I’d be shocked if Sherk wasn’t on the gas and if he wasn’t and CA got it wrong they are even more of a disgrace than they look like. That is a scientific situation where a chemical test will determine yes he did or no he didn’t take steroids. So either BJ vs Joe is for the belt or it is to be the #1 contender.

Notwithstanding the fact that UFC’s poor booking decision to hold off on Hughes vs Serra for 8 months so they could make a reality show with diminishing returns, this is a good use of an interim belt. The show was booked around the 170lb title fight. The Welterweight division has been the jewel of the UFC for several years and Serra being out is clogging the whole thing up. A herniated disc stopped Vitali Klitschko’s career dead in its tracks. There is a chance (and I hope it doesn’t happen) that Serra never fights again. There is a better chance that he can’t fight for 6-8months. This way GSP and Hughes fight for the title and will defend the title if Serra isn’t able to come back soon. If we hit April and Serra can’t fight the interim belt becomes the official belt and hopefully UFC does the right thing, they give Serra a tuneup and title shot when he is healthy.

The messy part about interim titles is if you do one and then the interim champ gets beat by the champ and you have a guy in your title history who really shouldn’t have his name associated with a belt. When Randy Couture won the interim belt against Chuck he then beat Tito who held the official belt and things were orderly.

I think UFC should do #1 contender fights. They don’t. That has long been a critique of mine against them. I would also like to see #1 contender and/or good fights be 5 rounders. Boxing has it where there are several different durations fights can be based on the fighters’ experience level and if it is a title fight or not. 3 rounds is good for most fights, but there are some non-title matchups that deserve a longer bout duration.

I’m Zack…Zach does the website.

In about 90% of all of my correspondence in the MMA world (e-mails, online), people always call me “Zack” and do it without hesitation. What’s it like to have a twin online MMA brother?

Seriously though, I can’t wait to hear the argument of what would be a better solution, short- and long-term, than interim, specifically in this latest case. Stripping the champ could be one argument, but saying “you got injured in November instead of August, tough luck, you’re out” in a sport where mid-long term injures are a norm doesn’t make sense to me. And not stripping or interimming(HAH!) leads to the old lesson of holding back big fights in MMA. Will try to stay somewhat open minded until I’ve heard the show though.