UFC
UFC commentator Joe Rogan calls title belts "bulls***," says Conor McGregor has "made up belt" and wants to see Jose Aldo fight
Aug 31, 2015 - 2:00:13 PM UFC commentator Joe Rogan calls title belts "bulls***," says Conor McGregor has "made up belt" and wants to see Jose Aldo fight

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

"Belts are bulls***. Who cares. It's the best fighters vs. the best fighters. We all know who the best fighters are, right? Have the best fighters fight the best guys. when you beat the best guy, you're the best fighter. Let's be honest: [Conor] McGregor has an illegitimate belt. It's a made up belt. We call it the 'Interim' belt but Aldo defended his title a year ago. Stripping a guy because he doesn't— because he can't get through a camp without getting injured is a part of MMA. It's always been a part of MMA. But, because of the marketing, because of the hype behind it, because of the HUGE event, the enormity, the economics of the event, they decide to make [McGregor vs. Mendes] an interim fight. He's got a title. Aldo's got a title. They both have titles. So they're fighting for the undisputed title. Wouldn't it be better if they just fought? We know how big Conor is. We know how big Aldo is. Let's go fight, guys!"

-UFC commentator Joe Rogan talks about the meaninglessness of title belts during his latest "Fight Companion" podcast (transcribed by BloodyElbow.com).

Penick's Analysis: It's not an invalid argument, but it's also the precise one made for why Ronda Rousey should just fight Cris Cyborg at a catchweight. Now, the slight difference there is that it's the best from two different weight classes, whereas McGregor's Interim belt is really meaningless because it's not a title that was ever going to be defended. An interim title works when the fighter who is taking that title then defends it while the official Champion is out. Think Renan Barao or Gilbert Melendez in Strikeforce initially. Winning an interim title and then fighting the Champion in the next fight means that was nothing more than a No. 1 contender fight anyway. As to this specific example, they're going to fight anyway, so McGregor's belt doesn't mean much until he beats Aldo. If/when that happens, the belt holds meaning as a symbol of him being the best fighter in the world at 145 lbs. Until then, him being a "champion" is essentially for marketing purposes only.