Dana White mentions possible UFC interim title in Lesnar's absence

As news slowly trickles in regarding what is really ailing UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar, fans have been clamoring for more information. Lesnar, as many people in his situation might do, has decided not to publicly disclose his medial issues. Even Dana White had been relatively tight-lipped (for Dana White standards, at least) as to the real extent of what Lesnar is dealing with.

While Lesnar battles his own health issues privately, the UFC is publicly dealing with a whole slew of them surrounding several of their top fighters. Most troubling for the UFC is that some of these fighters are current title holders. This comes during one of the most active two months in the promotions history, when they most needed to have their headliners healthy and in action.

While their Champions have mended, there has been little talk from the UFC about possible interim champions. That ended Tuesday, when White spoke on the subject with the LA Times. According to the article, White told the LA Times that an interim Heavyweight title fight was something that he was “working on right now.” The mere mention of an interim title, without any sort of follow up, presents more questions than answers about Lesnar, as well as the direction of the UFC heavyweight division.

There are few MMA fans that would dispute the fact that Lesnar is the best Heavyweight in the UFC. The fact that right now he is sick may mean that if he stepped into the octagon tomorrow he might not be the best, but that’s not the way the sport works. As Champion, he is considered the UFC’s best heavyweight all the time, not just the days he fights.

If an interim title were established, would anyone consider the interim title holder to be an equal champion (whatever that even means) with Lesnar, or just the second best in the UFC? If that individual is considered the best just because Lesnar is sick, does that necessitate an Interim Champion tag or carry any real value?

The last time Lesnar fought was at UFC 100 in July, which was a unification bout, as his opponent Frank Mir was then recognized as the Interim Heavyweight Champion. To go right back to this whole interim situation already would fracture what Lesnar and the UFC gained when they finally had the Champion narrowed down to one person.

To put Lesnar’s time away from fighting in perspective, UFC Welterweight Champion George St-Pierre also last defended his title at UFC 100. Dealing with injuries of his own, there is still no scheduled return for St-Pierre. Yet there is no talk of an interim belt in the welterweight division.

Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva has gone even longer since his last defense, which was all the way back in April. While he has fought once since, it was as a light heavyweight. While his return has been rumored for months, there is still no official announcement of his next title defense.

The one thing that seems certain right now is that Lesnar is sick. What’s ailing him is nobody’s business but his own. However, White stirring the pot with references to interim titles does Lesnar no favors in his attempt to deal with this somewhat privately.

Nor does it do the fans or the sport any favors by further dividing the heavyweight division. It’s bad enough that fans are relegated to hypothetical debates over who is the best heavyweight in the world. To create an interim title and open further debate over who is the best heavyweight even in the UFC would be even worse.  Unless Lesnar decides he will not be able to fight again, there are numerous contenders to match up and determine who will be the one to welcome him back to the octagon once he has recovered.