Matt Brown defends Makhachev and slams UFC's interim title as pointless punishment

UFC veteran Matt Brown has come out in defence of lightweight champion Islam Makhachev while firing a sharp rebuke at the promotion for sanctioning an interim title at UFC 336, arguing the move borders on punishing a champion who fought as recently as August.

Makhachev declined to face Carlos Prates at UFC 336, prompting the UFC to pivot and match Prates against Michael Morales for an interim lightweight belt in January. UFC CEO Dana White justified the decision by saying the division needed to keep moving in Makhachev’s absence. But Brown, speaking on The Fighter vs. The Writer podcast, pushed back hard on that reasoning.

“He just fought what, two months ago? Two months ago. We don’t need to do this,” Brown said. “The interim title’s not going to mean anything. It’s an amazing fight, Morales vs. Prates, but you’re knocking off a contender. I’d rather see Islam fight both of them.”

Brown acknowledged that Makhachev turning down the bout was a surprise, but stopped well short of condemning the champion for it. In his view, a fighter who has consistently defended at the highest level has earned the right to be selective about his next opponent — a standard Brown says the UFC itself should be setting in writing.

“I think he’s earned that right,” Brown said. “I wish there was some sort of standard. The UFC needs to make a standard — if you don’t defend for this long, we make an interim title. This happens in boxing all the time. This is just standard combat sports stuff. When you get to that level, you get a little bit more picky and choosy, as you should.”

Makhachev last fought at UFC 308 in October 2024, defeating Ian Machado Garry by unanimous decision. He has publicly stated he is willing to face the winner of Prates versus Morales once Ramadan concludes, which would place a unification bout sometime in the spring.

Brown’s deeper concern is that the UFC may be using the interim title less as a sporting necessity and more as leverage against a champion who refused to play ball on short notice. The promotion has a history of introducing interim belts to elevate the profile of cards that lack a full championship fight, and Brown suspects this case is no different — with an added edge of institutional frustration directed at Makhachev.

“The last thing I like out of this is a f*cking interim title,” Brown said, summing up his position plainly.