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UFC 273 featured a champion versus an interim champion fight as Aljamain Sterling took on Petr Yan for the undisputed bantamweight championship. Despite being a heavy underdog, Sterling earned a narrow decision victory to become the top guy at 135lbs.
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This fight was just the latest in a number of champion vs. interim champion match-ups we have seen over the years. Typically, these fights come about when a division’s champion has a lengthy spell on the sidelines.
Instead of risking the weight class becoming stagnant, the UFC will semi-regularly crown an interim champion which gives the active fighters in the division something to aim for. Then, once the original champion returns, the two belt-holders often fight to unify the belts.
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This produces some huge fights and the esthetic of both competitors entering the bout wearing gold instantly creates a big-fight feel. While these fights do not always live up to the hype, we have seen some incredible champion vs. interim champion bouts over the years.
Here are the five best champion vs. interim champion fights we've seen in the UFC.
#5. Francis Ngannou vs. Ciryl Gane at UFC 270
The fight between Francis Ngannou and Ciryl Gane was not just an entertaining back-and-forth affair. The wealth of storylines going behind the scenes elevated it to a new level. Ngannou headed into this one on the last fight of his contract and seriously injured his knee just days before one of the most crucial fights of his career.
This played a part in the build-up as Ciryl Gane only became interim champion due to some interesting decisions by the UFC brass. With Ngannou willing to fight out his contract, the UFC decided to hold an interim fight despite the fact that ‘The Predator’ had only won the title a few months prior.
Gane duly defeated Derrick Lewis in Houston to set up this title vs. title fight. At UFC 270, 'Bon Gamin' started out strong before the third round when Ngannou switched to a more grappling-heavy style. This completely turned the tide of the fight and ‘The Predator’ rode this momentum to a unanimous decision win.
With no new contract signed yet, it will be interesting to see where the undisputed heavyweight champion goes from here.
#4. Jose Aldo vs. Conor McGregor - UFC 194
While this fight for the undisputed UFC featherweight champion may not have lasted very long, it produced one of the most iconic moments in the sport’s history. The seemingly untouchable Jose Aldo faced the red-hot Conor McGregor in this title unification bout back on December 12, 2015.
McGregor was quickly becoming the biggest star in the sport and had been racking up multiple wins in his pursuit of the featherweight title. Initially, the pair were set to fight at UFC 189 however when Aldo pulled out with an injured rib, McGregor fought and defeated Chad Mendes to win the interim belt.
When the pair finally squared off, both men refused to touch gloves as there had been months of trash talk leading up to the bout. In the opening exchange, McGregor delivered a devastating left hook that ended the fight and immediately went viral everywhere.
This 13-second knockout was an unbelievable moment in the sport and deserves its place on this list.
#3. Jose Aldo vs. Max Holloway - UFC 212
Another featherweight title is next on this list and once again Jose Aldo came into this one as the UFC champion after McGregor moved up to lightweight. He took on interim champion Max Holloway, who was on an unbelievable 10-fight winning streak in the three years leading up to this bout.
Aldo had home field advantage for this fight on June 3, 2017 as the bout took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The early rounds featured some incredibly high-level competition from two of the best in the sport’s history. While it was close, the majority of viewers felt that Aldo was ahead in the fight heading into the third round.
However, things quickly changed in the third round when Holloway dropped Aldo with a beautiful one-two combination. After ‘Blessed’ landed a barrage of strikes to his grounded opponent, the referee stepped in to bring the fight to a shocking conclusion.
Given that both men were impressive in this fight, it ranks above the one-sided knockout in the last entry.
#2. Brock Lesnar vs. Shane Carwin - UFC 116
Brock Lesnar is a rare case in that he has had success in both the UFC and the WWE. Back in 2008, he competed exclusively in MMA and won the UFC heavyweight title by beating Randy Couture. However, 'The Beast' was struggling with diverticulitis, which limited how active he was able to be and led to an interim title fight taking place in his absence.
Shane Carwin won the bout against Frank Mir to become interim champion and set up this fight. Initially, things looked great for Carwin as he dominated Lesnar in the first round and even came incredibly close to stopping Lesnar. Somehow, 'The Beast' managed to survive and looked like a different fighter at the start of round two.
Lesnar reversed his fortunes in dramatic fashion and finished the fight in the second round with an arm-triangle choke submission. While this fight may have only been brief in duration, the dramatic back-and-forth nature of the fight was incredibly entertaining and as such it comes in at number two.
#1. Georges St-Pierre vs. Carlos Condit - UFC 154
While there have been a wealth of finishes on this list thus far, the top spot belongs to a 25-minute master-class featuring some high-level MMA throughout. The fight saw Georges St-Pierre take on interim champion Carlos Condit in a title unification bout on November 17, 2012, in Montreal, Canada.
St-Pierre came out in typically imperious fashion and looked great in the early rounds. However, Condit fought back and landed a devastating head kick at the start of the third round that dropped GSP. Ultimately, St-Pierre survived the onslaught and later described it as the proudest moment of his career.
While that may sound surprising, his recovery was truly incredible and he was quickly able to regain control of the fight. St-Pierre went on to win the bout via unanimous decision and even won round three on two of the judges' scorecards.
This fight takes top spot due to the wealth of world-class action and drama that was sustained from start to finish.
