Interim Title

Last updated: April 30, 2026

What is a UFC interim title?

The interim title is one step below the undisputed championship in the UFC’s title hierarchy. It exists because mixed martial arts is brutal on the body and complicated by contracts, and a sitting champion can be forced out of competition for a year or longer through no fault of their own. Rather than freeze a weight class for that entire stretch, the UFC awards an interim belt so the division has an active titleholder ready to defend at the top of the card.

An interim champion appears in the UFC’s official rankings, where the champion and interim champion both sit above the top-15 contender list. They wear a real UFC belt and sign championship-clause contracts, with the expectation of facing the undisputed champion in a unification bout once that champion can return. The interim label signals one thing: the division has two titleholders at the moment, and the matter is unresolved until they meet, or until one of them is removed from the picture.

Why the UFC creates an interim title

There is no rule in the Unified Rules of MMA that requires an interim title after a fixed number of inactive months. The decision is promotional and case-by-case, made by UFC leadership.

Three situations account for almost every interim title fight in UFC history:

Long-term injury. Champions sidelined for nine months or more, often by surgeries for torn ligaments or pectoral tendons, will commonly see the UFC book an interim title fight rather than strip them of the belt.

Contract dispute. When a champion and the promotion can’t agree on terms, the title picture stalls. The first interim championship in UFC history was created at UFC 43 in 2003, when light heavyweight titleholder Tito Ortiz refused to defend against Chuck Liddell during a contract dispute. Randy Couture won the interim belt that night and unified it against Ortiz at UFC 44 three months later.

Superfights and weight-class moves. When a champion temporarily abandons their division to challenge for a second belt, the UFC may run an interim title in the original division to keep it active.

Interim champion vs. undisputed champion

At first glance, the two titles look similar. Both put a real UFC belt on the line and bring championship-level pay with them. The difference shows up in lineage and what comes next.

Factor	Undisputed champion	Interim champion
Status	Lineal champion of the weight class	Active champion while the undisputed champion is out
Belt	Permanent UFC championship belt (Legacy Belt since 2019)	Same physical UFC belt, but the title is provisional
How they got it	Beat the previous undisputed champion or won a vacant title	Won an interim title fight booked because the undisputed champion couldn’t compete
Defends the belt	Routinely	Rarely; most go straight to unification or elevation
Pay	Championship pay plus pay-per-view points	Often paid like an undisputed champion under championship-clause contracts

Both fighters appear above the top-15 list on the UFC’s rankings page during the interim period.

How a unification bout works

A unification bout is a championship match between the undisputed champion and the interim champion, scheduled once the undisputed champion is healthy and ready to compete. The fight runs five rounds. Whoever wins becomes the sole undisputed champion, and the loser walks away without a belt, though by long-standing UFC custom, interim champions are allowed to keep their physical interim belt regardless of the result.

If the unification fight ends in a draw, neither title changes hands and a rematch is typically scheduled. If the interim champion wins, they become the new undisputed champion in a single move, with the lineage of the belt passing through them.

When an interim champion is elevated or stripped

Not every interim title ends in a unification bout.

Elevation happens when the undisputed champion retires or vacates the belt because they can’t continue competing. The UFC will typically promote the interim champion to undisputed status, and the next fight counts as a standard undisputed title defense. Tom Aspinall’s path is a recent example. He won the interim heavyweight title at UFC 295 in November 2023, defended it against Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304 in July 2024, and was elevated to undisputed champion in June 2025 after Jon Jones announced his retirement.

Stripping is the other route. Interim champions can lose their belt without ever fighting again, usually after an injury or a long inactivity stretch the UFC isn’t willing to wait through. Tony Ferguson lost the interim lightweight title this way in 2018 after a knee injury forced him out of his unification bout with Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Defending the interim title is rare. Only a few fighters have done it: Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira and Renan Barão in earlier eras, and Aspinall against Blaydes at UFC 304.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long can an interim title reign last?

There is no set time limit. Most reigns end within a year because the unification bout is booked as soon as the undisputed champion is healthy. Aspinall’s reign at heavyweight ran for nearly 19 months before his elevation to undisputed champion in 2025, on the longer end of the scale.

Does an interim title count as a real UFC championship?

The UFC officially recognizes interim champions in its record books and on its rankings page. Reporting from ESPN’s Brett Okamoto in 2024 noted that interim champions are often paid like undisputed champions under modern contracts, with championship-clause pay-per-view revenue included.

What’s the difference between an interim title and a vacant title?

A vacant title means the UFC has no recognized champion in the division, and the next title fight will produce a fresh undisputed champion. An interim title means the UFC still recognizes a sitting champion, but is awarding a second belt because that champion can’t compete.

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Sources

1. UFC.com: Official athlete profiles and event coverage (Tom Aspinall page; Heavyweight Division 2026 Preview).
2. UFC.com News: “Interim UFC Title Fights Deliver” feature (November 2023).
3. ESPN: UFC interim title reporting by Brett Okamoto (2024).
4. Wikipedia: Interim championship; Tom Aspinall; Randy Couture vs. Chuck Liddell.
5. Combat Press: “The Complicated History of the UFC ‘Interim Championship’ Label” (April 2016).

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