Three kings: What another interim title means for the 145-pound division

Fight fans couldn't be blamed for scratching their heads when they heard the news that Max Holloway and Anthony Pettis will be competing for an interim UFC featherweight title at UFC 206.

After all, the promotion already has an interim champion in Jose Aldo, and an undisputed champion in Conor McGregor. While McGregor is presumably going to be stripped of his title after defeating Eddie Alvarez for the lightweight belt at UFC 205, in the eyes of the public there will soon be three men claiming to be the king at 145 pounds.

Holloway and Pettis fight for their share of the crown Dec. 10, but regardless of who wins, there's going to be confusion as to what the victory means.

Here's a look at how the mess at featherweight affects its most important fighters:

Conor McGregor

Goodbye featherweight Conor.

It was always doubtful McGregor would make the cut down to 145 pounds again to defend the title he won from Jose Aldo last December. The possibility of a rematch only became more remote as he booked a pair of welterweight bouts with Nate Diaz before shifting his sights to the lightweight division.

Now that "The Notorious" is all but guaranteed to be stripped of his featherweight belt so that the UFC can promote Holloway-Pettis as an interim title bout, he has zero incentive to return to his former division.

McGregor also won titles at 145 and 155 pounds when he was competing in Europe. Of the four titles he's won between the Cage Warriors promotion and the UFC, he's never defended any of them.

Jose Aldo

Jose Aldo is about to become a two-time undisputed champion, though it's not exactly how he wanted it.

With McGregor being stripped and the introduction of a second interim title, the belt around Aldo's waist will be elevated to undisputed status by default. That's a bittersweet achievement for the Brazilian fighter, who was undefeated for almost 10 years before running into McGregor's devastating left hand.

Aldo won his current championship with a five-round unanimous decision win over Frankie Edgar at UFC 200 that he assumed would lead to a McGregor rematch. Rather than getting the chance to prove that his 13-second KO loss to McGregor was simply an off night, he'll have to settle for being handed a consolation prize, which does nothing but rub salt in the wound.

Max Holloway, Anthony Pettis

A much-anticipated bout between two of the UFC's most exciting strikers now has an odd wrinkle added to it.

Daniel Cormier was scheduled to defend the light heavyweight title against Anthony Johnson in the UFC 206 main event, but when an injury forced him out of the bout, it made logical sense for co-headliners Max Holloway and Anthony Pettis to be granted the show-closing spot.

The addition of an interim title to the mix reeks of desperation on the part of the UFC marketing team. They're only two weeks removed from celebrating McGregor holding two titles simultaneously, and now they're making a big deal out of Holloway and Pettis competing for a shiny trinket that's twice removed from the real thing.

As nice as it is to win any kind of championship at the highest level of MMA, neither Holloway or Pettis stand to gain much in terms of stature at UFC 206. Sadly, that could be the case for the majority of the featherweight division in the coming years as it struggles to emerge from McGregor's shadow.