts are merged in a unification bout.
Is an interim champion a real champion?
Partly. An interim champion is listed as a champion, sits above the top-15 rankings, and headlines cards as one. But the division still has an undisputed champion, and the interim belt is designed to stop existing the moment the two meet. In practice it is a guaranteed title shot with a belt attached.
How does title unification work?
When the undisputed champion is cleared to return, the promotion books a unification bout against the interim champion. The winner holds the single, undisputed title and the interim belt is retired. If the undisputed champion retires, is stripped, or vacates first, the interim champion is usually elevated to undisputed instead.
Why do promotions create interim titles at all?
To keep a division moving. A long injury layoff freezes every contender behind the champion, and a headline fight with nothing on the line is a harder sell. An interim title keeps contenders active, gives the card a main event worth pay-per-view billing, and produces a clear next opponent for the returning champion.
What happens if an interim champion never fights the real champion?
The reign simply ends without resolution. Tony Ferguson won the interim UFC lightweight title at UFC 216 in October 2017, was stripped on April 7, 2018 after a knee injury pulled him from a scheduled bout with Khabib Nurmagomedov, and never fought him. Four scheduled meetings between them collapsed.
Has an interim champion ever gone on to win the undisputed belt?
Yes, and it goes both ways. Conor McGregor won the interim featherweight title against Chad Mendes at UFC 189 in July 2015, then unified it by beating José Aldo at UFC 194. Ciryl Gane won the interim heavyweight title against Derrick Lewis at UFC 265 in August 2021 but lost the unification bout to Francis Ngannou at UFC 270 in January 2022.