Should the UFC make an interim title fight for Bantamweight?

[El Fernas]

Who was next for the title? Make it for that fight, was probably Sandhagen, which would scrap a big coming up fight...Wouldnt be mad if they do it tho.

 

[Pilo]

Although I usually hate these interim title fights, I have to say that this is perhaps one of the most appropriate moments to hold one.

The issue is, Sandhagen is set to fight Dillashaw, and Font is set to fight Garbrandt. So we'd have to wait until we see the outcomes of these two fights. I'd say Sandhagen should fight Petr Yan if he wins his fight against Dillashaw.

If Sterling is going to be away for a long time after undergoing surgery, don't stall the best division in the UFC. It is filled with hungry murderers and it's incredibly competitive. We want to see Yan in action, and the circumstances surrounding his title loss are unusual. In the eyes of most people he's still the king of that division, and the DQ loss occurred when he was clearly winning the fight.

If it's just 6 months, though, it's a different story. But don't let Sterling duck the Yan rematch, or wait longer than that. Otherwise, I'd say go with the interim title fight.

 

[Jackonfire]

No. Six months isn't long enough to warrant yet another meaningless belt. Sandhagen is already fighting Dillashaw. Font is fighting Garbrandt. You really can't make either of those for a belt and leave Yan out.

 

[kimocomplex]

the champ going for neck surgery and wont be back for a while, plus he is young

he will fight in a unification when he gets back, 100% agree on Interim Title

 

[Eric Silva 2.0]

Aljamain Sterling seems to be out until at least October. While he did milk the situation surrounding the DQ a little bit, I don’t believe his injury is fake. And even if it is, the division is still getting held up for at least half a year.

So Sherbros, should the UFC create an interim title fight with Yan and if yes, who should he face?

If any mods reading this could create a poll, that would be great.

Normally, no. The way Aljo won the title and now he suddenly needs surgery for something that was a longstanding issue that didn't seem to bother him smells a little fishy. It has a little "Nicco Montano" smell to it. If he doesn't fight within a year he should be stripped and let Yan fight Sandhagen for the belt.

 

[sdpdude9]

No, I hate interim titles and the length Aljo will be out (Assuming it is indeed Oct/Nov) does not necessitate one. That’s only 7-8 months. Usman, Volkanovski, and Yan himself are amongst recent champions that waited the same amount of time before their first defense, none of which had calls for an interim champion.

 

[Safton]

Yes. I think the best of a shitty situation would be Petr fighting the winner of the Sandhagen/Dillasnake bout in an interim championship fight. Then the winner of that goes on to unify the belts in a bout against Aljo.

Sterling will be out for a while from the sound of things when you factor in the surgery, recovery, and training camp.

 

[SeattleFightFan]

Y’all are getting so emotional over Sterling, it’s embarrassing.

Did he ham it up? Maybe.

Did Yan foul him? Yes. Did the rules that everyone agreed to take over after that? Yes.

 

[Matthew Fedler]

Yes.

Assuming Yan wins the fight it only adds to the marketing for the rematch if Yan comes in with a belt of his own.

 

[humdizzle]

Strip Aljo
Yan vs Sandhagen for the belt
Aljo gets first crack on return

Yan isn't going to take any fight unless its for the real belt or a huge payday.

 

[FIGHTING TALK]

Why is everyone pretending like they've never seen a comeback in an MMA fight before.
Yan was probably going to win; but he hit Sterling with a huge shot that was 100% illegal. So he cheated and landed what could very easily have been a KO shot.

He doesn't deserve to hold the belt right now because he blatantly cheated.
If Sterling's out for a while, give Yan a #1 Contender fight and when he wins, give him the next title fight.

Think you need to work out the difference between committing a foul and cheating. Are you new to sports?

 

[Thepaintbucket]

I personally don't consider him the champion but whatever. If he's going in for a legitimate issue I think we owe every fighter equal benefit of the doubt.

At least he isn't out for like a year at a time stipe/khabib style

 

[jitzmonkey]

Think you need to work out the difference between committing a foul and cheating. Are you new to sports?

He intentionally kneed his opponent who was grounded.

I called it "Cheating" because the term "Flagrant Foul" doesn't exist within the MMA lexicon; and considering the fact that the knee was 100% intentional and premeditated, "Cheating" would definitely be the best term considering all of the circumstances.

 

[jitzmonkey]

Y’all are getting so emotional over Sterling, it’s embarrassing.

Did he ham it up? Maybe.

Did Yan foul him? Yes. Did the rules that everyone agreed to take over after that? Yes.

Exactly.
Frankly, I get Yan playing it up and creating drama/intrigue/whatever for the rematch.
I wouldn't understand it so much if he's actually angry with Aljo, though.

 

[LHWBelt]

Aljamain Sterling seems to be out until at least October. While he did milk the situation surrounding the DQ a little bit, I don’t believe his injury is fake. And even if it is, the division is still getting held up for at least half a year.

So Sherbros, should the UFC create an interim title fight with Yan and if yes, who should he face?

If any mods reading this could create a poll, that would be great.

How about we just have a contenders fight instead? Serves the same purpose and doesn't introduce another useless belt. Yan v. Someone and winner gets the title shot when he's back.

 

[scytheavatar]

Yan defended his belt after 8 months and Sterling had to wait a long time to get his shot................. why shouldn't Yan be made to wait too?

 

[FIGHTING TALK]

He intentionally kneed his opponent who was grounded.

I called it "Cheating" because the term "Flagrant Foul" doesn't exist within the MMA lexicon; and considering the fact that the knee was 100% intentional and premeditated, "Cheating" would definitely be the best term considering all of the circumstances.

Doubling down on missing the point. Amazing

 

[sdpdude9]

No, 7-8 Months really isn’t that long. Amongst current and recent champs Usman, Volkanovski, Zhang, and Yan himself went just as long before defenses without an interim champion. Let’s look at recent interim champs and how long before one was crowned and how long the champion was out.

Robert Whittaker- Interim Champ crowned after 9 Months, Champ didn’t fight for 13 Months

Israel Adesanya- Interim champ crowned after 10 Months, champ didn’t fight for 16 Months

Colby Covington- Interim champ crowned after 11 Months, champ didn’t fight for 14 Months

Tony Ferguson- Interim Champ crowned after 11 months, champ stripped after 18 Months

Dustin Poirier- Interim champ crowned after 6 months, champ didn’t fight for 11 months

Justin Gaethje- Interim champ crowned after 8 months, champ didn’t fight for 13 months

Jose Aldo- Interim Champ crowned after 8 months, champ stripped after 11 months

Average= 9 months before interim champ crowned when champ didn’t fight for 12 months

 

[Eiger]

It's too early to say. Aljo leaving the door open to the possibility of returning before the end of the year makes an interim belt unreasonable imho. If down the line we learn that's he's not coming back 'til '22, then book an interim fight asap. Yan vs. winner of Dillasnake/Sandhagen.