If you’re like us, you’re probably sick to death of watching interim champions all but refuse to defend their titles while the actual champions remain on the shelf. So when Renan Barao’s camp announced that he would be taking the Carlos Condit approach to the interim title, we here at the CP offices let out a collective groan before pouring another round of Johnnie Walker Blue Label on the rocks — also known as our HR department — and prepared for a long winter of semi-meaningful-but-not-really bantamweight fights. Thankfully, Dana White is a Johnnie Walker man, and after he smashed a bottle of it over Danga’s head, we managed to come to an agreement regarding the UFC’s last remaining interim champ.
White recently told MMAWeekly that Barao will likely be defending his belt before champion Dominick Cruz is back in action, and his potential opponent should come as a surprise to no one.
(Don’t fart…don’t fart…don’t fart…don’t fart…)
Well here’s a bit of good news for once.
If you’re like us, you’re probably sick to death of watching interim champions all but refuse to defend their titles while the actual champions remain on the shelf. So when Renan Barao’s camp announced that he would be taking the Carlos Condit approach to the interim title, we here at the CP offices let out a collective groan before pouring another round of Johnnie Walker Blue Label on the rocks — also known as our HR department — and prepared for a long winter of semi-meaningful-but-not-really bantamweight fights. Thankfully, Dana White is a Johnnie Walker man, and after he smashed a bottle of it over Danga’s head, we managed to come to an agreement regarding the UFC’s last remaining interim champ.
White recently told MMAWeekly that Barao will likely be defending his belt before champion Dominick Cruz is back in action, and his potential opponent should come as a surprise to no one:
We were talking about Barão defending his title now,” revealed White. “Whether he wants to wait or not, we’re going to go back to him probably soon here and have him defend it.”
Although nothing is on the books just yet, White indicated that the likely challenger to Barão’s interim belt would be Michael McDonald.
We haven’t seen McDonald since he knocked Miguel Torres right out of the UFC at 145, but the kid has been on an absolute killing spree since entering the UFC — picking up four straight victories and two end of the night bonuses in just over a year — so it makes all kinds of sense to have him and Barao square off to see who the true top dog of the division is.
We will keep you informed as details are made available, but in the mean time, who do you like for this potential showdown, Potato Nation?
Renan Barao has had the interim UFC bantamweight title in his possession since defeating Urijah Faber by unanimous decision back on July 21. Following that win, Barao’s coach, Andre Pederneiras, said that the newly crowned interim champ was not g…
RenanBarao has had the interim UFC bantamweight title in his possession since defeating Urijah Faber by unanimous decision back on July 21. Following that win, Barao’s coach, Andre Pederneiras, said that the newly crowned interim champ was not going to defend that title, instead opting to wait for a unification bout with champion Dominick Cruz.
Pederneiras even cited the long wait for the welterweight unification bout between Georges St-Pierre and Carlos Condit as one of the reasons Barao was justified in waiting for Cruz to return.
UFC president Dana White, speaking to media on Saturday after St-Pierre had won that unification bout, said the circumstances in Condit’s situation where much different than Barao’s: “Carlos Condit, I think we quickly forget how many hoops that guy jumped through and all the things that he did, you know, stepping aside and all the stuff that went on in the crazy Nick Diaz situation. He deserved to do whatever he wanted to do. If he wanted to sit out, he could.”
White makes a valid point: Condit had been booked to face Georges St-Pierre at UFC 137 after Nick Diaz was removed from the card after failing to show up for two media appearances.
Condit then saw that title fight disappear when St-Pierre hurt his knee while training. Condit opted to not face a replacement fighter and the bout with St-Pierre was then set for a later date. However, that fight vanished after Diaz defeated BJ Penn at UFC 137 and went on an in-cage tirade that left St-Pierre incensed enough to ask Dana White for the fight against Diaz.
Obviously, that fight against Diazdidn’t happen, as St-Pierre injured his other knee, leading to him requiring surgery and the UFC opting to have Diaz and Condit face off for the interim title in February of this year. Condit would go on to win that bout by unanimous decision and then wait for St-Pierre to heal up.
So, there you have it, a rather convoluted tale, but yeah, those circumstances probably did lend themselves to Condit being given the option to wait for a unification bout.
Barao has not jumped through those hoops, and White said about the interim bantamweight champ, “Whether he wants to wait or not, we’re probably going to go back to him soon and have him defend it (the interim title).”
As far as who Barao could face in that interim title bout, when the name Michael McDonald was mentioned, White replied, “I think so, yeah.”
McDonald has not fought since knocking out Miguel Torres in April.
No date was speculated on for the possible bout between Barao and McDonald.
From the minute we saw Alex Caceres’ grinning mug on The Ultimate Fighter Team GSP vs Team Koscheck in 2010, many wondered if he was substance or show. Due to his look and hair, he was pegged “Bruce Leroy” after the lead character from ’80s martial art…
From the minute we saw Alex Caceres‘ grinning mug on The Ultimate Fighter Team GSP vs Team Koscheck in 2010, many wondered if he was substance or show. Due to his look and hair, he was pegged “Bruce Leroy” after the lead character from ’80s martial arts musical The Last Dragon, a gimmick for entertainment to say the least. Or was it?
Virtually dismissed as a fraud by his peers in the TUF house, Caceres‘ had a surprisingly successful showing on the show gaining two upset submission wins before bowing out via decision to eventual season winner Micheal Johnson. Johnson dominated the entire fight, but Caceres survived and lost by decision, and he smiled the whole way through.
The lesson to be learned here is that Caceres proved to many, that he was not to be counted out.
After a false start with two losses in the featherweight division, Caceres moved down to bantamweight last year and has gone 2-1 in the process.
Just how far can Caceres go in the bantamweight division? I don’t think that Caceres will ever get a title shot or be the division champion, but I do think he can get into the top ten in the world and here are a few reasons why.
He is only 24 years old
He is only 24 years old and due to his personality attitude and TUF fan following, Caceres will get a lot of time and much opportunity to improve his game. He currently trains at the Young Tigers Foundation in Miami, and will have access to some of the top trainers in the world for the next few years. His potential is undeniable.
Bantamweight is a very thin division
When you glance at all the fighters in the bantamweight division, there aren’t too many that stick out as young, dominant sky’s-the-limit fighters. The two champions Dominick Cruz and RenanBerao fit that tag, but it really is a toss up after that. The next tier are names like Urijah Faber, Brian Bowles and Ivan Menjivar all men on the down side of their careers. The up-and-comers are guys like TJ Dillashaw, Mike Easton and Edwin Figueroa.
Caceres lost a split decision to Figueroa mostly because he was penalized two points for low blows.
He beat Escovedo and Page right out of the UFC
Caceres proved that he needed to be taken seriously by beating two seasoned veterans when their backs were squarely against the wall. He defeated Cole Escovedo via decision in his bantamweight debut and knocked Escovedo out of the UFC. He also upset veteran Damacio Page via submission in his last fight, and Page was released from the UFC.
The lesson here, don’t count Bruce Leroy out.
Dwight Wakabayashi is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report MMA and guest blogger for Sportsnet.ca UFC.
There are plenty of issues stirring up the fanbase in MMA these days. Somewhere in the mixture of chaos and outrage over the recent TUF announcement and Strikeforce’s uncertain future, the debate concerning interim titles in the UFC is swelling.The top…
There are plenty of issues stirring up the fanbase in MMA these days. Somewhere in the mixture of chaos and outrage over the recent TUF announcement and Strikeforce’s uncertain future, the debate concerning interim titles in the UFC is swelling.
The topic has lingered since interim welterweight champion Carlos Condit announced he was waiting for Georges St-Pierre to return, but the issue regained a full head of steam this week when interim bantamweight champion RenanBarao‘s coach Andre Pederneiras revealed his fighter would be waiting for champion Dominick Cruz’s return as well.
The news left fans to question the reasons behind the UFC implementing a temporary title holder. What purpose does it serve if the belt is not defended? This is a major point fans and fighters have taken stances upon, and while there is certainly cause for concern, other factors at play make this a slippery issue in the sport’s biggest organization.
A Brief History of Interim UFC Titles
Since the UFC launched in 1993, there have been seven men who have held interim titles. In addition to Condit and Barao, the list includes some of the biggest names to compete in the sport. St-Pierre, Randy Couture, Frank Mir, Shane Carwin and Antonio “Minotauro” Nogueira have all held interim straps at one time or another, but history tends to remember these interim titles serving the greater purpose of keeping the respective divisions rolling.
Of the fighters listed, only Nogueira attempted to defend his interim title outside of unification. The other belt holders all fought their next bouts with the opportunity to become the undisputed champion of their divisions. Granted, the carousel retirement/unretirement of Couture factored into the bout scheduling for “Big Nog,” but he is still the only fighter in UFC history to attempt to defend an interim title against a non-champion.
Another aspect to review would be the length of time it took for unification bouts to be scheduled. Condit and Barao have been scorned for taking to the sidelines and perhaps rightfully so. Of the previous champions, Mir had the longest layoff (six months) until he had the opportunity to combine the heavyweight titles where GSP and company all sought unification in four months or less.
When Condit steps in against St-Pierre next month at UFC 154, ten months will have passed since he defeated Nick Diaz at UFC 143 in Las Vegas. The picture looks a bit more bleak for Barao as there is yet to be word on when champion Dominick Cruz will return. Both of their respective divisions have been active with contenders rising, and with the top spot stalled out, other fighters have been forced to wait as well.
Regardless of the other factors swirling about, few can ultimately blame Condit and Barao waiting for what will undoubtedly be the biggest fights and paydays of their careers.
The Business of Fighting for UFC Titles
In the relatively short history of the sport, never has the business aspect of things been more front and center than it is right now. Fighters certainly acknowledge the need to be entertaining inside the cage, but the most important factor for them is winning. With the UFC continuing to produce a record number of events each year, the pressure to stay on the rising side of the swell is at an all-time high.
For those who are on the upward trend, gaining ground, raising their profile and earning bigger paydays are what matter most. Becoming a champion is a solution to remedy all things, but with increasingly competitive divisional pictures, making calculated choices have also become a large part of the equation.
Fear of the actual fight may be nonexistent, but realization of the consequences attached most certainly are.
Opportunities such as the ones facing Condit and Barao are rare in this sport. Both the Brazilian and “The Natural Born Killer” are going to square off with dominant champions in an effort to define their place as the division’s best. In Condit‘s case, he will not only face one of the sport’s pound-for-pound best in St-Pierre, but also the largest pay-per-view draw on the current UFC roster.
To put that opportunity at risk by fighting Johny Hendricks or Martin Kampmann would have been foolish by most standards, and those who believe Condit‘s decision to be ducking or avoiding the competition have to realize just how much reward outweighs the risk in this situation.
A rising wave of contenders may be nipping at his heels, but if they were in his position and locked to fight St-Pierre, I have a difficult time believing the majority of them wouldn’t have made the same choice.
There are many similarities in Barao‘s situation. The Team Nova Uniao fighter has been a monster since coming under the Zuffa banner and has wrecked shop en route to his current position. Where Condit had a list of potential contenders, this is not the case with Barao.
The 135-pound division is still lacking depth in its upper tier and following his lopsided victory over Urijah Faber, Barao stands alone at the top. Besides a unification bout with Cruz, the only other fighter with enough moment to make a case is Michael “Mayday” McDonald, but the 21-year-old is currently sidelined due to injury, and any other fight besides this showdown of rising stars simply doesn’t make sense.
The Future of Interim Titles
Throughout the history of the UFC, the organization has only implemented the interim title a handful of times. Each has come as the result of an injury or contract situation. While past situations have yielded less friction, the ever-changing landscape of MMA will provide more adversity and difficult choices to be made on the road ahead.
Will fighters embrace the “anytime, anyone, anywhere” mentality that is being pushed?
I believe in some cases the chances are likely but not in matters where career altering paydays and opportunities are concerned. Fighters competing in the sport work their entire careers for high-profile fights, and it’s a painful truth that most never reach those goals. But when the call does come, and the chance to find what they have been sacrificing for arises, they are going to make the decisions that will protect those interests.
It may not be the most popular decision to make, but how can we fault them for attempting to seize the moment?
(“OK guys, the winner gets an interim belt, the loser has to purchase a replica from Wal-Mart. I assure you that they both carry the exact same value.”)
In a recent interview with Latin American online news network, UOL, bantamweight interim champion Renan Barao‘s coach, Andre Pederneiras, declared that Barao would not be defending his interim strap and instead would wait for Dominick Cruz to recover from the ACL injury that set up Barao vs. Urijah Faber at UFC 149. And before the MMA media could even begin to make the comparison to Carlos Condit, Pederneiras did it for us, stating:
[Barao] just won the title, he just fought. We will wait. Look how long the wait was for Condit and GSP to unify the belt?
Where Pederneiras was attempting to use the Condit comparison as a justification for Barao’s decision to essentially put the bantamweight division on hold for the time being, he unknowingly summed up the inherent pointlessness of the interim title in the first place.
As you are all aware, the interim title essentially serves as a placeholder for the division’s number one contender (at the time) in the absence of a champion. The problem being that, by declaring the number one contender to be “a champion” when they are anything but — and I mean this with all due respect to Condit and Barao — you are basically giving a contender a power that they have not rightfully earned: the power to pick and choose who they fight.
(“OK guys, the winner gets an interim belt, the loser has to purchase a replica from Wal-Mart. I assure you that they both carry the exact same value.”)
In a recent interview with Latin American online news network, UOL, bantamweight interim champion Renan Barao‘s coach, Andre Pederneiras, declared that Barao would not be defending his interim strap and instead would wait for Dominick Cruz to recover from the ACL injury that set up Barao vs. Urijah Faber at UFC 149. And before the MMA media could even begin to make the comparison to Carlos Condit, Pederneiras did it for us, stating:
[Barao] just won the title, he just fought. We will wait. Look how long the wait was for Condit and GSP to unify the belt?
Where Pederneiras was attempting to use the Condit comparison as a justification for Barao’s decision to essentially put the bantamweight division on hold for the time being, he unknowingly summed up the inherent pointlessness of the interim title in the first place.
As you are all aware, the interim title essentially serves as a placeholder for the division’s number one contender (at the time) in the absence of a champion. The problem being that, by declaring the number one contender to be “a champion” when they are anything but — and I mean this with all due respect to Condit and Barao — you are basically giving a contender a power that they have not rightfully earned: the power to pick and choose who they fight.
Whether you agree with or not, there are certain perks that come with being the alpha male of your division. One of them (although this fluctuates from division to division) is the ability to turn down potential matchups. Jon Jones has done it, Anderson Silva has done it, and even Captain America has done it. Is it fair? Well, we’re really not going to get into that, but when the UFC gives a power normally reserved for champions to an interim champ, not only does it 1) clog up the division indefinitely, but 2) cripples your promotion’s ability to hype any other top-level matchup in the division until the champion/interim situation is resolved and 3) cheapens the value of the actual title.
If you’re looking for an example of this, look no further than the welterweight division. It was first reported that Georges St. Pierrehad blown out his ACL back in December of last year. Using a combination of freakish genetics and determination, St. Pierre is on schedule to defend his title on November 19th at UFC 154, nearly a year after he was struck with the injury. And that’s a speedy recovery, folks.
Meanwhile, Dana White and the UFC have declared Martin Kampmann vs. Jake Ellenberger, Josh Koscheck vs. Johny Hendricks (for “Bigg Rigg” at least) and now Martin Kampmann vs. Johny Hendricks to be “number one contender” bouts. The problem being that the division already has a number one contender; his name is Carlos Condit, and he has apparently been able to hold his status as such despite the fact that he hasn’t fought since February. It would be no leap in logic to declare that Condit could have fought either Hendricks or Kampmann while GSP was away, which would have 1) helped clear up a division that is rife with contenders 2) kept Condit fresh and in fighting mode and 3) kept Condit’s name fresh on the tongues of the fans.
Instead, we’ve been forced to sit on our thumbs and wait on a division that has not one but two champions that have been out of action for the better part of 2012. From both a business standpoint and a fan’s standpoint, this makes absolutely no sense. If the UFC wants to declare Condit “the champion,” then he better be willing to defend his title against however many contenders arise in the actual champion’s absence. When you take the belt out of the picture, the number one contender is usually determinedby the man who has scored the most impressive wins recently. MMA is a “what have you done lately” sport, and allowing one of your top contenders to take a year-long hiatus for his shot while other title-worthy contenders wait in line, risk injury, or risk getting upset in one of the less meaningful matches they are forced to take because of the wait is a backwards policy to say the least.
Barao can almost get a pass in his case because the bantamweight division does not have nearly the amount of potential contenders waiting in line as the welterweight division does. But who knows who could emerge as a potential contender before Cruz actually returns to action? Cruz tore his ACL back in May. Given a minimum recovery time of 9 months, we’re looking at a tentative return for the champ of February 2013. Elsewhere in the division, Michael McDonald has gone a perfect 5-0 in the UFC and just knocked out one of the division’s most dominant champions in his last appearance. Rather than having Barao sit around staring at the clock for the next 4 months, why not have these two square off for the right to face Cruz? Again, it would keep both men fresh, as well as set up a clear contender that fans might actually recognize when it’s time to start hyping up the Cruz match.
With St. Pierre, Cruz, and now Aldo out of action yet again, their respective divisions have become ghost towns, due in part to the UFC’s decision to crown interim champions (with the exception of featherweight) who seem content to do anything but reassert the fact that they are the true top contender in said divisions in the first place. And because of this, we’re stuck with a bunch of number two contender bouts being passed off as something more than they are.
Don’t get us wrong, Kampmann vs. Hendricks is a great pairing, and a lot of these matchups, or lack thereof, can be attributed to the great injury curse of 2012. But what if Hendricks/Kampmann is a lackluster, tedious affair ala Cote vs. Almeida at UFC 86, or ends in a controversial decision? You’ve essentially eliminated the credibility of two top contenders in order to ensure the credibility of one (your interim champ), who should have fought at least one of these two gentlemen to begin with. And God help us if Condit and St. Pierre fight to a draw or a controversial decision themselves, or get injured after doing so, because then we’ll be seeing Nick Diaz vs. Kampmann/Hendricks, or Diaz vs. Rory MacDonald (if he gets past Penn), or Kampmann vs. Macdonald for the new interim title and this mind-numbing process will start all over again.
It’s time to put an end to this “interim champion” business, because it is costing the UFC a ton of meaningful fights in a time where they are coming fewer and farther between. But above all, it is costing the UFC money. And to quote the man himself, “It doesn’t make sense.”
Interim championships are one of the most annoying things in the UFC.Generally, the purpose of an interim title is establishing the next best fighter in a division when the current champion is injured or worse.At best, that title gets defended a few ti…
Interim championships are one of the most annoying things in the UFC.
Generally, the purpose of an interim title is establishing the next best fighter in a division when the current champion is injured or worse.
At best, that title gets defended a few times, the interim belt-holder draws a little street cred as a legitimate threat to the “real” champion, and it drives interest in the eventual “champion vs. champion” showdown. It worked beautifully for the heavyweights, after all.
However, that concept has essentially been shot and buried by UFC interim welterweight champion Carlos Condit, who has gone over 250 days without a single title defense—despite being perfectly healthy and able to fight.
It’s a decision that’s dragged Condit’s name through a bit of mud, and possibly worse, sets a bad example for other UFC fighters.
Now, Renan Barao is attempting to follow suit, with his coach saying that they’ll likely sit on the UFC Interim Bantamweight Championship until linear champion Dominick Cruz returns from an ACL injury. An injury that currently has no time table for recovery.
Let me make this clear—Barao has no reason to hold the bantamweight division hostage.
Although bantamweight is much more defined than flyweight, it’s still too minor on the weight class scale to leave title contenders in the lurch. If Barao waits for Cruz, it’s not like there’s a huge payoff waiting for him that wouldn’t be equaled by a dominant set of title defenses.
If anything, the UFC’s 135-pound division needs as many title fights as possible, especially if they can be used to headline FOX, FX or FUEL TV cards.
Despite its deep roots from the WEC, bantamweight just isn’t at the point where title fights can serve as a UFC main event on PPV—not unless the two men fighting are Cruz and Faber.
And even then, the returns aren’t great. UFC 132 needed supporting help from Chris Leben, Wanderlei Silva and Tito Ortiz just to pull a pedestrian 350,000 buys.
Cruz also drew a “good-but-not-great” 789,000 viewers in his title next defense against Demetrious Johnson on Versus TV, proving that his drawing power is still a work in progress.
Right now, the UFC needs to promote their bantamweight division as something worth watching, lest they want a repeat of the embarrassing UFC 149 event, argued by some to be the worst PPV event in the company’s history.
That means getting Barao into the Octagon with Brad Pickett or Michael McDonald on a FOX channel and supporting him with good, exciting mid-card talent. Push the division a bit. Make some stars.
Condit can hide behind his undefended belt, but his reasons are more understandable.
Georges St. Pierre is (allegedly) the UFC’s No. 1 draw. Condit doesn’t want to risk losing a once-in-a-lifetime major title unification fight that will draw thousands of fans in GSP’s home country and millions more on pay-per-view.
Dominick Cruz isn’t GSP. Renan Barao is a virtual unknown to most mixed martial arts fans outside of Brazil. Neither one of them is important enough to the UFC that the 135-pound title picture needs to grind to a halt. And that’s not going to change by taking away fights.
[McKinley Noble is an MMA conspiracy theorist and FightFans Radio writer. His work has appeared in GamePro, Macworld and PC World. Talk with him on Twitter.]
From the minute we saw Alex 