5 best UFC champion vs. interim champion fights

#2. Brock Lesnar vs. Shane Carwin - UFC 116

Lesnar defeated Carwin via submission

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.

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#1. Georges St-Pierre vs. Carlos Condit - UFC 154

St-Pierre defeated Condit via unanimous decision

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.