Is the pursuit of multiple UFC titles overshadowing the essence of championship defense?
Former UFC champion Michael Bisping is raising an eyebrow at the current trend of champions immediately eyeing a second title in a different weight class. He believes that the focus should be on defending the belt in their current division first.
Ilia Topuria, after just one featherweight title defense, is already setting his sights on the lightweight title. After winning the lightweight title, he is already talking about challenging Islam Makhachev at welterweight.
But here's where it gets controversial: Khamzat Chimaev, the middleweight champion, is planning only one title defense before potentially moving up to light heavyweight to face Alex Pereira. However, Pereira himself is interested in a fight with Jon Jones at heavyweight.
Bisping points out a growing pattern of fighters seemingly avoiding each other. He humorously observes, "We've got Ilia apparently running from Arman Tsarukyan, we've got Islam Makhachev running from Ilia Topuria, we've got Khamzat Chimaev running from Nassourdine Imavov, we've got (Alex) Pereira running from Khamzat Chimaev, and we've got Jon Jones, the greatest of all time, running from big Tom Aspinall."
Bisping longs for the days when champions prioritized defending their titles against the top contenders in their division. He suggests that champions should defend their belt at least three times before considering a move or vacating the title to keep the division moving.
He adds, "Vacate the belt, keep the division moving on, and then you go up to the next division, maybe earn a fight, maybe get an immediate rematch if your star is big enough, if you've defended the belt three times or whatever the case may be. But this whole thing of wanting to just jump ship straight away – I mean, Pereira came back, and he beat Magomed Ankalaev. If anyone's got the right to be talking about that, it is Alex Pereira."
What do you think? Is the rush for multiple titles good for the sport, or does it diminish the importance of defending the championship against worthy challengers? Share your thoughts in the comments!
