5 interim UFC champions who captured the undisputed title

This month sees UFC 270 go down. In the headline fight, UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou defends his title against interim titleholder Ciryl Gane in a unification bout.

Ciryl Gane will be hoping to become the undisputed UFC heavyweight champion when he faces Francis Ngannou on January 22. If he does so, he’ll become the latest interim champion to achieve this feat.

Over the years, we’ve seen the UFC crown a shocking number of interim champions for various reasons. Only a handful of them have been able to claim the undisputed title when it came to unification time.

With that in mind, here are five interim UFC champions who were able to capture the undisputed title.

#5. Fabricio Werdum vs. Cain Velasquez – UFC 188

When Fabricio Werdum won the interim UFC heavyweight title in a fight with Mark Hunt at UFC 180, it felt like it was as good as it would get for ‘Vai Cavalo’ in the promotion. Werdum was on his second stint with the UFC at that stage. He’d initially washed out of the promotion back in 2008 following a TKO loss to Junior Dos Santos.

In the years that followed, though, the Brazilian rebuilt himself in Strikeforce, pulled off a huge win over Fedor Emelianenko and then reeled off five straight wins in the UFC, culminating in his victory over Hunt for the interim title. However, standing in his way of becoming the undisputed champion was the fighter widely recognized as the greatest heavyweight in UFC history, Cain Velasquez.

Werdum had been set to fight Velasquez at UFC 180, but a knee injury sidelined the champion. That resulted in the creation of the interim title and the Brazilian’s fight with Hunt.

When the Mexican-American returned, a fight to unify the titles between him and Werdum was signed for UFC 188. It seemed likely that Velasquez would walk away with the undisputed title once again.

Incredibly, though, despite being known for his incredible cardio, Velasquez tired out badly in the fight. That allowed Werdum, who pushed a torrid pace, to take over as the fight went on.

Eventually, ‘Vai Cavalo’ caught the champion in a guillotine choke and, to the shock of UFC fans across the world, forced him to tap out.

Velasquez’s camp blamed the high altitude in Mexico City for the loss, citing the fact that Werdum had already fought there at UFC 180 as a reason for his ability to push such a high pace.

Regardless of the reasons, though, this was the biggest victory of Werdum’s UFC career and it made him the undisputed champion in the process.