With Jon Jones’s injury ahead of his UFC 295 clash against Stipe Miocic in 2023, Tom Aspinall found himself in a short-notice fight to make history! Due to ‘Bones’ suffering from a torn pectoral tendon in training, the Jones vs Miocic bout was scrapped and instead, an interim heavyweight title bout was set up between Aspinall and the dangerous Russian knockout artist, Sergei Pavlovich.

Finishing his opponent in the first round via a spectacular KO, Aspinall became only the third British fighter in UFC history to hold the coveted gold belt. Now, he is set to defend his interim title against Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304 but that has raised an interesting question for many fans: is he the first UFC fighter to defend an interim title? Let’s find out!

Tom Aspinall’s interim title defense is not the first in UFC history

Interim championships began as a solution for when a division’s reigning champion was sidelined for an extended period, often due to injury. The first UFC Interim Champion was Randy Couture, who defeated Chuck Liddell at UFC 43 in 2003 because the then-champion Tito Ortiz was out of action for a long time.

Typically, if the interim champ couldn’t face the UFC champion soon enough to unify the belts, they’d end up as a placeholder, defending the interim title instead. But, in the UFC’s history, only one fighter has successfully defended the interim title multiple times before being promoted to undisputed champion. That man is Renan Barao.

Barao first made a name for himself in the WEC (World Extreme Cagefighting) before the organization merged with the UFC in 2010, bringing the WEC roster along. At UFC 149, Barao went up against Urijah Faber and clinched a unanimous decision after five intense rounds, becoming the UFC interim bantamweight champion.

But due to the undisputed champion, Dominick Cruz, suffering from an ACL injury, Barao defended his interim crown against Michael McDonald in 2013 and submitted him in the fourth round. He then made his second defense of the interim belt against Eddie Wineland at UFC 165 in 2013 and scored a second-round TKO win with a thunderous spinning back-kick and follow-up shots on the ground.

In 2014, Cruz was stripped of his undisputed title by the promotion and Barao was promoted to undisputed bantamweight champion with the first defense of his unified title coming against Urijah Faber at UFC 169 where he once again prevailed over ‘The California Kid’. In a recent interview, UFC CEO Dana White indicated that after UFC 304, whoever walks away with the interim title has a chance to fight for the undisputed heavyweight title in the future!

Dana White promises crucial UFC HW matchup for Aspinall vs Blaydes winner 

UFC CEO Dana White recently mentioned that the stakes couldn’t be higher for Tom Aspinall and Curtis Blaydes as they gear up for their interim heavyweight title clash at UFC 304. Jon Jones, the reigning undisputed heavyweight champion, is expected to return this year to defend his title against Stipe Miocic.

During the UFC 304 pre-fight press conference, White was asked if the winners of Aspinall vs. Blaydes and Miocic vs. Jones would face off to unify the titles. With an emphatic, “Absolutely”, White has now put the fans on the edge of their seats with speculation surrounding the future of the heavyweight division! As fight night approaches, the excitement and tension continue to build. The heavyweight division is poised for a shake-up, and UFC 304 will be a pivotal event in determining its future!