Is it time to create an interim UFC welterweight title, with champion Belal Muhammad now on the shelf? Are recent results a sign that MMA itself is no country for old men? With Francis Ngannou holding it down in PFL, will the lineal heavyweight title ever return to the UFC?

All that and more in this week’s mailbag. To ask a question of your own, hit up @BenFowlkesMMA on X.

It all depends on how long the “interim” is. Having never had a bone infection or a toe that resembles a Renaissance Fair turkey leg, I can’t tell you how long it takes to recover from that and get back on the mats. If he could conceivably fight some time in the next six months, what do we need an interim title for? If he’s going to be out longer than that, OK, go ahead and get one of the extra belts out of the supply closet.

Question is, who would Shavkat Rakhmonov fight for that interim title? He suggested Kamaru Usman, who would make for an interesting matchup but, let’s be honest, hasn’t done anything worthy of any form of title shot recently. That basically leaves Leon Edwards and Sean Brady. If Edwards were to win it would set up a rematch with Muhammad, which doesn’t sound all that interesting right now. Brady, meanwhile, is coming off that win over Gilbert Burns. And maybe that’s enough.

I know you don’t want to hear this, but maybe professional cage fighting is not something people are meant to excel at after 40. We’ve seen some outliers in this sport, it’s true. But instead of the old heads looking to one of their own, maybe instead they just need to find a fighter who channels that dad energy. I’m just saying, can’t you picture Merab Dvalishvili standing at the grill, clicking the tongs in his hand while saying, "Hey who let this guy in here?!" the moment he sees you walk into his victory party?

For president, I obviously have to go with Brian Stann, the greatest living American.

For vice president, I’m tempted to select Tito Ortiz (just because it would give us all an incentive to take very, very good care of Stann), but instead I’ll go with Brandon Moreno just because he’s a delight to have around.

Secretary of Defense would be Francis Ngannou, because nobody on this planet wants that kind of trouble.

Secretary of State would be the always diplomatic Georges St-Pierre.

For sheriff, I’ll say Daniel Cormier. He has that you-kids-settle-down-now vibe the job requires.

And for coroner? I know it might surprise some people, but I’m picking Sean Strickland. He seems like he might be the only one who would really, really enjoy that job.

You know what? I’d watch the hell out of that fight. You’re right that neither Holly Holm nor Miesha Tate are anywhere in title shot range. You’re also right that they have some interesting history together that could be revived all these years later without feeling like a total rerun.

Mostly, I like it because it matches up two peers from the same era. That’s a better matchmaking strategy than always feeding the old fighters to the young ones. Or at least it’s a matchmaking strategy that feels a little less gross to watch.

The most likely path to reunification is that Ngannou rolls the dice in the PFL’s heavyweight division long enough that he eventually loses to a younger man, who then parlays that instant fame into a UFC contract down the road. The least likely path is Ngannou mending fences with Dana White, who is still out here calling him everything but a child of God.

Most likely of all, however, is that Ngannou fights maybe only one or two more times in MMA and then calls it a career. He’s made excellent money. He seems like a reasonable man who doesn’t need this kind of fame and adoration to know who he is. I could absolutely see him taking that lineal heavyweight title home with him and keeping it there.

I see what you’re doing. You’re stereotyping that man. You see a power puncher with tattoos on his neck and a haircut that practically screams, "What are you looking at bro?" and you just assume he’s a perfect fit for BKFC.

And you know something? You are probably not wrong.

First of all let’s be real clear and say that Dana White is almost certainly going to keep doing this job until he dies. He wouldn’t know what to do with himself if he wasn’t doing this.

Second, I think maybe we don’t realize how boring a lot of other fight promoters are. Scott Coker? Very nice and smart man, also pretty boring. Donn Davis? He seems like he ought to be CEO of a company that only makes sensible slacks.

For all his faults, and they are legion, White is good copy. He can stand behind a podium at pretty much any point and make news. A lot of what he says will be demonstrably untrue. Much of it will be self-serving and self-aggrandizing. All of it will end up as headlines on every MMA site. Just look at how many media members show up to Power Slap events just for the news conferences. You think they’re there because so many of their readers are invested in coverage of Pumpkin vs. Krazy Skullz? No, they’re only there to get that sweet, sweet Dana content.

A UFC without him would probably be a lot more placid and predictable. Fighters would probably have to worry a lot less that the person who’s supposed to promote them would instead be the first to bury them with an imperial thumbs down. The world of MMA might experience a certain degree of calm it previously has not known. It would also be a lot more boring. You know, outside of all the actual fighting.