There is an interim UFC lightweight champion right now because the undisputed champion, Ilia Topuria, is temporarily unable to defend his belt, and the UFC still needs a “champion” at the top of the division for scheduling and promotion purposes.

What “interim UFC lightweight champion” means

In UFC terms, an interim title is a temporary championship created when the real (undisputed) champion can’t defend their belt for a while.

This usually happens due to:

  • Injury or surgery
  • Personal issues or time away
  • Contract, suspension, or other hold‑ups

The fighter who wins the interim belt becomes the active titleholder on paper, with the expectation that they will later face the undisputed champ in a “unification” fight.

What’s going on at lightweight right now

  • Current undisputed lightweight champion: Ilia Topuria, who announced he would not be competing in early 2026 because of personal reasons.
  • To keep the division moving and headline a major card (UFC 324), the UFC made Justin Gaethje vs Paddy Pimblett for the interim lightweight title.
  • Justin Gaethje then beat Pimblett by unanimous decision in a five‑round war at UFC 324 to claim the interim lightweight championship.

So the short, story-like version:

Topuria stepped away for a bit, the UFC didn’t want the lightweight division sitting still, so they put an interim belt on Gaethje vs Pimblett at UFC 324. Gaethje won and is now the interim champ while Topuria remains the undisputed champion.

Why the UFC likes interim titles (beyond the official reason)

Officially, it’s “to keep the division active” and ensure contenders have something meaningful to fight for when the champ is out.

But fans and forum posters often point to a few extra motivations:

  • Having a belt on the line tends to boost PPV sales and marketing hype.
  • It gives the UFC flexibility: they can headline cards with “championship fights” even if the real champ is unavailable.
  • It helps lock in the next title challenger: the interim champ has a strong claim to fight the undisputed champ next.

On forums, you’ll see people say things like “they just make interim belts whenever it helps promote a fight,” which lines up with how discretionary the UFC is about when to create one.

What happens next

  • The idea is that Gaethje, as interim champion, will eventually fight Ilia Topuria in a unification bout once Topuria returns.
  • That fight would merge the interim belt with the undisputed lightweight title and leave one clear champion in the division.

TL;DR:
There is an interim UFC lightweight champion because Ilia Topuria, the undisputed champ, is out for a bit, and the UFC wanted to keep the lightweight division active and market a title fight at UFC 324—so they put an interim belt on Gaethje vs Pimblett, and Gaethje won.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.