UFC 336 Gets An Interim Belt Because Islam Makhachev Needs A Summer Vacation

The UFC's solution to a champion needing a few months off is always the same: print a shiny new interim belt.

According to Jon Anik, Islam Makhachev will not be stepping back into the octagon until somewhere between May and July. Because the promotion is allergic to a stagnant division, they are officially slapping an interim welterweight title on the Carlos Prates versus Michael Morales fight at UFC 336.

"Jon Anik says Islam Makhachev will not fight again until May to July, which is why the UFC created the interim belt between Carlos Prates and Michael Morales at #UFC336"

The funniest part of this whole sequence is that Makhachev literally asked for this exact matchup months ago. Back around UFC 330, the reigning champ publicly wondered why Prates and Morales were not fighting each other to determine the true number one contender.

Instead, the UFC waited, added some extra gold to the equation, and turned a standard title eliminator into a pay-per-view anchor. It is the classic combat sports maneuver of creating a championship out of thin air just to give a fight poster some extra gravity.

Makhachev is 34 years old and riding a historic 14-fight win streak. He has been incredibly vocal about wanting to stay active and defend his belt before his prime window closes, but the physical reality of the sport has pushed his timeline into the summer.

Now he gets to sit back and watch the two most dangerous guys in his weight class handle his dirty work. Prates has rocketed to the number one spot in the welterweight rankings, while Morales is walking into the cage with a flawless undefeated record.

For anyone looking at the betting markets, the addition of the interim tag completely changes the math. A guaranteed five-round fight alters how both of these heavy hitters will have to pace themselves, turning a sprint into a marathon.

Whoever walks out of UFC 336 with the interim hardware gets the real prize: a summer unification bout against Makhachev. Until then, the undisputed champ gets a well-deserved break while the rest of the division cannibalizes itself.