"Sometimes fighters get injured. Makhachev has been active the whole time. He beat Volkanovski in October 2023 and he beat Puryear in June this year. If Islam fights again in October, he'll have three fights under his belt in a calendar year. And with that in mind, there's no need to introduce an interim title. In fact, when did they start doing it? Who is Tsarukyan going to fight for the interim belt? Why are we creating these belts? It's not necessary when the champion has already had two fights in seven months and is not going to be away for long," MMAJunkie quoted Cormier as saying.
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Cormier: "Chimaev should fight for the title next"