Yoel Romero and Robert Whittaker will fight for the interim middleweight title at UFC 213, but reigning champion Michael Bisping would like to make one thing clear.

“That doesn’t mean they’re fighting for my title,” Bisping said tonight on “UFC Tonight” on FS1. “Nobody’s fighting for my title right now. Let’s just make this clear: Romero and Whittaker are fighting, and one of them gets a participation award. That’s all it is.”

UFC 213 takes place July 8 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas with the main card on pay-per-view following prelims on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass. Romero (13-1 MMA, 8-0 UFC) vs. Whittaker (18-4 MMA, 9-2 UFC) will serve as the co-main event.

Bisping (30-7 MMA, 20-7 UFC) had been slated to defend his belt against Georges St-Pierre before the UFC pulled the plug when St-Pierre announced he wouldn’t be ready to return from retirement until after October. UFC President Dana White said Bisping would fight Romero next, as a result, but “The Count” recently revealed a knee injury.

And so the UFC will keep the division moving along with the interim title fight, a move Bisping said he doesn’t necessarily agree with but understands.

“I’m not necessarily sure it was the right move, or even the essential move to make. … But the UFC has to do what they have to do. I understand that,” Bisping said. “There are a lot of people in the middleweight division that are complaining, especially when I was supposed to fight GSP, that the division wasn’t moving along. Now I’ve got an injury; it’s taken longer than expected for my return.

“Yes, I think it’s a little premature. But as I said, the UFC has got to do what they’ve got to do. And in my mind this just certainly (will define) the next No. 1 contender.”

For more on UFC 213, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.