forgivemyhonesty Posted October 30, 2012 Report Share Posted October 30, 2012 This is ridiculous. It's clear the only reason the UFC made that fight between Barao and Faber an interim title fight is so they could claim UFC 149, a less than average card, had a "title fight". I support the idea of an interim title when a champ is going to be shelved for an extended period of time due to injury. This is fine with me as it maintains a clear pecking order in the division during the absence of the champion, however if you are going to have a champion with a belt, he has to defend the belt. WHY else did you award it to him!? Why don't we give Cain, Sonnen, Frankie and Dodson number one contender belts too? The way I see it, if you are competing at this level of MMA, let alone the interim champion of your division, you should believe in your heart you are capable of not only defeating the champion but defeating all those challengers who you would subsequently face after becoming champion. Therefor defending your title while you wait for the real champ should be a no-brainer. Renan Barao is not a champion and he is most definitely not what would be considered an interim champion. He is the winner of a mediocre number one contender fight who has opted to forgo paycheques while the rest of the division does what fighters do... fight. Defend the belt, Barao. I encourage all of you with Twitter to join me in voicing the need to defend an interim title. Not doing so devalues the divisions contenders and makes the UFC's marketing looks like cheap parlour tricks. #DefendTheBelt Spare me your cynicism, I think it's high time we take action. If Dana White is in the business of booking the fights that fans want to see, then I want to see Barao fight! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yesterdays_Hero Posted October 30, 2012 Report Share Posted October 30, 2012 He's pulling a Carlos. #WhereYouAtRenan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ijosef Posted October 30, 2012 Report Share Posted October 30, 2012 I agree wholeheartedly. Interim champions should defend their titles when the champ is still a long way from returning. Barao should defend his interim belt, just like Carlos Condit should've defended his interim title (especially after that performance he put on against Nick Diaz). I guess I can't blame the fighters for sitting out and waiting - who would want to take the chance of losing their change to be the undisputed champion? That's why the UFC needs to say "either you fight or you get stripped of the interim title." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaSpyder Posted October 30, 2012 Report Share Posted October 30, 2012 I'm a fan of Condit but not a fan of him sitting out and waiting. If you're the number 1 contender, you should be able to defend it to prove it. Just like Barao is doing. He could've already had a fight before Cruz and with the way he fights, he's not gonna take much damage, unless he gets caught. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melvinj0 Posted October 30, 2012 Report Share Posted October 30, 2012 Get over it, dude earned that title by beating a top dude now he gets a shot at the champ. Why give up your shot at the champ when you earned it fair and square? To please a bunch of idiots who just want to see you lose anyway? No, these guys are not stupid so they take the smart way. You choose to take a fight, you not only risk losing, but you also risk getting injured and losing out on the shot even if you win. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TallStuff Posted October 30, 2012 Report Share Posted October 30, 2012 This is ridiculous. It's clear the only reason the UFC made that fight between Barao and Faber an interim title fight is so they could claim UFC 149' date=' a less than average card, had a "title fight". I support the idea of an interim title when a champ is going to be shelved for an extended period of time due to injury. This is fine with me as it maintains a clear pecking order in the division during the absence of the champion, however if you are going to have a champion with a belt, he has to defend the belt. WHY else did you award it to him!? Why don't we give Cain, Sonnen, Frankie and Dodson number one contender belts too? The way I see it, if you are competing at this level of MMA, let alone the interim champion of your division, you should believe in your heart you are capable of not only defeating the champion but defeating all those challengers who you would subsequently face after becoming champion. Therefor defending your title while you wait for the real champ should be a no-brainer. Renan Barao is not a champion and he is most definitely not what would be considered an interim champion. He is the winner of a mediocre number one contender fight who has opted to forgo paycheques while the rest of the division does what fighters do... fight. [b']Defend the belt, Barao.[/b] I encourage all of you with Twitter to join me in voicing the need to defend an interim title. Not doing so devalues the divisions contenders and makes the UFC's marketing looks like cheap parlour tricks. #DefendTheBelt Spare me your cynicism, I think it's high time we take action. If Dana White is in the business of booking the fights that fans want to see, then I want to see Barao fight! #1 JDS, Anderson, Bendo, Jones and Mighty Mouse haven't been sidelined for a year with injuries. #2 Like you said, this is MMA. Very elite level MMA. No matter how confident you are in being able to beat whoever stand infront of you, ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN. Serra knocked out GSP for christssake. #3 It's not for us to decide weather these interim champs should fight or not. Let's say they do, and they send all other possible contenders back to the bottom to the ladder. Who do they, or the defending champs fight after that? Top 10-7 guys, even top 15-10, come on man. They can't do that, they have to set up guys below the interim champs for future contender status. No one at BW or WW are worthy of a title shot besides Condit and Barao in my opinion. They have the right, and they should wait. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junglebird Posted October 30, 2012 Report Share Posted October 30, 2012 Get over it' date=' dude earned that title by beating a top dude now he gets a shot at the champ. Why give up your shot at the champ when you earned it fair and square? To please a bunch of idiots who just want to see you lose anyway? No, these guys are not stupid so they take the smart way. You choose to take a fight, you not only risk losing, but you also risk getting injured and losing out on the shot even if you win.[/quote'] spot on. its not like these guys are fighting for the interm belt. they fight for the real belt. The ufc just throws around these interim belts for promotion sake.... then stupid rabid fans like the carlos haters use it as a legitimate backing for their diva-butthurt hating. all these guys would throw away their interim belt in a second for the #1 contender's position Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheHarbinger Posted October 30, 2012 Report Share Posted October 30, 2012 In order to defend a title, Renen Barao would have to possess a title. LoL at interim "champions". Glorified number 1 contenders, nothing more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
forgivemyhonesty Posted October 30, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 30, 2012 Get over it' date=' dude earned that title by beating a top dude now he gets a shot at the champ. Why give up your shot at the champ when you earned it fair and square? To please a bunch of idiots who just want to see you lose anyway? No, these guys are not stupid so they take the smart way. You choose to take a fight, you not only risk losing, but you also risk getting injured and losing out on the shot even if you win.[/quote'] so if Barao's victory means he gets a shot at the champ, what's the point of the belt? why declare an interim champion if he isn't going to be the acting champion in place of the real one? champions defend their title. that's why you have a champion. Dominick Cruz risks losing every time he steps into the octagon... but he believes he can defeat anyone the UFC puts in front of him. This isn't king of the hill(/castle) where you knock off the top guy to say you got there before getting knocked off yourself. As an elite fighter you are challenging the champion because you believe you are the rightful owner of the title, Best In The World. As such, you should believe that you will not only defeat the current champion but that you are better than all comers. Barao earned the belt, now defend it. Cruz earned his belt and he doesn't get to "play it safe". He fights the best bantamweight the division has to offer. What would be a bigger fight? Cruz vs Barao? or Cruz vs Barao after Barao defending the belt once or twice. The latter could be a genuine PPV headliner. #DefendTheBelt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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