Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC

championships In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

Historical notes

At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned 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. In response to criticism from Senator

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two terms ...

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 ''UFC 12: Judgement Day'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on February 7, 1997 at the Dothan Civic Center in Dothan, Alabama. The event was seen live on pay per view in the United States, and later released ...

, and began introducing weight-specific titles. The original codification for weight classes introduced only two divisions:

heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 3 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the Wo ...

, which grouped together all competitors above , and lightweight, which encompassed all competitors 199 pounds (90 kg) and under. At UFC 14 the lightweight division would be renamed to

middleweight Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the middleweight division is contested above and up to . Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have be ...

, though it would still encompass all fighters 199 pounds (90 kg) and under. The lightweight moniker would later return at

UFC 16 ''UFC 16: Battle in the Bayou'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on March 13, 1998 in New Orleans, Louisiana. The event was seen live on pay per view in the United States, and later released on home video. ...

with a new division consisting of those competitors and under. Two years later a fourth weight class, the bantamweight division, arrived at

UFC 26 ''UFC 26: Ultimate Field of Dreams'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on June 9, 2000, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. History The main card featured Welterweight Champion Pat Miletich defending his title against J ...

and included all fighters and under. 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. The UFC realigned their weight classes to comply with these new regulations in 2001, beginning with UFC 31. At the time, this brought the total number of active divisions in the UFC to five: lightweight, welterweight,

light heavyweight Light heavyweight, also referred to as junior cruiserweight or light cruiserweight, is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the division is above and up to , falling between super middleweight and cruise ...

, and

. 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 (WEC). 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 Ultimate Fighter season 12 finale. 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: Alves vs. Kampmann. In November 2012, as a result of the forthcoming dissolution of their sister organization

Strikeforce Strike Force may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Games * ''Strike Force'' (video game), a 1991 arcade game *'' Commandos: Strike Force'', a 2006 video game *'' Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce'', a 2009 video game *''Marvel Strike Force'', ...

, 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. 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, the first bout took place at UFC Fight Night: Cowboy vs. Miller. In late 2016, a featherweight division was introduced for the women with the first bout to be for the inaugural championship at UFC 208 on February 11, 2017. In that same year the UFC announced the Women's Flyweight division would officially be added, with the winner of the 26th season of The Ultimate Fighter to be named the inaugural champion.

Current champions

Men

Women

Men's championship history

Heavyweight Championship

206 to 265 lb (93 to 120 kg)
The UFC Superfight Championship was unified with the UFC 11 Tournament Championship to determine the inaugural UFC Heavyweight Champion on February 7, 1997, when Mark Coleman defeated Dan Severn at

Light Heavyweight Championship

186 to 205 lb (84 to 93 kg)
The Light Heavyweight Championship was known as the Middleweight Championship prior to UFC 31 (May 4, 2001). The Pride World Middleweight Championship (205.03 lb) was unified with the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship on September 8, 2007, when Quinton Jackson defeated Dan Henderson at

UFC 75 ''UFC 75: Champion vs. Champion'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship. The event was held September 8, 2007, at The O2 in London, United Kingdom. Background The event was the fourth event held by the UFC in ...

Middleweight Championship

171 to 185 lb (78 to 84 kg)
The Pride World Welterweight Championship (183 lb) was unified with the UFC Middleweight Championship on March 1, 2008, when Anderson Silva defeated Dan Henderson at

UFC 82 ''UFC 82: Pride of a Champion'' was a mixed martial arts (MMA) event that took place on March 1, 2008, at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. Background The main event was a UFC & Pride FC middleweight title unification match between UFC mid ...

Welterweight Championship

156 to 170 lb (71 to 77 kg)
The Welterweight Championship was known as the Lightweight Championship prior to UFC 31 (May 4, 2001).

Lightweight Championship

146 to 155 lb (66 to 70 kg)
The Lightweight Championship was known as the Bantamweight Championship prior to UFC 31 (May 4, 2001). The

Strikeforce Lightweight Championship Strikeforce (mixed martial arts), Strikeforce was an American mixed martial arts organization. It crowned male champions in the lightweight, welterweight, middleweight, light heavyweight and heavyweight divisions, and female champions in feather ...

was unified (perhaps unofficially) with the UFC Lightweight Championship on April 20, 2013, when

Benson Henderson Benson Henderson (born November 16, 1983) is an American mixed martial artist who competes for Bellator MMA, currently competing in their Lightweight division. He is a former UFC Lightweight Champion and WEC Lightweight Champion. As of Novembe ...

defeated Gilbert Melendez at UFC on Fox: Henderson vs. Melendez.

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 ''UFC 123: Rampage vs. Machida'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on November 20, 2010 at the Palace of Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It was the first UFC event in the Metro Detroit area since ' ...

in a ceremony prior to the event.

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.

Flyweight Championship

116 to 125 lb (53 to 57 kg)
Demetrious Johnson defeated Joseph Benavidez on September 22, 2012, at UFC 152 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in the finale of a four-man tournament for the inaugural title.

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.

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.

Women's Flyweight Championship

''116 to 125 lb (53 to 57 kg)''
The inaugural title was contested on December 1, 2017, in Las Vegas, NV, US 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.

Women's Strawweight Championship

106 to 115 lb (48 to 52 kg)
Previously the Invicta FC Strawweight Champion, Carla Esparza defeated

Rose Namajunas Rose Gertrude Namajunas (born June 29, 1992) is an American mixed martial artist. She is signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where she competes in the women's strawweight division and is the former two-time UFC Women's Strawweig ...

for the inaugural title on December 12, 2014, in the tournament finale of The Ultimate Fighter: A Champion Will Be Crowned.

Defunct title

Superfight Championship

The

openweight Openweight, also known as Absolute, is an unofficial weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. It refers to bouts where there is no weight limit and fighters with a dramatic difference in size can compete against each other. It is d ...

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.

Tournament winners

''The Ultimate Fighter''

'' The Ultimate Fighter'' (TUF) 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 TUF runners-up are not included.

TUF winners by nationality

Most wins in title bouts

Fighters with four or more championship and/or interim championship title wins. Fighters with the same number of title wins are arranged in order of most title fights. Tournament

and TUF winners are not included.

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. * Bold — Incumbent champion.

Longest reigning champions

The following is a list of the ten longest reigning UFC champions.

Longest individual reigns

Longest combined reigns

days , , 3 , , W-BW, W-FTW , , align=center, 7 , - ! 2 , Anderson Silva , , 2,457 days , , 1 , , MW , , align=center, 10 , - ! 3 , Georges St-Pierre , , 2,237 days , , 3 , , WW, MW , , align=center, 9 , - ! 4 , Demetrious Johnson , , 2,142 days , , 1 , , FLW , , align=center, 11 , - ! 5 , Jon Jones , , 2,098 days , , 2 , , LHW , , align=center, 11 , - ! 6 , José Aldo , , 2,037 days , , 2 , , FTW , , align=center, 7 , - ! 7 , Daniel Cormier , , 1,722 days , , 2 , , LHW, HW , , align=center, 4 , - ! 8 , Matt Hughes , , 1,577 days , , 2 , , WW , , align=center, 7 , - ! 9 , Randy Couture , , 1,478 + ? days , , 5 , , HW, LHW , , align=center, 3 , - ! 10 , Valentina Shevchenko , , ' days , , 1 , , W-FLW , , align=center, 7 * Bold — Incumbent champion.

Multi-division champions

Fighters who have won

in multiple weight classes. Tournament

and TUF 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.

days'' , - bgcolor=E6E6E6 , Jul 30, 2022 (

UFC 277 ''UFC 277: Peña vs. Nunes 2'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on July 30, 2022, at American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, United States. Background A UFC Women's Bantamweight Cha ...

) , align=center, ''Incumbent'' , align=center, 0 , align=center, ' , - bgcolor=E6E6E6 , Women's Featherweight , Dec 29, 2018 ( UFC 232) , align=center, ''Incumbent'' , align=center, 2 , align=center, ' , - ! rowspan="2" , 7 , rowspan=2, Henry Cejudo , Flyweight , Aug 4, 2018 (

UFC 227 ''UFC 227: Dillashaw vs. Garbrandt 2'' was a mixed martial arts event that was produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship and held on August 4, 2018, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. Background A UFC Bantamweight Championsh ...

) , Feb 29, 2020 (vacated) , align=center, 1 , align=center, 574 days , rowspan=2 align=center , 926 days , - , Bantamweight , Jun 8, 2019 (

UFC 238 ''UFC 238: Cejudo vs. Moraes'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on June 8, 2019 at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. Background The event was headlined by a UFC Bantamweight Champi ...

) , May 24, 2020 (vacated) , align=center, 1 , align=center, 352 days

Simultaneous two division champions

* Note: Defenses shown are while champion was a two division champion. * Bold - Active reigns.

Missed weight title fights

There have been multiple instances in UFC history where a fighter misses the required weight limit for a championship fight. The following fights were originally scheduled and advertised as title fights, with the contenders earning a title shot, but due to a fighter missing weight these fights took place, only one fighter was eligible for the title, or the fight was changed to a non-title fight.

References

External links

Current Title Holders
a
UFC.com
{{Mixed martial arts champions Champions * UFC champions UFC Champions, List Of