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List of UFC champions
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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.
It would be nearly ten years before the UFC would expand their divisional offerings to include any of the lower weight classes. The first additions came in late 2010 when the UFC merged with their sister organization World Extreme Cagefighting. Due to the WEC's focus on lighter weight fighters, this merger necessitated the addition of both the featherweight and bantamweight divisions to the UFC, starting with the TUF 12 finale.[8] In early 2012 the UFC decided they would delve even further into the lower weight classes when they announced the introduction of the flyweight division to their ranks, beginning with UFC on FX 2.[9]
In November 2012, as a result of the forthcoming dissolution of their sister organization Strikeforce, the UFC announced they would be adding female fighters to their roster for the first time in the promotion's history. Initially, only the women's bantamweight division was brought over, with the division's premiere bout taking place at UFC 157.[10] A little over a year later, the UFC announced they would be expanding their weight classes for female fighters with the addition of a women's strawweight division,[11] the first bout took place at UFC Fight Night: Cerrone vs. Miller.[12] Then, in late 2016, a featherweight division was introduced for the women with the first fight to be for the Featherweight Championship at UFC 208 in Brooklyn, New York on February 11, 2017. Also in 2017, the UFC announced a Women's Flyweight division would be added. The winner of the 26th season of The Ultimate Fighter, Nicco Montaño, was named the inaugural champion at the finale on December 1, 2017 after she defeated Roxanne Modafferi by unanimous decision.
Contents
1 Current champions
2 Men's championship history
2.1 Heavyweight Championship
2.2 Light Heavyweight Championship
2.3 Middleweight Championship
2.4 Welterweight Championship
2.5 Lightweight Championship
2.6 Featherweight Championship
2.7 Bantamweight Championship
2.8 Flyweight Championship
3 Women's championship history
3.1 Women's Featherweight Championship
3.2 Women's Bantamweight Championship
3.3 Women's Flyweight Championship
3.4 Women's Strawweight Championship
4 Superfight Championship (defunct)
5 Tournament winners
6 The Ultimate Fighter
7 Champions by nationality
8 Most wins in title bouts
9 Most consecutive title defenses
10 Longest reigning champions
10.1 Longest individual reigns
10.2 Longest combined reigns
11 Multi-division champions
12 See also
13 References
14 External links
Current champions[edit]
Men[13]
Division
Champion
Since
Defenses
Heavyweight Daniel Cormier Jul 7, 2018 0
Light Heavyweight May 23, 2015 3
Middleweight Robert Whittaker Dec 7, 2017 0
Welterweight Tyron Woodley Jul 30, 2016 3
Colby Covington (Interim Champion) Jun 9, 2018 0
Lightweight Khabib Nurmagomedov Apr 7, 2018 0
Featherweight Max Holloway Jun 3, 2017 1
Bantamweight T.J. Dillashaw Nov 4, 2017 1
Flyweight Henry Cejudo Aug 4, 2018 0
Women[13]
Division
Champion
Since
Defenses
Featherweight Cris Cyborg Jul 29, 2017 2
Bantamweight Amanda Nunes Jul 9, 2016 3
Flyweight Nicco Montaño Dec 1, 2017 0
Strawweight Rose Namajunas Nov 4, 2017 1
Men's championship history[edit]
Heavyweight Championship[edit]
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
Mark Coleman
def. Dan Severn UFC 12
Dothan, AL, US Feb 7, 1997 170 days
2
Maurice Smith UFC 14
Birmingham, AL, US Jul 27, 1997 147 days
1. def. Tank Abbott at UFC 15 on Oct 17, 1997
3
Randy Couture UFC Japan
Yokohama, Japan Dec 21, 1997 502 days
Couture was stripped of the title in January 1998 when he left the UFC due to a contract dispute.
4
Bas Rutten
def. Kevin Randleman UFC 20
Birmingham, AL, US May 7, 1999 194 days
Rutten vacated the title in June 1999 in order to drop down to Light heavyweight. He retired soon after due to training injuries.[14]
5
Kevin Randleman
def. Pete Williams UFC 23
Tokyo, Japan Nov 19, 1999 364 days
1. def. Pedro Rizzo at UFC 26 on Jun 9, 2000
6
Randy Couture (2) UFC 28
Atlantic City, NJ, US Nov 17, 2000 490 days
(992 days)
1. def. Pedro Rizzo at UFC 31 on May 4, 2001
2. def. Pedro Rizzo at UFC 34 on Nov 2, 2001
7
Josh Barnett 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.[15]
8
Ricco Rodriguez
def. Randy Couture UFC 39
Uncasville, CT, US Sep 27, 2002 154 days
9
Tim Sylvia UFC 41
Atlantic City, NJ, US Feb 28, 2003 229 days
1. def. Gan McGee at UFC 44 on Sep 26, 2003
Sylvia was stripped of the title on October 15, 2003, after testing positive for anabolic steroids in a post-fight drug test.[16]
10
Frank Mir
def. Tim Sylvia UFC 48
Las Vegas, NV, US Jun 19, 2004 419 days
-
Andrei Arlovski
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.[17]
11
Andrei Arlovski
promoted to undisputed champion — Aug 12, 2005 246 days
1. def. Paul Buentello at UFC 55 on Oct 7, 2005
12
Tim Sylvia (2) UFC 59
Anaheim, CA, US Apr 15, 2006 322 days
(551 days)
1. def. Andrei Arlovski at UFC 61 on Jul 8, 2006
2. def. Jeff Monson at UFC 65 on Nov 18, 2006
13
Randy Couture (3) UFC 68
Columbus, OH, US Mar 3, 2007 623 days
(2,105 days)
1. def. Gabriel Gonzaga at UFC 74 on Aug 25, 2007
-
Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira
def. Tim Sylvia for interim title UFC 81
Las Vegas, NV, US Feb 2, 2008 —
14
Brock Lesnar UFC 91
Las Vegas, NV, US Nov 15, 2008 707 days
1. def. interim champion Frank Mir at UFC 100 on Jul 11, 2009
2. def. interim champion Shane Carwin at UFC 116 on Jul 3, 2010
-
Frank Mir
def. interim champion Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira UFC 92
Las Vegas, NV, US Dec 27, 2008 —
-
Shane Carwin
def. Frank Mir for interim title UFC 111
Newark, NJ, US Mar 27, 2010 —
15
Cain Velasquez UFC 121
Anaheim, CA, US Oct 23, 2010 385 days
16
Junior dos Santos UFC on Fox: Velasquez vs. dos Santos
Anaheim, CA, US Nov 12, 2011 413 days
1. def. Frank Mir at UFC 146 on May 26, 2012
17
Cain Velasquez (2) 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
2. def. Junior dos Santos at UFC 166 on Oct 19, 2013
-
Fabrício Werdum
def. Mark Hunt for interim title UFC 180
Mexico City, Mexico Nov 15, 2014 —
18
Fabrício Werdum UFC 188
Mexico City, Mexico Jun 13, 2015 336 days
19
Stipe Miocic UFC 198
Curitiba, Brazil May 14, 2016 785 days
1. def. Alistair Overeem at UFC 203 on Sep 10, 2016
2. def. Junior dos Santos at UFC 211 on May 13, 2017
3. def. Francis Ngannou at UFC 220 on Jan 20, 2018
20
Daniel Cormier UFC 226
Las Vegas, NV, US Jul 7, 2018 48 days
(incumbent)
Light Heavyweight Championship[edit]
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
Frank Shamrock
def. Kevin Jackson UFC Japan
Yokohama, Japan Dec 21, 1997 703 days
1. def. Igor Zinoviev at UFC 16 on Mar 13, 1998
2. def. Jeremy Horn at UFC 17 on May 15, 1998
3. def. John Lober at UFC Brazil on Oct 16, 1998
4. def. Tito Ortiz at UFC 22 on Sep 24, 1999
Shamrock vacated the title on November 24, 1999, when he retired from the UFC, citing a lack of competition.[1]
2
Tito Ortiz
def. Wanderlei Silva UFC 25
Tokyo, Japan Apr 14, 2000 1,260 days
1. def. Yuki Kondo at UFC 29 on Dec 16, 2000
2. def. Evan Tanner at UFC 30 on Feb 23, 2001
3. def. Elvis Sinosic at UFC 32 on Jun 29, 2001
4. def. Vladimir Matyushenko at UFC 33 on Sep 28, 2001
5. def. Ken Shamrock at UFC 40 on Nov 22, 2002
-
Randy Couture
def. Chuck Liddell for interim title UFC 43
Las Vegas, NV, US Jun 6, 2003 —
3
Randy Couture UFC 44
Las Vegas, NV, US Sep 26, 2003 127 days
4
Vitor Belfort UFC 46
Las Vegas, NV, US Jan 31, 2004 203 days
5
Randy Couture (2) UFC 49
Las Vegas, NV, US Aug 21, 2004 238 days
(365 days)
6
Chuck Liddell UFC 52
Las Vegas, NV, US Apr 16, 2005 770 days
1. def. Jeremy Horn at UFC 54 on Aug 20, 2005
2. def. Randy Couture at UFC 57 on Feb 4, 2006
3. def. Renato Sobral at UFC 62 on Aug 26, 2006
4. def. Tito Ortiz at UFC 66 on Dec 30, 2006
7
Quinton Jackson UFC 71
Las Vegas, NV, US May 26, 2007 406 days
1. def. Dan Henderson at UFC 75 on Sep 8, 2007
8
Forrest Griffin UFC 86
Las Vegas, NV, US Jul 5, 2008 175 days
9
Rashad Evans UFC 92
Las Vegas, NV, US Dec 27, 2008 147 days
10
Lyoto Machida UFC 98
Las Vegas, NV, US May 23, 2009 350 days
1. def. Maurício Rua at UFC 104 on Oct 24, 2009
11
Maurício Rua UFC 113
Montreal, QC, Canada May 8, 2010 315 days
12
Jon Jones UFC 128
Newark, NJ, US Mar 19, 2011 1,501 days
1. def. Quinton Jackson at UFC 135 on Sep 24, 2011
2. def. Lyoto Machida at UFC 140 on Dec 10, 2011
3. def. Rashad Evans at UFC 145 on Apr 21, 2012
4. def. Vitor Belfort at UFC 152 on Sep 22, 2012
5. def. Chael Sonnen at UFC 159 on Apr 27, 2013
6. def. Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 165 on Sep 21, 2013
7. def. Glover Teixeira at UFC 172 on Apr 26, 2014
8. def. Daniel Cormier at UFC 182 on Jan 3, 2015
Jones was stripped of the title on April 28, 2015, due to his involvement and arrest in a felony hit-and-run.[18]
13
Daniel Cormier
def. Anthony Johnson UFC 187
Las Vegas, NV, US May 23, 2015 1189 days
(incumbent)
1. def. Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 192 on Oct 3, 2015
2. def. Anthony Johnson at UFC 210 on Apr 8, 2017
3. def. Volkan Oezdemir at UFC 220 on Jan 20, 2018
-
Jon Jones
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.[19]
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.[20]
Middleweight Championship[edit]
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.[21]
No.
Name
Event
Date
Reign
Defenses
1
Dave Menne
def. Gil Castillo UFC 33
Las Vegas, NV, US Sep 28, 2001 105 days
2
Murilo Bustamante 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
Evan Tanner
def. David Terrell UFC 51
Las Vegas, NV, US Feb 5, 2005 119 days
4
Rich Franklin UFC 53
Atlantic City, NJ, US Jun 4, 2005 497 days
1. def. Nate Quarry at UFC 56 on Nov 19, 2005
2. def. David Loiseau at UFC 58 on Mar 4, 2006
5
Anderson Silva UFC 64
Las Vegas, NV, US Oct 14, 2006 2,457 days
1. def. Nate Marquardt at UFC 73 on Jul 7, 2007
2. def. Rich Franklin at UFC 77 on Oct 20, 2007
3. def. Dan Henderson at UFC 82 on Mar 1, 2008
4. def. Patrick Côté at UFC 90 on Oct 25, 2008
5. def. Thales Leites at UFC 97 on Apr 18, 2009
6. def. Demian Maia at UFC 112 on Apr 10, 2010
7. def. Chael Sonnen at UFC 117 on Aug 7, 2010
8. def. Vitor Belfort at UFC 126 on Feb 5, 2011
9. def. Yushin Okami at UFC 134 on Aug 27, 2011
10. def. Chael Sonnen at UFC 148 on Jul 7, 2012
6
Chris Weidman UFC 162
Las Vegas, NV, US Jul 6, 2013 888 days
1. def. Anderson Silva at UFC 168 on Dec 28, 2013
2. def. Lyoto Machida at UFC 175 on Jul 5, 2014
3. def. Vitor Belfort at UFC 187 on May 23, 2015
7
Luke Rockhold UFC 194
Las Vegas, NV, US Dec 12, 2015 175 days
8
Michael Bisping UFC 199
Inglewood, CA, US Jun 4, 2016 518 days
1. def. Dan Henderson at UFC 204 on Oct 8, 2016
-
Robert Whittaker
def. Yoel Romero for interim title UFC 213
Las Vegas, NV, US Jul 8, 2017 —
9
Georges St-Pierre UFC 217
New York City, NY, US Nov 4, 2017 33 days
St-Pierre vacated the title on December 7, 2017, due to suffering from ulcerative colitis.[22][23]
10
Robert Whittaker
promoted to undisputed champion — Dec 7, 2017 260 days
(incumbent)
Welterweight Championship[edit]
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
Pat Miletich
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. def. André Pederneiras at UFC 21 on Jul 16, 1999
3. def. John Alessio at UFC 26 on Jun 9, 2000
4. def. Kenichi Yamamoto at UFC 29 on Dec 16, 2000
2
Carlos Newton UFC 31
Atlantic City, NJ, US May 4, 2001 183 days
3
Matt Hughes UFC 34
Las Vegas, NV, US Nov 2, 2001 820 days
1. def. Hayato Sakurai at UFC 36 on Mar 22, 2002
2. def. Carlos Newton at UFC 38 on Jul 13, 2002
3. def. Gil Castillo at UFC 40 on Nov 22, 2002
4. def. Sean Sherk at UFC 42 on Apr 25, 2003
5. def. Frank Trigg at UFC 45 on Nov 21, 2003
4
B.J. Penn 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.[24]
5
Matt Hughes (2)
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
2. def. B.J. Penn at UFC 63 on Sep 23, 2006
6
Georges St-Pierre UFC 65
Sacramento, CA, US Nov 18, 2006 140 days
7
Matt Serra UFC 69
Houston, TX, US Apr 7, 2007 378 days
-
Georges St-Pierre
def. Matt Hughes for interim title UFC 79
Las Vegas, NV, US Dec 29, 2007 —
8
Georges St-Pierre (2) 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
2. def. B.J. Penn at UFC 94 on Jan 31, 2009
3. def. Thiago Alves at UFC 100 on Jul 11, 2009
4. def. Dan Hardy at UFC 111 on Mar 27, 2010
5. def. Josh Koscheck at UFC 124 on Dec 11, 2010
6. def. Jake Shields at UFC 129 on Apr 30, 2011
7. def. interim champion Carlos Condit at UFC 154 on Nov 17, 2012
8. def. Nick Diaz at UFC 158 on Mar 16, 2013
9. def. Johny Hendricks at UFC 167 on Nov 16, 2013
-
Carlos Condit
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.[25]
9
Johny Hendricks
def. Robbie Lawler UFC 171
Dallas, TX, US Mar 15, 2014 266 days
10
Robbie Lawler UFC 181
Las Vegas, NV, US Dec 6, 2014 602 days
1. def. Rory MacDonald at UFC 189 on Jul 11, 2015
2. def. Carlos Condit at UFC 195 on Jan 2, 2016
11
Tyron Woodley UFC 201
Atlanta, GA, US Jul 30, 2016 755 days
(incumbent)
1. drew with Stephen Thompson at UFC 205 on Nov 12, 2016
2. def. Stephen Thompson at UFC 209 on Mar 4, 2017
3. def. Demian Maia at UFC 214 on Jul 29, 2017
-
Colby Covington
def. Rafael dos Anjos for interim title UFC 225
Chicago, IL, US Jun 9, 2018 76 days
(incumbent)
Lightweight Championship[edit]
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.[26]
No.
Name
Event
Date
Reign
Defenses
1
Jens Pulver
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
2. def. B.J. Penn at UFC 35 on Jan 11, 2002
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
Sean Sherk
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.[27]
3
B.J. Penn
def. Joe Stevenson UFC 80
Newcastle, England, UK Jan 19, 2008 812 days
1. def. Sean Sherk at UFC 84 on May 24, 2008
2. def. Kenny Florian at UFC 101 on Aug 8, 2009
3. def. Diego Sanchez at UFC 107 on Dec 12, 2009
4
Frankie Edgar UFC 112
Abu Dhabi, UAE Apr 10, 2010 687 days
1. def. B.J. Penn at UFC 118 on Aug 28, 2010
2. drew with Gray Maynard at UFC 125 on Jan 1, 2011
3. def. Gray Maynard at UFC 136 on Oct 8, 2011
5
Benson Henderson UFC 144
Saitama, Japan Feb 26, 2012 552 days
1. def. Frankie Edgar at UFC 150 on Aug 11, 2012
2. def. Nate Diaz at UFC on Fox: Henderson vs. Diaz on Dec 8, 2012
3. def. Gilbert Melendez at UFC on Fox: Henderson vs. Melendez on Apr 20, 2013
6
Anthony Pettis UFC 164
Milwaukee, WI, US Aug 31, 2013 560 days
1. def. Gilbert Melendez at UFC 181 on Dec 6, 2014
7
Rafael dos Anjos 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
Eddie Alvarez UFC Fight Night: dos Anjos vs. Alvarez
Las Vegas, NV, US Jul 7, 2016 128 days
9
Conor McGregor UFC 205
New York City, NY, US Nov 12, 2016 511 days
-
Tony Ferguson
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.[28]
10
Khabib Nurmagomedov
def. Al Iaquinta UFC 223
Brooklyn, NY, US Apr 7, 2018 139 days
(incumbent)
Featherweight Championship[edit]
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.[29]
No.
Name
Event
Date
Reign
Defenses
1
José Aldo
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
2. def. Kenny Florian at UFC 136 on Oct 8, 2011
3. def. Chad Mendes at UFC 142 on Jan 14, 2012
4. def. Frankie Edgar at UFC 156 on Feb 2, 2013
5. def. Chan Sung Jung at UFC 163 on Aug 3, 2013
6. def. Ricardo Lamas at UFC 169 on Feb 1, 2014
7. def. Chad Mendes at UFC 179 on Oct 25, 2014
-
Conor McGregor
def. Chad Mendes for interim title UFC 189
Las Vegas, NV, US Jul 11, 2015 —
2
Conor McGregor UFC 194
Las Vegas, NV, US Dec 12, 2015 350 days
-
José Aldo
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.[30][31]
3
José Aldo (2)
promoted to undisputed champion — Nov 26, 2016 189 days
(2,037 days)
-
Max Holloway
def. Anthony Pettis for interim title UFC 206
Toronto, ON, Canada Dec 10, 2016 —
4
Max Holloway UFC 212
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Jun 3, 2017 447 days
(incumbent) 1. def. José Aldo at UFC 218 on Dec 2, 2017
Bantamweight Championship[edit]
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.[32]
No.
Name
Event
Date
Reign
Defenses
1
Dominick Cruz
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
2. def. Demetrious Johnson at UFC Live: Cruz vs. Johnson on Oct 1, 2011
-
Renan Barão
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
2. def. Eddie Wineland at UFC 165 on Sep 21, 2013
Cruz vacated the title on January 6, 2014, after repeated injuries prevented him from returning to competition to defend his title.[33]
2
Renan Barão
promoted to undisputed champion — Jan 6, 2014 138 days
1. def. Urijah Faber at UFC 169 on Feb 1, 2014
3
T.J. Dillashaw UFC 173
Las Vegas, NV, US May 24, 2014 603 days
1. def. Joe Soto at UFC 177 on Aug 30, 2014
2. def. Renan Barão at UFC on Fox: Dillashaw vs. Barão 2 on Jul 25, 2015
4
Dominick Cruz (2) 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
Cody Garbrandt UFC 207
Las Vegas, NV, US Dec 30, 2016 309 days
6
T.J. Dillashaw (2) UFC 217
New York City, NY, US Nov 4, 2017 293 days
(incumbent)
1. def. Cody Garbrandt at UFC 227 on Aug 4, 2018
Flyweight Championship[edit]
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.[34]
No.
Name
Event
Date
Reign
Defenses
1
Demetrious Johnson
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. def. John Moraga at UFC on Fox: Johnson vs. Moraga on Jul 27, 2013
3. def. Joseph Benavidez at UFC on Fox: Johnson vs. Benavidez 2 on Dec 14, 2013
4. def. Ali Bagautinov at UFC 174 on June 14, 2014
5. def. Chris Cariaso at UFC 178 on Sep 27, 2014
6. def. Kyoji Horiguchi at UFC 186 on Apr 25, 2015
7. def. John Dodson at UFC 191 on Sep 5, 2015
8. def. Henry Cejudo at UFC 197 on Apr 23, 2016
9. def. Tim Elliott at The Ultimate Fighter: Tournament of Champions Finale on Dec 3, 2016
10. def. Wilson Reis at UFC on Fox: Johnson vs. Reis on Apr 15, 2017
11. def. Ray Borg at UFC 216 on Oct 7, 2017
2
Henry Cejudo UFC 227
Los Angeles, CA, US Aug 4, 2018 20 days
(incumbent)
Women's championship history[edit]
Women's Featherweight Championship[edit]
136 to 145 lb (62 to 66 kg)
The inaugural title was contested on February 11, 2017 in Brooklyn, NY, US at UFC 208.[35]
No.
Name
Event
Date
Reign
Defenses
1
Germaine de Randamie
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.[36]
2
Cris Cyborg
def. Tonya Evinger UFC 214
Anaheim, CA, US Jul 29, 2017 391 days
(incumbent)
1. def. Holly Holm at UFC 219 on Dec 30, 2017
2. def. Yana Kunitskaya at UFC 222 on Mar 3, 2018
Women's Bantamweight Championship[edit]
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.[37]
No.
Name
Event
Date
Reign
Defenses
1
Ronda Rousey
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. def. Miesha Tate at UFC 168 on Dec 28, 2013
3. def. Sara McMann at UFC 170 on Feb 22, 2014
4. def. Alexis Davis at UFC 175 on Jul 5, 2014
5. def. Cat Zingano at UFC 184 on Feb 28, 2015
6. def. Bethe Correia at UFC 190 on Aug 1, 2015
2
Holly Holm UFC 193
Melbourne, Australia Nov 15, 2015 111 days
3
Miesha Tate UFC 196
Las Vegas, NV, US Mar 5, 2016 126 days
4
Amanda Nunes UFC 200
Las Vegas, NV, US Jul 9, 2016 776 days
(incumbent)
1. def. Ronda Rousey at UFC 207 on Dec 30, 2016
2. def. Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 215 on Sep 9, 2017
3. def. Raquel Pennington at UFC 224 on May 12, 2018
Women's Flyweight Championship[edit]
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
Nicco Montaño
def. Roxanne Modafferi The Ultimate Fighter: A New World Champion Finale
Las Vegas, NV, US Dec 1, 2017 266 days
(incumbent)
Women's Strawweight Championship[edit]
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.[11]
No.
Name
Event
Date
Reign
Defenses
1
Carla Esparza
def. Rose Namajunas The Ultimate Fighter: A Champion Will Be Crowned Finale
Las Vegas, NV, US Dec 12, 2014 92 days
2
Joanna Jędrzejczyk 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
2. def. Valérie Létourneau at UFC 193 on Nov 15, 2015
3. def. Cláudia Gadelha at The Ultimate Fighter: Team Joanna vs. Team Cláudia Finale on Jul 8, 2016
4. def. Karolina Kowalkiewicz at UFC 205 on Nov 12, 2016
5. def. Jéssica Andrade at UFC 211 on May 13, 2017
3
Rose Namajunas UFC 217
New York City, NY, US Nov 4, 2017 293 days
(incumbent)
1. def. Joanna Jędrzejczyk at UFC 223 on Apr 7, 2018
Superfight Championship (defunct)[edit]
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.[38]
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
Ken Shamrock
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. def. Kimo Leopoldo at UFC 8 on Feb 16, 1996
2
Dan Severn 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[edit]
Event
Date
Division
Winner
Runner-up
UFC 1 Nov 12, 1993 None Royce Gracie Gerard Gordeau
UFC 2 Mar 11, 1994 None Royce Gracie (2) Patrick Smith
UFC 3 Sep 9, 1994 None Steve Jennum Harold Howard
UFC 4 Dec 16, 1994 None Royce Gracie (3) Dan Severn
UFC 5 Apr 7, 1995 None Dan Severn Dave Beneteau
UFC 6 Jul 14, 1995 None Oleg Taktarov David Abbott
UFC 7 Sep 8, 1995 None Marco Ruas Paul Varelans
The Ultimate Ultimate Dec 16, 1995 None Dan Severn (2) Oleg Taktarov
UFC 8 Feb 16, 1996 None Don Frye Gary Goodridge
UFC 10 Jul 12, 1996 None Mark Coleman Don Frye
UFC 11 Sep 20, 1996 None Mark Coleman (2) Scott Ferrozzo
The Ultimate Ultimate 2 Dec 7, 1996 None Don Frye (2) David Abbott
UFC 12 Feb 7, 1997 Heavyweight Vitor Belfort Scott Ferrozzo
Lightweight Jerry Bohlander Nick Sanzo
UFC 13 May 30, 1997 Heavyweight Randy Couture Steven Graham
Lightweight Guy Mezger Tito Ortiz
UFC 14 Jul 27, 1997 Heavyweight Mark Kerr Dan Bobish
Middleweight Kevin Jackson Tony Fryklund
UFC 15 Oct 17, 1997 Heavyweight Mark Kerr (2) Dwayne Cason
Ultimate Japan Dec 21, 1997 Heavyweight Kazushi Sakuraba Marcus Silveira
UFC 16 Mar 13, 1998 Lightweight Pat Miletich Chris Brennan
UFC 17 May 15, 1998 Middleweight Dan Henderson Carlos Newton
UFC 23 Nov 19, 1999 Middleweight Kenichi Yamamoto Katsuhisa Fujii
UFC 39
UFC 41 Feb 28, 2003 Lightweight B.J. Penn drew with Caol Uno in the finale of the 4-man tournament.
UFC on FX 2
UFC on FX 3
UFC 152 Sep 22, 2012 Flyweight Demetrious Johnson Joseph Benavidez
The Ultimate Fighter[edit]
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.
Season
Finale
Division
Winner
Runner-up
TUF 1: Team Couture vs. Team Liddell Apr 9, 2005 Light Heavyweight Forrest Griffin Stephan Bonnar
Middleweight Diego Sanchez Kenny Florian
TUF 2: Team Hughes vs. Team Franklin Nov 5, 2005 Heavyweight Rashad Evans Brad Imes
Welterweight Joe Stevenson Luke Cummo
TUF 3: Team Ortiz vs. Team Shamrock Jun 24, 2006 Middleweight Kendall Grove Ed Herman
Light Heavyweight Michael Bisping Josh Haynes
TUF 4: The Comeback Nov 11, 2006 Middleweight Travis Lutter Patrick Côté
Welterweight Matt Serra Chris Lytle
TUF 5: Team Pulver vs. Team Penn Jun 23, 2007 Lightweight Nate Diaz Manvel Gamburyan
TUF 6: Team Hughes vs. Team Serra Dec 8, 2007 Welterweight Mac Danzig Tommy Speer
TUF 7: Team Rampage vs. Team Forrest Jun 21, 2008 Middleweight Amir Sadollah C.B. Dollaway
TUF 8: Team Nogueira vs. Team Mir Dec 13, 2008 Light Heavyweight Ryan Bader Vinicius Magalhães
Lightweight Efrain Escudero Phillipe Nover
TUF 9: United States vs. United Kingdom Jun 20, 2009 Lightweight Ross Pearson Andre Winner
Welterweight James Wilks DaMarques Johnson
TUF 10: Heavyweights Dec 5, 2009 Heavyweight Roy Nelson Brendan Schaub
TUF 11: Team Liddell vs. Team Ortiz Jun 19, 2010 Middleweight Court McGee Kris McCray
TUF 12: Team GSP vs. Team Koscheck Dec 4, 2010 Lightweight Jonathan Brookins Michael Johnson
TUF 13: Team Lesnar vs. Team dos Santos Jun 4, 2011 Welterweight Tony Ferguson Ramsey Nijem
TUF 14: Team Bisping vs. Team Miller Dec 3, 2011 Bantamweight John Dodson T.J. Dillashaw
Featherweight Diego Brandao Dennis Bermudez
TUF 15: Live Jun 1, 2012 Lightweight Michael Chiesa Al Iaquinta
TUF: Brazil Jun 23, 2012 Featherweight Rony Mariano Bezerra Godofredo Pepey
Middleweight Cezar Ferreira Sergio Moraes
TUF 16: Team Carwin vs. Team Nelson Dec 15, 2012 Welterweight Colton Smith Mike Ricci
TUF: The Smashes Dec 15, 2012 Lightweight Norman Parke Colin Fletcher
Welterweight Robert Whittaker Brad Scott
TUF 17: Team Jones vs. Team Sonnen Apr 13, 2013 Middleweight Kelvin Gastelum Uriah Hall
TUF: Brazil 2 Jun 8, 2013 Welterweight Leonardo Santos William Macario
TUF 18: Team Rousey vs. Team Tate Nov 30, 2013 Bantamweight Chris Holdsworth David Grant
Women's Bantamweight Julianna Peña Jessica Rakoczy
TUF: China Mar 1, 2014 Featherweight Ning Guangyou Yang Jianping
Welterweight Zhang Lipeng Wang Sai
TUF Nations: Canada vs. Australia Apr 16, 2014 Welterweight Chad Laprise Olivier Aubin-Mercier
Middleweight Elias Theodorou Sheldon Westcott
TUF: Brazil 3 May 31, 2014 Middleweight Warlley Alves Márcio Alexandre Júnior
Heavyweight Antônio Carlos Júnior Vitor Miranda
TUF 19: Team Edgar vs. Team Penn Jul 6, 2014 Middleweight Eddie Gordon Dhiego Lima
Light Heavyweight Corey Anderson Matt Van Buren
TUF: Latin America Nov 15, 2014 Bantamweight Alejandro Pérez José Alberto Quiñónez
Featherweight Yair Rodríguez Leonardo Morales
TUF 20: A Champion Will Be Crowned Dec 12, 2014 Women's Strawweight Carla Esparza Rose Namajunas
TUF 21: American Top Team vs. Blackzilians Jul 12, 2015 Welterweight Kamaru Usman Hayder Hassan
TUF: Brazil 4 Aug 1, 2015 Bantamweight Reginaldo Vieira Dileno Lopes
Lightweight Glaico França Fernando Bruno
TUF: Latin America 2 Nov 21, 2015 Lightweight Enrique Barzola Horacio Gutiérrez
Welterweight Erick Montaño Enrique Marín
TUF 22: Team McGregor vs. Team Faber Dec 11, 2015 Lightweight Ryan Hall Artem Lobov
TUF 23: Team Joanna vs. Team Cláudia Jul 8, 2016 Women's Strawweight Tatiana Suarez Amanda Cooper
Light Heavyweight Andrew Sanchez Khalil Rountree
TUF: Latin America 3 Nov 5, 2016 Lightweight Martín Bravo Claudio Puelles
TUF 24: Tournament of Champions Dec 3, 2016 Flyweight Tim Elliott Hiromasa Ogikubo
TUF 25: Redemption Jul 7, 2017 Welterweight Jesse Taylor Dhiego Lima
TUF 26: A New World Champion Dec 1, 2017 Women's Flyweight Nicco Montaño Roxanne Modafferi
TUF 27: Undefeated Jul 6, 2018 Featherweight Brad Katona Jay Cucciniello
Lightweight Mike Trizano Joe Giannetti
Champions by nationality[edit]
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.
Country
Division
champions
Tournament
champions
TUF
Winners
Total
United States 67 16 30 113
Brazil 14 5 8 27
Canada 4 - 3 7
Ireland 2 - - 2
Netherlands 2 - - 2
England 1 - 3 4
Australia 1 - 1 2
Russia 1 1 - 2
Belarus 1 - - 1
Poland 1 - - 1
Mexico - - 5 5
China - - 2 2
Japan - 2 - 2
Jamaica - - 1 1
Nigeria - - 1 1
Northern Ireland - - 1 1
Peru - - 1 1
Most wins in title bouts[edit]
Fighters with four or more championship and/or interim championship title wins.[39] 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 Georges St-Pierre Middleweight
Welterweight
1 - 0 - 0
12 - 2 - 0
12 Demetrious Johnson Bantamweight
Flyweight
0 - 1 - 0
12 - 1 - 0
11 Anderson Silva Middleweight 11 - 2 - 0
10 Jon Jones Light Heavyweight 10 - 0 - 0 (1)
9 Randy Couture Heavyweight
Light Heavyweight
6 - 3 - 0
3 - 3 - 0
Matt Hughes Welterweight 9 - 3 - 0
8 José Aldo Featherweight 8 - 3 - 0
6 Tito Ortiz Light Heavyweight 6 - 3 - 0
Ronda Rousey Women's Bantamweight 6 - 2 - 0
Joanna Jędrzejczyk Women's Strawweight 6 - 2 - 0
5 B.J. Penn Welterweight
Lightweight
1 - 2 - 0
4 - 3 - 1
Tim Sylvia Heavyweight 5 - 4 - 0
Chuck Liddell Light Heavyweight 5 - 2 - 0
Daniel Cormier Heavyweight
Light Heavyweight
1 - 0 - 0
4 - 1 - 0 (1)
Pat Miletich Welterweight 5 - 1 - 0
Dominick Cruz Bantamweight 5 - 1 - 0
T.J. Dillashaw Bantamweight 5 - 1 - 0
Frank Shamrock Light Heavyweight 5 - 0 - 0
4 Cain Velasquez Heavyweight 4 - 2 - 0
Renan Barão Bantamweight 4 - 2 - 0
Benson Henderson Lightweight 4 - 1 - 0
Chris Weidman Middleweight 4 - 1 - 0
Stipe Miocic Heavyweight 4 - 1 - 0
Amanda Nunes Women's Bantamweight 4 - 0 - 0
Most consecutive title defenses[edit]
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.[40]
Defenses
Champion
Division
Period
11 Demetrious Johnson Flyweight Sep 22, 2012 – Aug 4, 2018
10 Anderson Silva Middleweight Oct 14, 2006 – Jul 6, 2013
9 Georges St-Pierre Welterweight Apr 19, 2008 – Dec 13, 2013
8 Jon Jones Light Heavyweight Mar 19, 2011 – Apr 28, 2015
7 José Aldo Featherweight Nov 20, 2010 – Dec 12, 2015
6 Ronda Rousey Women's Bantamweight Dec 6, 2012 – Nov 15, 2015
5 Tito Ortiz Light Heavyweight Apr 14, 2000 – Sep 26, 2003
Matt Hughes Welterweight Nov 2, 2001 – Jan 31, 2004
Joanna Jędrzejczyk Women's Strawweight Mar 14, 2015 – Nov 4, 2017
4 Frank Shamrock Light Heavyweight Dec 21, 1997 – Nov 24, 1999
Pat Miletich Welterweight Oct 16, 1998 – May 4, 2001
Chuck Liddell Light Heavyweight Apr 16, 2005 – May 26, 2007
3 B.J. Penn Lightweight Jan 19, 2008 – Apr 10, 2010
Frankie Edgar[a] Lightweight Apr 10, 2010 – Feb 26, 2012
Benson Henderson Lightweight Feb 26, 2012 – Aug 31, 2013
Renan Barão[b] Bantamweight Jul 21, 2012 – May 24, 2014
Chris Weidman Middleweight Jul 6, 2013 – Dec 12, 2015
Tyron Woodley[c] Welterweight Jul 30, 2016 – present
Daniel Cormier[d] Light Heavyweight May 23, 2015 – present
Stipe Miocic Heavyweight May 14, 2016 – Jul 7, 2018
Amanda Nunes Women's Bantamweight Jul 9, 2016 – present
Jump up ^ Edgar successfully defended the UFC Lightweight Championship twice and retained the title once following a draw against Gray Maynard at UFC 125.
Jump up ^ Barão successfully defended the interim UFC Bantamweight Championship twice before being promoted to undisputed champion and defending his title once more.
Jump up ^ Woodley successfully defended the UFC Welterweight Championship twice and retained the title once following a draw against Stephen Thompson at UFC 205.
Jump up ^ 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[edit]
The following is a list of the ten longest reigning UFC champions.
Longest individual reigns[edit]
Name
Title Reign
Weight class
Successful defenses
1. Anderson Silva 2,457 days Middleweight 10
2. Demetrious Johnson 2,142 days Flyweight 11
3. Georges St-Pierre 2,064 days Welterweight 9
4. José Aldo 1,848 days Featherweight 7
5. Jon Jones 1,501 days Light Heavyweight 8
6. Tito Ortiz 1,260 days Light Heavyweight 5
7. Daniel Cormier 1,189 days
(incumbent) Light Heavyweight 3
8. Dominick Cruz 1,117 days Bantamweight 2
9. Ronda Rousey 1,074 days Women's Bantamweight 6
10. Joanna Jedrzejczyk 966 days Women's Strawweight 5
Longest combined reigns[edit]
Name
Days as champion
Number of reigns
Weight class
Cumulative title defenses
1. Anderson Silva 2,457 days 1 Middleweight 10
2. Georges St-Pierre 2,237 days 3 Welterweight,
Middleweight 9
3. Demetrious Johnson 2,142 days 1 Flyweight 11
4. José Aldo 2,037 days 2 Featherweight 7
5. Matt Hughes 1,577 days 2 Welterweight 7
6. Jon Jones 1,501 days 1 Light Heavyweight 8
7. Randy Couture 1,478+ days 5 Heavyweight,
Light Heavyweight 3
8. Dominick Cruz 1,465 days 2 Bantamweight 3
9. Cain Velasquez 1,281 days 2 Heavyweight 2
10. Tito Ortiz 1,260 days 1 Light Heavyweight 5
Multi-division champions[edit]
Fighters who have won championships in multiple weight classes.[41] 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
Randy Couture Heavyweight Dec 21, 1997 (UFC Japan) Jan ?, 1998 (stripped) 0 00? 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
B.J. Penn 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
Conor McGregor 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
Georges St-Pierre 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
Daniel Cormier Light Heavyweight May 23, 2015 (UFC 187) Incumbent 3 1,189 days Ongoing
Heavyweight Jul 7, 2018 (UFC 226) 0 48 days
See also[edit]
MMA portal
List of current mixed martial arts champions
List of UFC records
List of UFC events
List of current UFC fighters
List of Strikeforce champions
List of WEC champions
List of Pride champions
Mixed martial arts weight classes
References[edit]
^ Jump up to: a b c d e f "UFC Championship Lineage". The Orange County Register. July 2, 2007. Archived from the original on November 3, 2007. Retrieved September 14, 2007.
Jump up ^ Plotz, David (November 7, 1999). "Fight Clubbed". Slate.com. Retrieved March 21, 2007.
Jump up ^ 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.
^ Jump up to: a b c d e Harshcore, Rod. "UFC Weight Classes & Their Champions: A History". Yell! Magazine. Retrieved December 24, 2012.
Jump up ^ Meltzer, Dave (April 18, 2009). "UFC 16: Frank's house". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved January 15, 2013.
Jump up ^ "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.
Jump up ^ Trembow, Ivan (July 21, 2006). "New Jersey Commission Corrects Mainstream UFC Stories". MMAWeekly.com. Ivan's Blog. Retrieved September 8, 2007.
Jump up ^ Whitman, Mike (October 28, 2010). "UFC, WEC to Merge in 2011". Sherdog.com. Retrieved October 20, 2012.
Jump up ^ Whitman, Matt (December 11, 2011). "UFC Adds Flyweight Class; 4-Man Title Tourney Begins March 3". Sherdog.com. Retrieved October 20, 2012.
Jump up ^ Whitman, Mike (November 9, 2012). "Report: Strikeforce Champion Ronda Rousey to Join UFC in 2013, Strikeforce to Fold". Sherdog.com. Retrieved December 12, 2012.
^ Jump up to: a b Doyle, Dave (December 11, 2013). "'TUF 20' will feature all-women's cast; crown first UFC strawweight champion". MMAFighting.com. Retrieved December 15, 2013.
Jump up ^ Cruz, Guilherme (June 11, 2014). "Strawweights Claudia Gadelha, Tina Lahdemaki meet at UFC Fight Night 45". MMAFighting.com. Retrieved June 11, 2014.
^ Jump up to: a b "Fighters". Ultimate Fighting Championship. Retrieved April 24, 2012.
Jump up ^ Rutten, Bas. "Bas Rutten Biography". Archived from the original on May 20, 2007. Retrieved September 12, 2007.
Jump up ^ Fitzgerald, Tom (November 26, 2006). "UFC fighter flunks drug test". SFgate.com: the San Francisco Chronicle website. Retrieved September 12, 2007.
Jump up ^ Fitzgerald, Tom (November 26, 2006). "Fighting outside the box". SFgate.com: the San Francisco Chronicle website. Retrieved September 12, 2007.
Jump up ^ Staff (August 13, 2005). "UFC Strips Mir of Heavyweight Belt, Arlovski New Champion". Sherdog.com. Retrieved September 12, 2007.
Jump up ^ "Jon Jones stripped of title, Daniel Cormier vs. Anthony Johnson for belt headlines UFC 187". mmafighting.com. April 28, 2015. Retrieved April 28, 2015.
Jump up ^ 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.
Jump up ^ Marc Raimondi (2017-09-13). "Daniel Cormier reinstated as UFC light heavyweight champion". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2017-09-13.
Jump up ^ Kyte, Spencer (October 19, 2012). "Champion vs. Champion: A UFC History". UFC.com. Retrieved December 24, 2012.
Jump up ^ Brett Okamoto (December 2, 2017). "Dana White: Georges St-Pierre will be 'out for a minute' with colitis". espn.com. Retrieved December 8, 2017.
Jump up ^ Brett Okamoto (December 7, 2017). "Georges St-Pierre vacates middleweight title; Robert Whittaker takes spot". espn.com. Retrieved December 8, 2017.
Jump up ^ "Zuffa Strips Penn of Title". Sherdog.com. May 18, 2004. Retrieved December 9, 2007.
Jump up ^ "It's official: Georges St-Pierre vacating UFC welterweight title". mmajunkie.com. December 13, 2013. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
Jump up ^ "Benson Henderson vs. Gilbert Melendez, Daniel Cormier vs. Frank Mir set for UFC on FOX 7". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2014-08-12.
Jump up ^ Meltzer, Dave (December 9, 2007). "Sherk stripped of lightweight title". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved December 10, 2007.
Jump up ^ https://www.bjpenn.com/mma-news/ufc-223/breaking-dana-white-addresses-the-ufcs-complicated-lightweight-title-picture/
Jump up ^ 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.
Jump up ^ "McGregor vacates featherweight title, Aldo now undisputed champion". ufc.com. November 26, 2016. Retrieved November 26, 2016.
Jump up ^ "Conor McGregor: UFC never contacted me about relinquishing the featherweight title". mmafighting.com. December 18, 2016. Retrieved December 18, 2016.
Jump up ^ Nelson, Chris (December 14, 2010). "Harris Eager to Crown First UFC Bantamweight Champ". Sherdog.com. Retrieved October 20, 2012.
Jump up ^ "Dominick Cruz out, vacates bantamweight title; Urijah Faber now meets Renan Barao at UFC 169". mmajunkie.com. January 6, 2014. Retrieved January 6, 2014.
Jump up ^ 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.
Jump up ^ Staff (2016-12-13). "Holly Holm and Germaine de Randamie fight for inaugural featherweight title at UFC 208". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2016-12-13.
Jump up ^ Staff (2017-06-19). "'Cyborg' vs. Megan Anderson for title at UFC 214 after Germaine de Randamie stripped". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2017-06-19.
Jump up ^ Gerbasi, Thomas (December 6, 2012). "The UFC Crowns Its First Queen". UFC. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
Jump up ^ Meltzer, Dave (April 8, 2009). "Relive UFC 6: Clash of the Titans". Sports.yahoo.com. Retrieved January 8, 2013.
Jump up ^ "Most wins in UFC title bouts". Fightmatrix.com. Retrieved December 24, 2012.
Jump up ^ "Most consecutive UFC title defenses". Fightmatrix.com. Retrieved December 24, 2012.
Jump up ^ "MMA All-time Record Holders". sportsillustrated.
External links[edit]
Current Title Holders at UFC.com
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Ultimate Fighting Championship current champions
Heavyweight
Daniel Cormier
Light heavyweight
Daniel Cormier
Middleweight
Robert Whittaker
Welterweight
Tyron Woodley
Lightweight
Khabib Nurmagomedov
Featherweight
Max Holloway
Bantamweight
T.J. Dillashaw
Flyweight
Henry Cejudo
Women's Featherweight
Cris Cyborg
Women's Bantamweight
Amanda Nunes
Women's Flyweight
Nicco Montaño
Women's Strawweight
Rose Namajunas
show
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UFC Heavyweight Champions
Mark Coleman
Maurice Smith
Randy Couture
Bas Rutten
Kevin Randleman
Randy Couture (2)
Josh Barnett
Ricco Rodriguez
Tim Sylvia
Frank Mir
Andrei Arlovski (ic)
Andrei Arlovski
Tim Sylvia (2)
Randy Couture (3)
Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira (ic)
Brock Lesnar
Frank Mir (ic)
Shane Carwin (ic)
Cain Velasquez
Junior dos Santos
Cain Velasquez (2)
Fabrício Werdum (ic)
Fabrício Werdum
Stipe Miocic
Daniel Cormier (current)
show
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UFC Light heavyweight Champions
Frank Shamrock
Tito Ortiz
Randy Couture (ic)
Randy Couture
Vitor Belfort
Randy Couture (2)
Chuck Liddell
Quinton Jackson
Forrest Griffin
Rashad Evans
Lyoto Machida
Maurício Rua
Jon Jones
Daniel Cormier (current)
Jon Jones (ic)
show
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UFC Middleweight Champions
Dave Menne
Murilo Bustamante
Evan Tanner
Rich Franklin
Anderson Silva
Chris Weidman
Luke Rockhold
Michael Bisping
Robert Whittaker (ic)
Georges St-Pierre
Robert Whittaker (current)
show
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UFC Welterweight Champions
Pat Miletich
Carlos Newton
Matt Hughes
B.J. Penn
Matt Hughes (2)
Georges St-Pierre
Matt Serra
Georges St-Pierre (ic)
Georges St-Pierre (2)
Carlos Condit (ic)
Johny Hendricks
Robbie Lawler
Tyron Woodley (current)
Colby Covington (current ic)
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UFC Lightweight Champions
Jens Pulver
Sean Sherk
B.J. Penn
Frankie Edgar
Benson Henderson
Anthony Pettis
Rafael dos Anjos
Eddie Alvarez
Conor McGregor
Tony Ferguson (ic)
Khabib Nurmagomedov (current)
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UFC Featherweight Champions
José Aldo
Conor McGregor (ic)
Conor McGregor
José Aldo (ic)
José Aldo (2)
Max Holloway (ic)
Max Holloway (current)
show
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UFC Bantamweight Champions
Dominick Cruz
Renan Barão (ic)
Renan Barão
T.J. Dillashaw
Dominick Cruz (2)
Cody Garbrandt
T.J. Dillashaw (2) (current)
show
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UFC Flyweight Champions
Demetrious Johnson (11)
Henry Cejudo (current)
show
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UFC Women's Featherweight Champions
Germaine de Randamie
Cristiane Justino (current)
show
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UFC Women's Bantamweight Champions
Ronda Rousey
Holly Holm
Miesha Tate
Amanda Nunes (current)
show
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UFC Women's Flyweight Champions
Nicco Montaño (current)
show
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UFC Women's Strawweight Champions
Carla Esparza
Joanna Jędrzejczyk
Rose Namajunas (current)
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Mixed martial arts champions
Current champions for active organizations
UFC
Bellator MMA
FFC
ONE
PFL
Pancrase
Shooto
KOTC
Deep
Invicta FC
SFL
Legacy champions for defunct organizations
Pride FC
Strikeforce
IFL
EliteXC
Cage Rage
Dream
Hero's
WEC
SRC
Miscellaneous
UFC Pound for Pound rankings
List of undefeated mixed martial artists
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The Ultimate Fighter 18 Finale

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The Ultimate Fighter 19 Finale

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List of WEC champions

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List of Pride champions

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