Author: Garrett Derr

At one point in time, the Pride Fighting Championships was considered the premier stage for all mixed-martial artists. In fact, the consensus goal of nearly every fighter was to someday become a Pride fighter.

Well, those dreams and aspirations were shot dry when Zuffa, owned by brothers Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta purchased Pride in 2007.

The Japan-based organization of Pride would quickly fade away to nothing.

In result, many of Pride’s fighters made the transition to the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

The dismissal of Pride brought an uproar, as it was considered to be that one organization that just seemed to work.

And as we know, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

“Fix it” is exactly what Zuffa did; or, as some would say, they removed Pride from the face of the earth.

Not only did Zuffa eliminate a key outlet to the world of MMA, but they destroyed the one organization that many fans and viewers truly loved.

While Zuffa may have benefited as a whole, those involved, such as the fans and fighters, did not. In fact, many martial artists’ careers went south, as they were essentially entering into a whole new world of MMA.

From a ring to a cage with different rules, it took some time for many fighters to adjust.

For others, their reputations were tarnished, as they never appeared to be the same.

Wanderlei Silva, a former Pride legend, went nearly four years without a single loss inside the ring. Since leaving Pride, Silva has posted a sub-par 4-3 record, and he’s now classified as a martial artist who couldn’t get the job down at the highest level of the sport.

However, while several fighters’ reputations were scratched and burned along the way, the rationale for keeping Pride around should have been a direct result of the fans’ love for the organization.

Zuffa should have kept Pride around.

 

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In the Ultimate Fighting Championship, interim titles are put up for grabs when a specific champion is either injured, leaves the division or in the case of a rare fatality.

However, the interim championship has quickly fluctuated to become somewhat overused in today’s organization.

While interim titles are certainly needed in the rarest of instances, the frequency of its use has elevated over the most recent years.

After defeating Randy Couture at UFC 91, Brock Lesnar was declared the UFC heavyweight champion by way of second-round knockout.

In his very next fight at UFC 100, Lesnar would get revenge on Frank Mir only to be sidelined for a full year.

In result, Lesnar’s “undisputed” title was turned over as the interim title.

Mir would have the opportunity to become the newest heavyweight champion when he met Shane Carwin at UFC 111.

However, it was Carwin who would become the newest UFC champion, or some would say, by first-round knockout.

However, what was the point?

Lesnar would return to the Octagon just three months later only to be pronounced the heavyweight champion by submitting Carwin at UFC 116.

This leads us to the burning question: Should Carwin even be considered a former champion?

The same could be said for the up-and-coming interim welterweight championship bout between Nick Diaz and Carlos Condit.

With current “undisputed” champion Georges St-Pierre sidelined until the midpoint of 2012, Diaz and Condit with battle it out on February 4th at UFC 143.

But, for what reason?

For the winner to earn a shot at St-Pierre when he returns?

If this is the case, the system needs to be fixed.

In fact, if St-Pierre would be victorious in his return to the Octagon, he would be credited with a successful title defense, meaning he was truly the champion all along.

The UFC interim titles have become overused and abused which should result in it’s dismissal once and for all.

If interim titles are left for use by the UFC, it needs to occur under the rarest occurrences.

 

For additional information, follow Garrett Derr on Twitter.

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