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UFCBelt

The UFC heavyweight championship belt

UFC 5 Superfight belt

An example of the style of championship belt awarded in the early UFC events. This one was created for the UFC 5 Superfight, but was never awarded due to that fight being declared a draw.

Ultimate Ultimate 1995 belt

The championship belt awarded to Dan Severn after winning the Ultimate Ultimate 1995 tournament

The following is a list of Ultimate Fighting Championship champions at each weight class and tournament.

At the time of the Ultimate Fighting Championship's inception in 1993, the sport of mixed martial arts was unsanctioned in the United States, and it did not include weight classes. Instead of the traditional championship model, tournaments were held with the winner receiving a permanent appellation. 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.[1]

The original codification for weight classes introduced only two divisions: heavyweight, which grouped competitors above 200 lb, and lightweight, which encompassed all other competitors. The UFC would later rename its lightweight division to middleweight and add lightweight 170 lb and bantamweight 155 lb divisions. In 2000, the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board completely took over regulation in its home state, and its rules and weight classes became the de facto rule set for mixed martial arts. The UFC realigned their weight classes to comply with the new regulations in 2001.

Current title histories[]

Heavyweight Championship[]

206 to 265 lbs (93 to 120 kg)
No. Name Date Location Defenses
1 United States flag Mark Coleman
(def. Dan Severn)
February 7, 1997
(UFC 12)
Dothan, Alabama, US
2 United States flag Maurice Smith July 27, 1997
(UFC 14)
Birmingham, Alabama, US
  • (def. David Abbott on October 17, 1997 in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, US at UFC 15)
3 United States flag Randy Couture December 21, 1997
(UFC Japan)
Yokohama, Japan
Couture was stripped of the title and left the UFC in January 1998 due to a contract dispute.
4 Netherlands flag Bas Rutten
(def. Kevin Randleman)
May 7, 1999
(UFC 20)
Birmingham, Alabama, US
The title was vacated in June 1999 when Rutten retired due to training injuries.
5 United States flag Kevin Randleman
(def. Pete Williams)
November 19, 1999
(UFC 23)
Tokyo, Japan
6 United States flag Randy Couture (2) November 17, 2000
(UFC 28)
Atlantic City, New Jersey, US
  • (def. Pedro Rizzo on May 4, 2001 in Atlantic City, New Jersey, US at UFC 31)
  • (def. Pedro Rizzo on November 2, 2001 in Las Vegas, Nevada, US at UFC 34)
7 United States flag Josh Barnett March 22, 2002
(UFC 36)
Las Vegas, Nevada, US
Barnett was stripped of the title on July 26, 2002 after testing positive for anabolic steroids in a post-fight drug test.
8 United States flag Ricco Rodriguez
(def. Randy Couture)
September 27, 2002
(UFC 39)
Uncasville, Connecticut, US
9 United States flag Tim Sylvia February 28, 2003
(UFC 41)
Atlantic City, New Jersey, US
Sylvia relinquished his title in September 2003 after testing positive for anabolic steroids in a post-fight drug test.
10 United States flag Frank Mir
(def. Tim Sylvia)
June 19, 2004
(UFC 48)
Las Vegas, Nevada, US
Belarus flag Andrei Arlovski
(def. Tim Sylvia for interim title)
February 5, 2005
(UFC 51)
Las Vegas, Nevada, US
Mir was stripped of the title in August 2005 after being unable to defend due to an injury.
11 Belarus flag Andrei Arlovski
(promoted to undisputed champion)
August 12, 2005
12 United States flag Tim Sylvia (2) April 15, 2006
(UFC 59)
Anaheim, California, US
13 United States flag Randy Couture (3) March 3, 2007
(UFC 68)
Columbus, Ohio, US
Brazil flag Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira
(def. Tim Sylvia for interim title)
February 2, 2008
(UFC 81)
Las Vegas, Nevada, US  
14 United States flag Brock Lesnar
(def. Randy Couture)
November 15, 2008
(UFC 91)
Las Vegas, Nevada, US  
United States flag Frank Mir
(def. Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira for interim title)
December 27, 2008
(UFC 92)
Las Vegas, Nevada, US  
14 United States flag Brock Lesnar
(def. Frank Mir for undisputed title)
July 11, 2009
(UFC 100)
Las Vegas, Nevada, US  
USA flag Shane Carwin
(def. Frank Mir for interim title)
March 27, 2010
(UFC 111)
Newark, New Jersey, US  
14 United States flag Brock Lesnar
(def. Shane Carwin for undisputed title)
July 3, 2010
(UFC 116)
Las Vegas, Nevada, US  
15 United States flag Cain Velasquez
July 3, 2010
(UFC 121)
Anaheim, California, US  
16 Brazil flag Junior dos Santos
Nov 12, 2011
(UFC on FOX 1)
Anaheim, California, US  
17 Cain Velaquez
18 Fabricio Werdum

Light Heavyweight Championship[]

186 to 205 lbs (84 to 93 kg)
The Light Heavyweight title was known as the Middleweight title prior to UFC 31 (May 4, 2001).
Quinton Jackson defeated Dan Henderson at UFC 75 to unify the UFC Light Heavyweight title with the Pride Middleweight (204.6 lb) title.

United States flag

No. Name Date Location Defenses
1 United States flag Frank Shamrock
(def. Kevin Jackson)
December 21, 1997
(UFC Japan)
Yokohama, Japan
The title was vacated in November 1999 when Shamrock retired, citing a lack of competition, and left the UFC.
2 United States flag Tito Ortiz
(def. Wanderlei Silva)
April 14, 2000
(UFC 25)
Tokyo, Japan
  • (def. Yuki Kondo on December 16, 2000 in Tokyo, Japan at UFC 29)
  • (def. Evan Tanner on February 23, 2001 in Atlantic City, New Jersey, US at UFC 30)
  • (def. Elvis Sinosic on June 29, 2001 in East Rutherford, New Jersey, US at UFC 32)
  • (def. Vladimir Matyushenko on September 28, 2001 in Las Vegas, Nevada, US at UFC 33)
  • (def. Ken Shamrock on November 22, 2002 in Las Vegas, Nevada, US at UFC 40)
United States flag Randy Couture
(def. Chuck Liddell for interim title)
June 6, 2003
(UFC 43)
Las Vegas, Nevada, US
3 United States flag Randy Couture
((def. Tito Ortiz for undisputed title))
September 26, 2003
(UFC 44)
Las Vegas, Nevada, US
4 Brazil flag Vitor Belfort January 31, 2004
(UFC 46)
Las Vegas, Nevada, US
5 United States flag Randy Couture (2) August 21, 2004
(UFC 49)
Las Vegas, Nevada, US
6 United States flag Chuck Liddell April 16, 2005
(UFC 52)
Las Vegas, Nevada, US
7 United States flag Quinton Jackson May 26, 2007
(UFC 71)
Las Vegas, Nevada, US
  • (def. Dan Henderson on September 8, 2007 in London, England at UFC 75)
8 United States flag Forrest Griffin July 5, 2008
(UFC 86)
Las Vegas, Nevada, US  
9 United States flag Rashad Evans December 27, 2008
(UFC 92)
Las Vegas, Nevada, US  
10 Brazil flag Lyoto Machida May 23, 2009
(UFC 98)
Las Vegas, Nevada, US

11

Brazil flag Mauricio Rua May 8, 2010
(UFC 113)
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
12 Jon Jones March 19, 2011 (UFC 128) Newark, New Jersey, US
13 Daniel Cormier

Middleweight Championship[]

171 to 185 lbs (77 to 84 kg)
Anderson Silva defeated Dan Henderson at UFC 82 to unify the UFC Middleweight title with the Pride Welterweight (183 lb) title.
No. Name Date Location Defenses
1 United States flag Dave Menne
(def. Gil Castillo)
September 28, 2001
(UFC 33)
Las Vegas, Nevada, US
2 Brazil flag Murilo Bustamante January 11, 2002
(UFC 35)
Las Vegas, Nevada, US
Bustamante was stripped of the title on October 5, 2002 after signing with PRIDE.
3 United States flag Evan Tanner
(def. David Terrell)
February 5, 2005
(UFC 51)
Las Vegas, Nevada, US
4 United States flag Rich Franklin
June 4, 2005
(UFC 53)
Atlantic City, New Jersey, US
5 Brazil flag Anderson Silva October 14, 2006
(UFC 64)
Las Vegas, Nevada, US
6 Chris Weidman
7 Luke Rockhold

Welterweight Championship[]

156 to 170 lbs (70 to 77 kg)
The Welterweight title was known as the Lightweight title prior to UFC 31 (May 4, 2001).
No. Name Date Location Defenses
1 United States flag Pat Miletich
(def. Mikey Burnett)
October 16, 1998
(UFC Brazil)
São Paulo, Brazil
2 Canada flag Carlos Newton May 4, 2001
(UFC 31)
Atlantic City, New Jersey, US
3 United States flag Matt Hughes November 2, 2001
(UFC 34)
Las Vegas, Nevada, US
4 United States flag B.J. Penn January 31, 2004
(UFC 46)
Las Vegas, Nevada, US
Penn was stripped of the title on May 17, 2004 after signing with K-1.
5 United States flag Matt Hughes (2)
(def. Georges St. Pierre)
October 22, 2004
(UFC 50)
Atlantic City, New Jersey, US
6 Canada flag Georges St. Pierre November 18, 2006
UFC 65
Sacramento, California, US
7 United States flag Matt Serra April 7, 2007
(UFC 69)
Houston, Texas, US
Canada flag Georges St. Pierre
(def. Matt Hughes for interim title)
December 29, 2007
(UFC 79)
Las Vegas, Nevada, US  
8 Canada flag Georges St. Pierre (2)
(def. Matt Serra for undisputed title)
April 19, 2008
(UFC 83)
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
USA flag Carlos Condit (def. Nick Diaz for interim title) Feb 4, 2012
(UFC 143)
Las Vegas, NV, USA  

Lightweight Championship[]

146 to 155 lbs (66 to 70 kg)
The Lightweight title was known as the Bantamweight title prior to UFC 31 (May 4, 2001).
No. Name Date Location Defenses
1 United States flag Jens Pulver
(def. Caol Uno)
February 23, 2001
(UFC 30)
Atlantic City, New Jersey, US
  • (def. Dennis Hallman on September 28, 2001 in Las Vegas, Nevada, US at UFC 33)
  • (def. B.J. Penn on January 11, 2002 in Uncasville, Connecticut, US at UFC 35)
Pulver was stripped of the title and left the UFC in March 2002 due to a contract dispute.
B.J. Penn drew with Caol Uno on February 28, 2003 in Atlantic City, NJ (UFC 41) in the finals of a 4-man tournament for the vacant Lightweight championship.
2 US flag Sean Sherk
(def. Kenny Florian)
October 14, 2006
(UFC 64)
Las Vegas, Nevada, US
Sherk was stripped of the title December 8, 2007 after testing positive for anabolic steroids in a post-fight drug test.
3 United States flag B. J. Penn
(def. Joe Stevenson)
January 19, 2008
(UFC 80)
Newcastle upon Tyne, England
  • (def. Sean Sherk on May 24, 2008 in Las Vegas, Nevada, US at UFC 84)
  • (def. Kenny Florian on August 8, 2009 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US at UFC 101)
  • (def. Diego Sanchez on December 12, 2009 in Memphis, Tennessee, US at UFC 107)
4 United States flag Frank Edgar April 10, 2010
(UFC 112)
Atlantic City, New Jersey, US
5 United States flag Ben Henderson Feb 26, 2012
(UFC 144)
Saitama, Japan
  • (def. Frankie Edgar on August 11, 2012 at UFC 150)
6 Anthony Pettis
7 Rafael dos Anjos

Featherweight Championship[]

136 to 145 lbs (66 to 70 kg)
The WEC Featherweight title was moved to the UFC as the first step in the UFC-WEC Merger.
No. Name Date Location Defenses
1 Brazil flag Jose Aldo
(Title moved from WEC to UFC)
2 Conor McGregor

(def. Chad Mendes for interim title)

July 11, 2015

(UFC 189)

3 Conor McGregor

(def. Jose Aldo for undisputed title)

Dec 12, 2015

(UFC 194)

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 become the inaugural UFC Bantamweight Champion.[2]
# Name Event Date Reign Defenses
1 USA flag Dominick Cruz
def. Scott Jorgensen
WEC 53
Glendale, AZ, USA
Dec 16, 2010 Template:Age in days days
(incumbent)

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

2 BRA flag Renan Barão
def. Urijah Faber for interim title
UFC 149
Calgary, AB, Canada
Jul 21, 2012 Template:Age in days nts days
(incumbent)
3 TJ Dillashaw

Flyweight Championship[]

116 to 125 lb (53 to 57 kg)
Champion to be determined on September 22, 2012 at UFC 152 in Toronto, ON, Canada in the finale of a 4-man tournament for the inaugural title.
# Name Event Date Reign Defenses
1 Demetrious Johnson
def. TBD
UFC 152
Toronto, ON, Canada
Sept 22, 2012 Template:Age in days days
(incumbent)


Women's Bantamweight[]

# Name Event Date Reign Defenses
1 Ronda Rousey
2 Holly Holm

Superfight Championship[]

Openweight fights featuring previous tournament fighters.
No. Name Date Location Defenses
Ken Shamrock drew with Royce Gracie on April 7, 1995 in Charlotte, NC (UFC 5) in a title fight for the vacant superfight championship.
1 United States flag Ken Shamrock
(def. Dan Severn)
July 14, 1995
(UFC 6)
Casper, Wyoming, US
2 United States flag Dan Severn May 17, 1996
(UFC 9)
Detroit, Michigan, US
The Superfight championship was unified with Mark Coleman's Heavyweight championship on February 7, 1997 in Dothan, AL (at UFC 12) when Coleman defeated Severn.

Tournament Champions[]

Event Date Weight class Winner Runner-up
UFC 1 Nov 12, 1993 None BRA flag Royce Gracie NED flag Gerard Gordeau
UFC 2 Mar 11, 1994 None BRA flag Royce Gracie (2) US flag Patrick Smith
UFC 3 Sep 9, 1994 None US flag Steve Jennum CAN flag Harold Howard
UFC 4 Dec 16, 1994 None BRA flag Royce Gracie (3) US flag Dan Severn
UFC 5 Apr 7, 1995 None US flag Dan Severn CAN flag Dave Beneteau
UFC 6 Jul 14, 1995 None RUS flag Oleg Taktarov US flag David Abbott
UFC 7 Sep 8, 1995 None BRA flag Marco Ruas US flag Paul Varelans
The Ultimate Ultimate Dec 16, 1995 None US flag Dan Severn (2) RUS flag Oleg Taktarov
UFC 8 Feb 16, 1996 None US flag Don Frye CAN flag Gary Goodridge
UFC 10 Jul 12, 1996 None US flag Mark Coleman US flag Don Frye
UFC 11 Sep 20, 1996 None US flag Mark Coleman (2) US flag Scott Ferrozzo
The Ultimate Ultimate 2 Dec 7, 1996 None US flag Don Frye (2) US flag David Abbott
UFC 12 Feb 7, 1997 Heavyweight BRA flag Vitor Belfort US flag Scott Ferrozzo
Lightweight US flag Jerry Bohlander US flag Nick Sanzo
UFC 13 May 30, 1997 Heavyweight US flag Randy Couture US flag Steven Graham
Lightweight US flag Guy Mezger US flag Tito Ortiz
UFC 14 July 27, 1997 Heavyweight US flag Mark Kerr US flag Dan Bobish
Middleweight US flag Kevin Jackson US flag Tony Fryklund
UFC 15 Oct 17, 1997 Heavyweight US flag Mark Kerr (2) US flag Dwayne Cason
Ultimate Japan Dec 21, 1997 Heavyweight JPN flag Kazushi Sakuraba BRA flag Marcus Silveira
UFC 16 Mar 13, 1998 Lightweight US flag Pat Miletich US flag Chris Brennan
UFC 17 May 15, 1998 Middleweight US flag Dan Henderson CAN flag Carlos Newton
Ultimate Japan 2 Nov 19, 1999 Middleweight JPN flag Kenichi Yamamoto JPN flag 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
Sept 22, 2012 Flyweight US flag US flag

The Ultimate Fighter[]

Event Date Weight class Winner Runner-up
The Ultimate Fighter 1 April 9, 2005 Light Heavyweight US flag Forrest Griffin US flag Stephan Bonnar
Middleweight US flag Diego Sanchez US flag Kenny Florian
The Ultimate Fighter 2 November 5, 2005 Heavyweight US flag Rashad Evans US flag Brad Imes
Welterweight US flag Joe Stevenson US flag Luke Cummo
The Ultimate Fighter 3 June 24, 2006 Middleweight US flag Kendall Grove US flag Ed Herman
Light Heavyweight GBR flag Michael Bisping US flag Josh Haynes
The Ultimate Fighter 4 November 11, 2006 Middleweight US flag Travis Lutter CAN flag Patrick Côté
Welterweight US flag Matt Serra US flag Chris Lytle
The Ultimate Fighter 5 June 23, 2007 Lightweight US flag Nate Diaz ARM flag Manvel Gamburyan
The Ultimate Fighter 6 December 8, 2007 Welterweight US flag Mac Danzig US flag Tommy Speer
The Ultimate Fighter 7 June 21, 2008 Middleweight US flag Amir Sadollah US flag C.B. Dollaway
The Ultimate Fighter 8 December 13, 2008 Light Heavyweight US flag Ryan Bader BRA flag Vinicius Magalhães
Lightweight MEX flag Efrain Escudero US flag Phillipe Nover
The Ultimate Fighter 9 June 20, 2009 Lightweight GBR flag Ross Pearson GBR flag Andre Winner
Welterweight GBR flag James Wilks US flag DaMarques Johnson
The Ultimate Fighter 10 December 5, 2009 Heavyweight US flag Roy Nelson US flag Brendan Schaub
The Ultimate Fighter 11 June 19, 2010 Middleweight US flag Court McGee US flag Kris McCray
The Ultimate Fighter 12 December 4, 2010 Lightweight US flag Jonathan Brookins US flag Michael Johnson
The Ultimate Fighter 13 June 4, 2011 Welterweight US flag Tony Ferguson US flag Ramsey Nijem
The Ultimate Fighter 14 December 3, 2011 Bantamweight US flag John Dodson US flag T.J. Dillashaw
Featherweight BRA flag Diego Brandao US flag Dennis Bermudez
The Ultimate Fighter: Live June 1, 2012 Lightweight USA flag Michael Chiesa USA flag Al Iaquinta
The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil June 23,2012 Featherweight BRA flag Rony Mariano Bezerra BRA flag Godofredo Pepey
Middleweight BRA flag Cezar Ferreira BRA flag Sergio Moraes

By nationality[]

The following includes championship title holders, interim title holders, UFC tournament winners and Ultimate Fighter tournament winners.

Country Titles
USA flag United States 73
BRA flag Brazil 17
GBR flag United Kingdom 3
CAN flag Canada 2
JPN flag Japan 2
NED flag Netherlands 1
RUS flag Russia 1
File:BLR flag.svg Belarus 1
MEX flag Mexico 1

Most consecutive title defenses[]

Defenses Fighter Weight Class Span
10 BRA flag Anderson Silva Middleweight 2006-2013
6 CAN flag Georges St-Pierre Welterweight 2008-2013
5 USA flag Tito Ortiz Light Heavyweight 2000-2003
USA flag Matt Hughes Welterweight 2001-2004
4 USA flag Frank Shamrock Light Heavyweight 1997-1999
USA flag Pat Miletich Welterweight 1998-2001
USA flag Chuck Liddell Light Heavyweight 2005-2007
3 USA flag B.J. Penn Lightweight 2008-2010
USA flag Frankie Edgar Lightweight 2010-2012
BRA flag José Aldo Featherweight 2010-current
USA flag Jon Jones Light Heavyweight 2011-current

See also[]

References[]

  1. No Holds Barred: Ultimate Fighting and the Martial Arts Revolution
  2. WEC 53: Dominick Cruz, Scott Jorgensen Fight To Be First UFC Bantamweight Champion. sbnation.com (December 14, 2010).

External links[]

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