List of UFC champions
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships.[1] At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was unsanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight classes. Instead of the traditional championship model, the UFC held tournaments with the winner receiving a permanent appellation.[2] In response to criticism from Senator John McCain that saw the loss of its television deal and the banning of the sport in thirty-six states, the UFC increased its cooperation with state athletic commissions and introduced weight classes in 1997, starting with UFC 12, and began introducing weight-specific titles.[3]
The original codification for weight classes introduced only two divisions: heavyweight, which grouped together all competitors above 200 pounds (91 kg), and lightweight, which encompassed all competitors 199 pounds (90 kg) and under. At UFC 14 the lightweight division would be renamed to middleweight, though it would still encompass all fighters 199 pounds (90 kg) and under.[4] The lightweight moniker would later return at UFC 16 with a new division consisting of those competitors 170 pounds (77 kg) and under.[5] Two years later a fourth weight class, the bantamweight division, arrived at UFC 26 and included all fighters 155 pounds (70 kg) and under.[4]
In 2000, the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board completely took over MMA regulation in its home state and developed new rules and weight classes that eventually became the de facto rule set for all mixed martial arts.[6] The UFC realigned their weight classes to comply with these new regulations in 2001, beginning with UFC 31.[7] At the time, this brought the total number of active divisions in the UFC to five: lightweight, welterweight, middleweight, light heavyweight, and heavyweight.
Current champions
Division | Champion | Since | Defenses |
---|---|---|---|
Heavyweight | Jul 7, 2018 | 0 | |
Light Heavyweight | May 23, 2015 | 3 | |
Middleweight | Dec 7, 2017 | 0 | |
Welterweight | Jul 30, 2016 | 4 | |
Lightweight | Apr 7, 2018 | 1 | |
Featherweight | Jun 3, 2017 | 1 | |
Bantamweight | Nov 4, 2017 | 1 | |
Flyweight | Aug 4, 2018 | 0 |
Division | Champion | Since | Defenses |
---|---|---|---|
Featherweight | Jul 29, 2017 | 2 | |
Bantamweight | Jul 9, 2016 | 3 | |
Flyweight | Vacant | Sep 7, 2018 | – |
Strawweight | Nov 4, 2017 | 1 |
Men's championship history
Heavyweight Championship
206 to 265 lb (93 to 120 kg)
The UFC Superfight Championship was unified with the UFC Tournament Championship to determine the inaugural UFC Heavyweight Champion on February 7, 1997, when Mark Coleman defeated Dan Severn at UFC 12.[4]
No. | Name | Event | Date | Reign (total) | Defenses |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | def. Dan Severn |
UFC 12 Dothan, AL, US |
Feb 7, 1997 | 170 days | |
2 | UFC 14 Birmingham, AL, US |
Jul 27, 1997 | 147 days |
1. def. Tank Abbott at UFC 15 on Oct 17, 1997 | |
3 | UFC Japan Yokohama, Japan |
Dec 21, 1997 | ? days | ||
Couture was stripped of the title in January 1998 when he left the UFC due to a contract dispute. | |||||
4 | def. Kevin Randleman |
UFC 20 Birmingham, AL, US |
May 7, 1999 | ? days | |
Rutten vacated the title in June 1999 in order to drop down to Light Heavyweight. He retired soon after due to training injuries.[9] | |||||
5 | def. Pete Williams |
UFC 23 Tokyo, Japan |
Nov 19, 1999 | 364 days |
1. def. Pedro Rizzo at UFC 26 on Jun 9, 2000 |
6 | UFC 28 Atlantic City, NJ, US |
Nov 17, 2000 | 490 days (490+ days) |
1. def. Pedro Rizzo at UFC 31 on May 4, 2001 | |
7 | UFC 36 Las Vegas, NV, US |
Mar 22, 2002 | 126 days | ||
Barnett was stripped of the title on July 26, 2002, after testing positive for anabolic steroids in a post-fight drug test.[10] | |||||
8 | def. Randy Couture |
UFC 39 Uncasville, CT, US |
Sep 27, 2002 | 154 days | |
9 | UFC 41 Atlantic City, NJ, US |
Feb 28, 2003 | 229 days | ||
Sylvia was stripped of the title on October 15, 2003, after testing positive for anabolic steroids in a post-fight drug test.[11] | |||||
10 | def. Tim Sylvia |
UFC 48 Las Vegas, NV, US |
Jun 19, 2004 | 419 days | |
- | def. Tim Sylvia for interim title |
UFC 51 Las Vegas, NV, US |
Feb 5, 2005 | — |
1. def. Justin Eilers at UFC 53 on Jun 4, 2005 |
Mir was stripped of the title on August 12, 2005, for inactivity resulting from injuries he sustained in a road accident.[12] | |||||
11 | promoted to undisputed champion |
— | Aug 12, 2005 | 246 days |
1. def. Paul Buentello at UFC 55 on Oct 7, 2005 |
12 | UFC 59 Anaheim, CA, US |
Apr 15, 2006 | 322 days (551 days) |
1. def. Andrei Arlovski at UFC 61 on Jul 8, 2006 | |
13 | UFC 68 Columbus, OH, US |
Mar 3, 2007 | 623 days (1,113+ days) |
1. def. Gabriel Gonzaga at UFC 74 on Aug 25, 2007 | |
- | def. Tim Sylvia for interim title |
UFC 81 Las Vegas, NV, US |
Feb 2, 2008 | — | |
14 | UFC 91 Las Vegas, NV, US |
Nov 15, 2008 | 707 days |
1. def. interim champion Frank Mir at UFC 100 on Jul 11, 2009 | |
- | def. interim champion Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira |
UFC 92 Las Vegas, NV, US |
Dec 27, 2008 | — | |
- | def. Frank Mir for interim title |
UFC 111 Newark, NJ, US |
Mar 27, 2010 | — | |
15 | UFC 121 Anaheim, CA, US |
Oct 23, 2010 | 385 days | ||
16 | UFC on Fox: Velasquez vs. dos Santos Anaheim, CA, US |
Nov 12, 2011 | 413 days | ||
17 | UFC 155 Las Vegas, NV, US |
Dec 29, 2012 | 896 days (1,281 days) |
1. def. Antônio Silva at UFC 160 on May 25, 2013 | |
- | def. Mark Hunt for interim title |
UFC 180 Mexico City, Mexico |
Nov 15, 2014 | — | |
18 | UFC 188 Mexico City, Mexico |
Jun 13, 2015 | 336 days | ||
19 | UFC 198 Curitiba, Brazil |
May 14, 2016 | 785 days |
1. def. Alistair Overeem at UFC 203 on Sep 10, 2016 | |
20 | UFC 226 Las Vegas, NV, US |
Jul 7, 2018 | 100 days (incumbent) |
Light Heavyweight Championship
186 to 205 lb (84 to 93 kg)
The Light Heavyweight Title was known as the Middleweight Title prior to UFC 31 (May 4, 2001).
The Pride World Middleweight Title (209.4 lb) was unified with the UFC Light Heavyweight Title on September 8, 2007, when Quinton Jackson defeated Dan Henderson at UFC 75.[4]
No. | Name | Event | Date | Reign (Total) | Defenses |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | def. Kevin Jackson |
UFC Japan Yokohama, Japan |
Dec 21, 1997 | 703 days |
1. def. Igor Zinoviev at UFC 16 on Mar 13, 1998 |
Shamrock vacated the title on November 24, 1999, when he retired from the UFC, citing a lack of competition.[1] | |||||
2 | def. Wanderlei Silva |
UFC 25 Tokyo, Japan |
Apr 14, 2000 | 1,260 days |
1. def. Yuki Kondo at UFC 29 on Dec 16, 2000 |
- | def. Chuck Liddell for interim title |
UFC 43 Las Vegas, NV, US |
Jun 6, 2003 | — | |
3 | UFC 44 Las Vegas, NV, US |
Sep 26, 2003 | 127 days | ||
4 | UFC 46 Las Vegas, NV, US |
Jan 31, 2004 | 203 days | ||
5 | UFC 49 Las Vegas, NV, US |
Aug 21, 2004 | 238 days (365 days) |
||
6 | UFC 52 Las Vegas, NV, US |
Apr 16, 2005 | 770 days |
1. def. Jeremy Horn at UFC 54 on Aug 20, 2005 | |
7 | UFC 71 Las Vegas, NV, US |
May 26, 2007 | 406 days |
1. def. Dan Henderson at UFC 75 on Sep 8, 2007 | |
8 | UFC 86 Las Vegas, NV, US |
Jul 5, 2008 | 175 days | ||
9 | UFC 92 Las Vegas, NV, US |
Dec 27, 2008 | 147 days | ||
10 | UFC 98 Las Vegas, NV, US |
May 23, 2009 | 350 days |
1. def. Maurício Rua at UFC 104 on Oct 24, 2009 | |
11 | UFC 113 Montreal, QC, Canada |
May 8, 2010 | 315 days | ||
12 | UFC 128 Newark, NJ, US |
Mar 19, 2011 | 1,501 days |
1. def. Quinton Jackson at UFC 135 on Sep 24, 2011 | |
Jones was stripped of the title on April 28, 2015, due to his involvement and arrest in a felony hit-and-run.[13] | |||||
13 | def. Anthony Johnson |
UFC 187 Las Vegas, NV, US |
May 23, 2015 | 1241 days (incumbent) |
1. def. Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 192 on Oct 3, 2015 |
- | def. Ovince Saint Preux for interim title |
UFC 197 Las Vegas, NV, US |
Apr 23, 2016 | — | |
Jones was stripped of the interim title on November 9, 2016, due to his 1-year suspension related to a failed pre-fight drug test.[14] | |||||
Jones won the title at UFC 214 on July 29, 2017, but was stripped on September 13, 2017, after his win was overturned to a no-contest due to a failed pre-fight drug test. Cormier was then reinstated as champion.[15] | |||||
Middleweight Championship
171 to 185 lb (77 to 84 kg)
The Pride World Welterweight Title (176.4 lb) was unified with the UFC Middleweight Title on March 1, 2008, when Anderson Silva defeated Dan Henderson at UFC 82.[16]
No. | Name | Event | Date | Reign | Defenses |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | def. Gil Castillo |
UFC 33 Las Vegas, NV, US |
Sep 28, 2001 | 105 days | |
2 | UFC 35 Las Vegas, NV, US |
Jan 11, 2002 | 267 days |
1. def. Matt Lindland at UFC 37 on May 10, 2002 | |
Bustamante was stripped of the title on October 5, 2002, when he left the UFC for Pride.[1] | |||||
3 | def. David Terrell |
UFC 51 Las Vegas, NV, US |
Feb 5, 2005 | 119 days | |
4 | UFC 53 Atlantic City, NJ, US |
Jun 4, 2005 | 497 days |
1. def. Nate Quarry at UFC 56 on Nov 19, 2005 | |
5 | UFC 64 Las Vegas, NV, US |
Oct 14, 2006 | 2,457 days |
1. def. Nate Marquardt at UFC 73 on Jul 7, 2007 | |
6 | UFC 162 Las Vegas, NV, US |
Jul 6, 2013 | 888 days |
1. def. Anderson Silva at UFC 168 on Dec 28, 2013 | |
7 | UFC 194 Las Vegas, NV, US |
Dec 12, 2015 | 175 days | ||
8 | UFC 199 Inglewood, CA, US |
Jun 4, 2016 | 518 days |
1. def. Dan Henderson at UFC 204 on Oct 8, 2016 | |
- | def. Yoel Romero for interim title |
UFC 213 Las Vegas, NV, US |
Jul 8, 2017 | — | |
9 | UFC 217 New York City, NY, US |
Nov 4, 2017 | 33 days | ||
St-Pierre vacated the title on December 7, 2017, due to ulcerative colitis.[17][18] | |||||
10 | promoted to undisputed champion |
— | Dec 7, 2017 | 312 days (incumbent) |
|
Welterweight Championship
156 to 170 lb (70 to 77 kg)
The Welterweight Title was known as the Lightweight Title prior to UFC 31 (May 4, 2001).
No. | Name | Event | Date | Reign (Total) | Defenses |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | def. Mikey Burnett |
UFC Brazil São Paulo, Brazil |
Oct 16, 1998 | 931 days |
1. def. Jorge Patino at UFC 18 on Jan 8, 1999 |
2 | UFC 31 Atlantic City, NJ, US |
May 4, 2001 | 183 days | ||
3 | UFC 34 Las Vegas, NV, US |
Nov 2, 2001 | 820 days |
1. def. Hayato Sakurai at UFC 36 on Mar 22, 2002 | |
4 | UFC 46 Las Vegas, NV, US |
Jan 31, 2004 | 107 days | ||
Penn was stripped of the title on May 17, 2004, when he left the UFC for K-1.[19] | |||||
5 | def. Georges St-Pierre |
UFC 50 Atlantic City, NJ, US |
Oct 22, 2004 | 757 days (1,577 days) |
1. def. Frank Trigg at UFC 52 on Apr 16, 2005 |
6 | UFC 65 Sacramento, CA, US |
Nov 18, 2006 | 140 days | ||
7 | UFC 69 Houston, TX, US |
Apr 7, 2007 | 378 days | ||
- | def. Matt Hughes for interim title |
UFC 79 Las Vegas, NV, US |
Dec 29, 2007 | — | |
8 | UFC 83 Montreal, QC, Canada |
Apr 19, 2008 | 2,064 days (2,204 days) |
1. def. Jon Fitch at UFC 87 on Aug 9, 2008 | |
- | def. Nick Diaz for interim title |
UFC 143 Las Vegas, NV, US |
Feb 4, 2012 | — | |
St-Pierre vacated the title on December 13, 2013, when he decided to take time off from the sport.[20] | |||||
9 | def. Robbie Lawler |
UFC 171 Dallas, TX, US |
Mar 15, 2014 | 266 days | |
10 | UFC 181 Las Vegas, NV, US |
Dec 6, 2014 | 602 days |
1. def. Rory MacDonald at UFC 189 on Jul 11, 2015 | |
11 | UFC 201 Atlanta, GA, US |
Jul 30, 2016 | 807 days (incumbent) |
1. drew with Stephen Thompson at UFC 205 on Nov 12, 2016 | |
- | def. Rafael dos Anjos for interim title |
UFC 225 Chicago, IL, US |
Jun 9, 2018 | — | |
Covington was stripped of the interim title on September 8, 2018.[21] |
Lightweight Championship
146 to 155 lb (66 to 70 kg)
The Lightweight Title was known as the Bantamweight Title prior to UFC 31 (May 4, 2001).
The Strikeforce Lightweight Title was unified (perhaps unofficially) with the UFC Lightweight Title on April 20, 2013, when Benson Henderson defeated Gilbert Melendez at UFC on Fox: Henderson vs. Melendez.[22]
No. | Name | Event | Date | Reign | Defenses |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | def. Caol Uno |
UFC 30 Atlantic City, NJ, US |
Feb 23, 2001 | 393 days |
1. def. Dennis Hallman at UFC 33 on Sep 28, 2001 |
Pulver was stripped of the title on March 23, 2002, when he left the UFC due to a contract dispute.[1] | |||||
B.J. Penn and Caol Uno fought to a draw on February 28, 2003, at UFC 41 in Atlantic City, NJ, US in the finale of a 4-man tournament for the vacant title.[1] | |||||
2 | def. Kenny Florian |
UFC 64 Las Vegas, NV, US |
Oct 14, 2006 | 420 days |
1. def. Hermes França at UFC 73 on Jul 7, 2007 |
Sherk was stripped of the title on December 8, 2007, after testing positive for anabolic steroids in a post-fight drug test.[23] | |||||
3 | def. Joe Stevenson |
UFC 80 Newcastle, England, UK |
Jan 19, 2008 | 812 days |
1. def. Sean Sherk at UFC 84 on May 24, 2008 |
4 | UFC 112 Abu Dhabi, UAE |
Apr 10, 2010 | 687 days |
1. def. B.J. Penn at UFC 118 on Aug 28, 2010 | |
5 | UFC 144 Saitama, Japan |
Feb 26, 2012 | 552 days |
1. def. Frankie Edgar at UFC 150 on Aug 11, 2012 | |
6 | UFC 164 Milwaukee, WI, US |
Aug 31, 2013 | 560 days |
1. def. Gilbert Melendez at UFC 181 on Dec 6, 2014 | |
7 | UFC 185 Dallas, TX, US |
Mar 14, 2015 | 481 days |
1. def. Donald Cerrone at UFC on Fox: dos Anjos vs. Cerrone 2 on Dec 19, 2015 | |
8 | UFC Fight Night: dos Anjos vs. Alvarez Las Vegas, NV, US |
Jul 7, 2016 | 128 days | ||
9 | UFC 205 New York City, NY, US |
Nov 12, 2016 | 511 days | ||
- | def. Kevin Lee for interim title |
UFC 216 Las Vegas, NV, US |
Oct 7, 2017 | — | |
Both McGregor and Ferguson were stripped of their titles on April 7, 2018 due to inactivity and injury, respectively.[24] | |||||
10 | def. Al Iaquinta |
UFC 223 Brooklyn, NY, US |
Apr 7, 2018 | 191 days (incumbent) |
1. def. Conor McGregor at UFC 229 on Oct 6, 2018 |
Featherweight Championship
136 to 145 lb (61 to 66 kg)
Prior to the UFC-WEC merger, José Aldo was the WEC Featherweight Champion. Aldo was awarded the inaugural UFC Featherweight Championship on November 20, 2010, at UFC 123 in a ceremony prior to the event.[25]
No. | Name | Event | Date | Reign | Defenses |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | promoted to undisputed champion |
UFC 123 Auburn Hills, MI, US |
Nov 20, 2010 | 1,848 days |
1. def. Mark Hominick at UFC 129 on Apr 30, 2011 |
- | def. Chad Mendes for interim title |
UFC 189 Las Vegas, NV, US |
Jul 11, 2015 | — | |
2 | UFC 194 Las Vegas, NV, US |
Dec 12, 2015 | 350 days | ||
- | def. Frankie Edgar for interim title |
UFC 200 Las Vegas, NV, US |
Jul 9, 2016 | — | |
McGregor was stripped of the title on November 26, 2016, after winning the lightweight title.[26][27] | |||||
3 | promoted to undisputed champion |
— | Nov 26, 2016 | 189 days (2,037 days) |
|
- | def. Anthony Pettis for interim title |
UFC 206 Toronto, ON, Canada |
Dec 10, 2016 | — | |
4 | UFC 212 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
Jun 3, 2017 | 499 days (incumbent) |
1. def. José Aldo at UFC 218 on Dec 2, 2017 | |
Bantamweight Championship
126 to 135 lb (57 to 61 kg)
Prior to UFC-WEC merger, Dominick Cruz was the WEC Bantamweight Champion. At WEC 53, Cruz defeated Scott Jorgensen to retain the WEC Bantamweight Championship and was awarded the inaugural UFC Bantamweight Championship.[28]
No. | Name | Event | Date | Reign | Defenses |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | def. Scott Jorgensen |
WEC 53 Glendale, AZ, US |
Dec 16, 2010 | 1,117 days |
1. def. Urijah Faber at UFC 132 on Jul 2, 2011 |
- | def. Urijah Faber for interim title |
UFC 149 Calgary, AB, Canada |
Jul 21, 2012 | — |
1. def. Michael McDonald at UFC on Fuel TV: Barao vs. McDonald on Feb 16, 2013 |
Cruz vacated the title on January 6, 2014, after repeated injuries prevented him from returning to competition to defend his title.[29] | |||||
2 | promoted to undisputed champion |
— | Jan 6, 2014 | 138 days |
1. def. Urijah Faber at UFC 169 on Feb 1, 2014 |
3 | UFC 173 Las Vegas, NV, US |
May 24, 2014 | 603 days |
1. def. Joe Soto at UFC 177 on Aug 30, 2014 | |
4 | UFC Fight Night: Dillashaw vs. Cruz Boston, MA, US |
Jan 17, 2016 | 348 days (1,465 days) |
1. def. Urijah Faber at UFC 199 on Jun 4, 2016 | |
5 | UFC 207 Las Vegas, NV, US |
Dec 30, 2016 | 309 days | ||
6 | UFC 217 New York City, NY, US |
Nov 4, 2017 | 345 days (incumbent) |
1. def. Cody Garbrandt at UFC 227 on Aug 4, 2018 | |
Flyweight Championship
116 to 125 lb (53 to 57 kg)
Demetrious Johnson defeated Joseph Benavidez on September 22, 2012, at UFC 152 in Toronto, ON, Canada in the finale of a 4-man tournament for the inaugural title.[30]
No. | Name | Event | Date | Reign | Defenses |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | def. Joseph Benavidez |
UFC 152 Toronto, ON, Canada |
Sep 22, 2012 | 2,142 days |
1. def. John Dodson at UFC on Fox: Johnson vs. Dodson on Jan 26, 2013 |
2 | UFC 227 Los Angeles, CA, US |
Aug 4, 2018 | 72 days (incumbent) |
Women's championship history
Women's Featherweight Championship
136 to 145 lb (62 to 66 kg)
The inaugural title was contested on February 11, 2017 in Brooklyn, NY, US at UFC 208.[31]
No. | Name | Event | Date | Reign | Defenses |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | def. Holly Holm |
UFC 208 Brooklyn, NY, US |
Feb 11, 2017 | 128 days | |
De Randamie was stripped of the title on June 19, 2017, after she refused to defend the title against Cris Cyborg.[32] | |||||
2 | def. Tonya Evinger |
UFC 214 Anaheim, CA, US |
Jul 29, 2017 | 443 days (incumbent) |
1. def. Holly Holm at UFC 219 on Dec 30, 2017 |
Women's Bantamweight Championship
126 to 135 lb (57 to 61 kg)
Prior to its folding and absorption by the UFC, Ronda Rousey was the Strikeforce Women's Bantamweight Champion. Rousey was awarded the inaugural UFC Women's Bantamweight Championship on December 6, 2012, at a UFC on Fox: Henderson vs. Diaz pre-event press conference.[33]
No. | Name | Event | Date | Reign | Defenses |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | promoted to undisputed champion |
UFC on Fox: Henderson vs. Diaz press conference Seattle, WA, US |
Dec 6, 2012 | 1,074 days |
1. def. Liz Carmouche at UFC 157 on Feb 23, 2013 |
2 | UFC 193 Melbourne, Australia |
Nov 15, 2015 | 111 days | ||
3 | UFC 196 Las Vegas, NV, US |
Mar 5, 2016 | 126 days | ||
4 | UFC 200 Las Vegas, NV, US |
Jul 9, 2016 | 828 days (incumbent) |
1. def. Ronda Rousey at UFC 207 on Dec 30, 2016 |
Women's Flyweight Championship
116 to 125 lb (53 to 57 kg)
The inaugural title was contested on December 1, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada at The Ultimate Fighter: A New World Champion Finale. The inaugural title fight was between two fighters who appeared on the 26th season of The Ultimate Fighter.
No. | Name | Event | Date | Reign | Defenses |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | def. Roxanne Modafferi |
The Ultimate Fighter: A New World Champion Finale Las Vegas, NV, US |
Dec 1, 2017 | 280 days |
|
Montaño was stripped of the title on September 7, 2018 after she was forced to withdraw from her title defence at UFC 228 due to weight cut issues.[34] | |||||
Women's Strawweight Championship
106 to 115 lb (48 to 52 kg)
Previously the Invicta FC strawweight champion, Carla Esparza defeated Rose Namajunas for the inaugural title on December 12, 2014 in the tournament finale for The Ultimate Fighter: A Champion Will Be Crowned.[35]
No. | Name | Event | Date | Reign | Defenses |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | def. Rose Namajunas |
The Ultimate Fighter: A Champion Will Be Crowned Finale Las Vegas, NV, US |
Dec 12, 2014 | 92 days | |
2 | UFC 185 Dallas, TX, US |
Mar 14, 2015 | 966 days |
1. def. Jessica Penne at UFC Fight Night: Jędrzejczyk vs. Penne on Jun 20, 2015 | |
3 | UFC 217 New York City, NY, US |
Nov 4, 2017 | 345 days (incumbent) |
1. def. Joanna Jędrzejczyk at UFC 223 on Apr 7, 2018 |
Superfight Championship (defunct)
An openweight title used before the introduction of weight classes in 1997. It was designed to create a reigning UFC Champion for the UFC tournament winners to challenge.[36]
No. | Name | Event | Date | Reign | Defenses |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ken Shamrock and Royce Gracie fought to a draw on April 7, 1995 at UFC 5 in Charlotte, NC, US for the inaugural Superfight title.[1] | |||||
1 | def. Dan Severn |
UFC 6 Casper, WY, US |
Jul 14, 1995 | 308 days |
1. drew with Oleg Taktarov at UFC 7 on Sep 8, 1995 |
2 | UFC 9 Detroit, MI, US |
May 17, 1996 | 266 days | ||
Mark Coleman defeated Severn on February 7, 1997 at UFC 12 in Dothan, AL, US. This bout unified the UFC Superfight Championship with the UFC Tournament Championship to determine the inaugural UFC Heavyweight Champion.[4] |
Tournament winners
The Ultimate Fighter
The Ultimate Fighter is a reality television series and mixed martial arts competition produced by the UFC. The show features professional fighters living together and competing against one another in a tournament for a contract with the UFC.
Champions by nationality
Division champions are the primary separation criteria due to being non-closed competition. It includes title holders and interim title holders. Interim champions who become undisputed champions are listed only once. People with multiple title reigns will have each of them counted. Tournament wins are secondary due to many tournaments being country specific and thus not generally a national achievement to win. Runners-up and The Ultimate Fighter runners-up are not included.
Most wins in title bouts
Fighters with four or more championship and/or interim championship title wins.[37] Fighters with the same number of title wins are arranged in order of most title fights. Tournament championships and The Ultimate Fighter winners are not included.
Title wins | Champion | Division | Record in title fights |
---|---|---|---|
13 | Middleweight Welterweight |
1 - 0 - 0 12 - 2 - 0 | |
12 | Bantamweight Flyweight |
0 - 1 - 0 12 - 1 - 0 | |
11 | Middleweight | 11 - 2 - 0 | |
10 | Light Heavyweight | 10 - 0 - 0 (1) | |
9 | Heavyweight Light Heavyweight |
6 - 3 - 0 3 - 3 - 0 | |
Welterweight | 9 - 3 - 0 | ||
8 | Featherweight | 8 - 3 - 0 | |
6 | Light Heavyweight | 6 - 3 - 0 | |
Women's Bantamweight | 6 - 2 - 0 | ||
Women's Strawweight | 6 - 2 - 0 | ||
5 | Welterweight Lightweight |
1 - 2 - 0 4 - 3 - 1 | |
Heavyweight | 5 - 4 - 0 | ||
Light Heavyweight | 5 - 2 - 0 | ||
Heavyweight Light Heavyweight |
1 - 0 - 0 4 - 1 - 0 (1) | ||
Welterweight | 5 - 1 - 0 | ||
Bantamweight | 5 - 1 - 0 | ||
Bantamweight | 5 - 1 - 0 | ||
Light Heavyweight | 5 - 0 - 0 | ||
4 | Heavyweight | 4 - 2 - 0 | |
Bantamweight | 4 - 2 - 0 | ||
Lightweight | 4 - 1 - 0 | ||
Middleweight | 4 - 1 - 0 | ||
Heavyweight | 4 - 1 - 0 | ||
Welterweight | 4 - 0 - 1 | ||
Women's Bantamweight | 4 - 0 - 0 |
Most consecutive title defenses
The following includes all UFC champions who were able to consecutively defend their title three times or more. Fighters with the same number of title defenses are listed chronologically.[38]
Defenses | Champion | Division | Period |
---|---|---|---|
11 | Flyweight | Sep 22, 2012 – Aug 4, 2018 | |
10 | Middleweight | Oct 14, 2006 – Jul 6, 2013 | |
9 | Welterweight | Apr 19, 2008 – Dec 13, 2013 | |
8 | Light Heavyweight | Mar 19, 2011 – Apr 28, 2015 | |
7 | Featherweight | Nov 20, 2010 – Dec 12, 2015 | |
6 | Women's Bantamweight | Dec 6, 2012 – Nov 15, 2015 | |
5 | Light Heavyweight | Apr 14, 2000 – Sep 26, 2003 | |
Welterweight | Nov 2, 2001 – Jan 31, 2004 | ||
Women's Strawweight | Mar 14, 2015 – Nov 4, 2017 | ||
4 | Light Heavyweight | Dec 21, 1997 – Nov 24, 1999 | |
Welterweight | Oct 16, 1998 – May 4, 2001 | ||
Light Heavyweight | Apr 16, 2005 – May 26, 2007 | ||
Welterweight | Jul 30, 2016 – present | ||
3 | Lightweight | Jan 19, 2008 – Apr 10, 2010 | |
Lightweight | Apr 10, 2010 – Feb 26, 2012 | ||
Lightweight | Feb 26, 2012 – Aug 31, 2013 | ||
Bantamweight | Jul 21, 2012 – May 24, 2014 | ||
Middleweight | Jul 6, 2013 – Dec 12, 2015 | ||
Light Heavyweight | May 23, 2015 – present | ||
Heavyweight | May 14, 2016 – Jul 7, 2018 | ||
Women's Bantamweight | Jul 9, 2016 – present |
- ↑ Woodley successfully defended the UFC Welterweight Championship twice and retained the title once following a draw against Stephen Thompson at UFC 205.
- ↑ Edgar successfully defended the UFC Lightweight Championship twice and retained the title once following a draw against Gray Maynard at UFC 125.
- ↑ Barão successfully defended the interim UFC Bantamweight Championship twice before being promoted to undisputed champion and defending his title once more.
- ↑ Cormier lost to Jon Jones attempting his 3rd consecutive defense. However, Jones' win was later overtuned to a no-contest due to a failed pre-fight drug test. Cormier was later reinstated as champion and made his 3rd successful title defense at UFC 220.
Longest reigning champions
The following is a list of the ten longest reigning UFC champions.
Longest individual reigns
Name | Title Reign | Weight class | Successful defenses | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | 2,457 days | Middleweight | 10 | |
2. | 2,142 days | Flyweight | 11 | |
3. | 2,064 days | Welterweight | 9 | |
4. | 1,848 days | Featherweight | 7 | |
5. | 1,501 days | Light Heavyweight | 8 | |
6. | 1,260 days | Light Heavyweight | 5 | |
7. | 1,241 days (incumbent) | Light Heavyweight | 3 | |
8. | 1,117 days | Bantamweight | 2 | |
9. | 1,074 days | Women's Bantamweight | 6 | |
10. | 966 days | Women's Strawweight | 5 | |
Longest combined reigns
Name | Days as champion | Number of reigns | Weight class | Cumulative title defenses | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. | 2,457 days | 1 | Middleweight | 10 | |
2. | 2,237 days | 3 | Welterweight, Middleweight | 9 | |
3. | 2,142 days | 1 | Flyweight | 11 | |
4. | 2,037 days | 2 | Featherweight | 7 | |
5. | 1,577 days | 2 | Welterweight | 7 | |
6. | 1,501 days | 1 | Light Heavyweight | 8 | |
7. | 1,478+ days | 5 | Heavyweight, Light Heavyweight | 3 | |
8. | 1,465 days | 2 | Bantamweight | 3 | |
9. | 1,241 + 100 days (incumbent) | 2 | Light Heavyweight, Heavyweight | 3 | |
10. | 1,281 days | 2 | Heavyweight | 2 | |
Multi-division champions
Fighters who have won championships in multiple weight classes.[39] Tournament championships and The Ultimate Fighter winners are not included.
Randy Couture is notably the first champion to hold belts in two different divisions, and one of the few to reclaim a title after being defeated. Conor McGregor was the first fighter to hold multiple titles simultaneously. Daniel Cormier is both the reigning Heavyweight and Light Heavyweight Champion.
Champion | Division | Won | Lost | Defenses | Reign | Total reign |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Heavyweight | Dec 21, 1997 (UFC Japan) | Jan ?, 1998 (stripped) | 0 | ? days | 1,478+ days | |
Nov 17, 2000 (UFC 28) | Mar 22, 2002 (UFC 36) | 2 | 490 days | |||
Light Heavyweight | Sep 26, 2003 (UFC 44) | Jan 31, 2004 (UFC 46) | 0 | 127 days | ||
Aug 21, 2004 (UFC 49) | Apr 16, 2005 (UFC 52) | 0 | 238 days | |||
Heavyweight | Mar 3, 2007 (UFC 68) | Nov 15, 2008 (UFC 91) | 1 | 623 days | ||
Welterweight | Jan 31, 2004 (UFC 46) | May 17, 2004 (stripped) | 0 | 107 days | 919 days | |
Lightweight | Jan 19, 2008 (UFC 80) | Apr 10, 2010 (UFC 112) | 3 | 812 days | ||
Featherweight | Dec 12, 2015 (UFC 194) | Nov 26, 2016 (stripped) | 0 | 350 days | 861 days | |
Lightweight | Nov 12, 2016 (UFC 205) | Apr 7, 2018 (stripped) | 0 | 511 days | ||
Welterweight | Nov 18, 2006 (UFC 65) | Apr 7, 2007 (UFC 69) | 0 | 140 days | 2,237 days | |
Apr 19, 2008 (UFC 83) | Dec 13, 2013 (vacated) | 9 | 2,064 days | |||
Middleweight | Nov 4, 2017 (UFC 217) | Dec 7, 2017 (vacated) | 0 | 33 days | ||
Light Heavyweight | May 23, 2015 (UFC 187) | Incumbent | 3 | 1,241 days | Ongoing | |
Heavyweight | Jul 7, 2018 (UFC 226) | 0 | 100 days |
See also
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "UFC Championship Lineage". The Orange County Register. July 2, 2007. Archived from the original on November 3, 2007. Retrieved September 14, 2007.
- ↑ Plotz, David (November 7, 1999). "Fight Clubbed". Slate.com. Retrieved March 21, 2007.
- ↑ Gentry III, Clyde (2003). No Holds Barred: Ultimate Fighting and the Martial Arts Revolution (Paperback ed.). Milo Books. pp. 106, 123. ISBN 1-903854-30-X.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Harshcore, Rod. "UFC Weight Classes & Their Champions: A History". Yell! Magazine. Retrieved December 24, 2012.
- ↑ Meltzer, Dave (April 18, 2009). "UFC 16: Frank's house". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved January 15, 2013.
- ↑ "Mixed Martial Arts Unified Rules of Conduct". New Jersey State Athletic Control Board. 2000. Archived from the original on April 3, 2009. Retrieved September 8, 2007.
- ↑ Trembow, Ivan (July 21, 2006). "New Jersey Commission Corrects Mainstream UFC Stories". MMAWeekly.com. Ivan's Blog. Retrieved September 8, 2007.
- 1 2 "Fighters". Ultimate Fighting Championship. Retrieved April 24, 2012.
- ↑ Rutten, Bas. "Bas Rutten Biography". Archived from the original on May 20, 2007. Retrieved September 12, 2007.
- ↑ Fitzgerald, Tom (November 26, 2006). "UFC fighter flunks drug test". SFgate.com: the San Francisco Chronicle website. Retrieved September 12, 2007.
- ↑ Fitzgerald, Tom (November 26, 2006). "Fighting outside the box". SFgate.com: the San Francisco Chronicle website. Retrieved September 12, 2007.
- ↑ Staff (August 13, 2005). "UFC Strips Mir of Heavyweight Belt, Arlovski New Champion". Sherdog.com. Retrieved September 12, 2007.
- ↑ "Jon Jones stripped of title, Daniel Cormier vs. Anthony Johnson for belt headlines UFC 187". mmafighting.com. April 28, 2015. Retrieved April 28, 2015.
- ↑ Staff (2016-11-09). "UFC strips Jon Jones of interim light heavyweight title on heels of one-year suspension". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2016-11-09.
- ↑ Marc Raimondi (2017-09-13). "Daniel Cormier reinstated as UFC light heavyweight champion". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2017-09-13.
- ↑ Kyte, Spencer (October 19, 2012). "Champion vs. Champion: A UFC History". UFC.com. Retrieved December 24, 2012.
- ↑ Brett Okamoto (December 2, 2017). "Dana White: Georges St-Pierre will be 'out for a minute' with colitis". espn.com. Retrieved December 8, 2017.
- ↑ Brett Okamoto (December 7, 2017). "Georges St-Pierre vacates middleweight title; Robert Whittaker takes spot". espn.com. Retrieved December 8, 2017.
- ↑ "Zuffa Strips Penn of Title". Sherdog.com. May 18, 2004. Retrieved December 9, 2007.
- ↑ "It's official: Georges St-Pierre vacating UFC welterweight title". mmajunkie.com. December 13, 2013. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
- ↑ Steven Marrocco (2018-07-24). "Tyron Woodley vs. Darren Till title fight headlines UFC 228; Colby Covington to be stripped (updated)". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2018-09-09.
- ↑ "Benson Henderson vs. Gilbert Melendez, Daniel Cormier vs. Frank Mir set for UFC on FOX 7". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2014-08-12.
- ↑ Meltzer, Dave (December 9, 2007). "Sherk stripped of lightweight title". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved December 10, 2007.
- ↑ https://www.bjpenn.com/mma-news/ufc-223/breaking-dana-white-addresses-the-ufcs-complicated-lightweight-title-picture/
- ↑ Morgan, John; Stupp, Dann (November 20, 2010). "New UFC Champion Jose Aldo officially awarded title belt". MMAjunkie.com. Archived from the original on October 23, 2012. Retrieved October 20, 2012.
- ↑ "McGregor vacates featherweight title, Aldo now undisputed champion". ufc.com. November 26, 2016. Retrieved November 26, 2016.
- ↑ "Conor McGregor: UFC never contacted me about relinquishing the featherweight title". mmafighting.com. December 18, 2016. Retrieved December 18, 2016.
- ↑ Nelson, Chris (December 14, 2010). "Harris Eager to Crown First UFC Bantamweight Champ". Sherdog.com. Retrieved October 20, 2012.
- ↑ "Dominick Cruz out, vacates bantamweight title; Urijah Faber now meets Renan Barao at UFC 169". mmajunkie.com. January 6, 2014. Retrieved January 6, 2014.
- ↑ Mrosko, Geno (September 23, 2012). "UFC 152 results: Demetrious Johnson wins flyweight title with split decision victory over Joseph Benavidez". MMAmania.com. Retrieved December 24, 2012.
- ↑ Staff (2016-12-13). "Holly Holm and Germaine de Randamie fight for inaugural featherweight title at UFC 208". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2016-12-13.
- ↑ Staff (2017-06-19). "'Cyborg' vs. Megan Anderson for title at UFC 214 after Germaine de Randamie stripped". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2017-06-19.
- ↑ Gerbasi, Thomas (December 6, 2012). "The UFC Crowns Its First Queen". UFC. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
- ↑ Marc Raimondi (2018-09-07). "Dana White says Nicco Montaño is no longer the UFC women's flyweight champion". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2018-09-07.
- ↑ Doyle, Dave (December 11, 2013). "'TUF 20' will feature all-women's cast; crown first UFC strawweight champion". MMAFighting.com. Retrieved December 15, 2013.
- ↑ Meltzer, Dave (April 8, 2009). "Relive UFC 6: Clash of the Titans". Sports.yahoo.com. Retrieved January 8, 2013.
- ↑ "Most wins in UFC title bouts". Fightmatrix.com. Retrieved December 24, 2012.
- ↑ "Most consecutive UFC title defenses". Fightmatrix.com. Retrieved December 24, 2012.
- ↑ "MMA All-time Record Holders". sportsillustrated.