List of UFC champions

This is a list of Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions in each weight division.[1]

At the time of the UFC'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.[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.[3]

The original codification for weight classes introduced only two divisions: heavyweight, which grouped competitors above 200 pounds (91 kg), and lightweight, which encompassed all other competitors. The UFC would later rename its lightweight division to middleweight and add lightweight 170 pounds (77 kg) and bantamweight 155 pounds (70 kg) 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.[4] The UFC realigned their weight classes to comply with the new regulations in 2001.[5]

Contents

Current Champions

Division Champion Date Defenses
Heavyweight Junior dos Santos Nov 12, 2011 0
Light heavyweight Jon Jones Mar 19, 2011 2
Middleweight Anderson Silva Oct 14, 2006 9
Welterweight Georges St. Pierre Apr 19, 2008 6
Lightweight Frankie Edgar Apr 10, 2010 3
Featherweight Jose Aldo Nov 20, 2010 2
Bantamweight Dominick Cruz Dec 16, 2010 2

Championship history

Heavyweight Championship

206 to 265 lbs (93 to 120 kg)

# Name Event Date Reign
(Total)		 Defenses
1 Mark Coleman
def. Dan Severn		 UFC 12
Dothan, AL, USA		 Feb 7, 1997 170 days
2 Maurice Smith UFC 14
Birmingham, AL, USA		 Jul 27, 1997 147 days

1. def. David Abbott at UFC 15 on Oct 17, 1997
3 Randy Couture 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.[1]
4 Bas Rutten
def. Kevin Randleman		 UFC 20
Birmingham, AL, USA		 May 7, 1999 ? days
Rutten relinquished the title in June 1999 in order to drop down to Light heavyweight. He retired soon after due to training injuries.[6]
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, USA		 Nov 17, 2000 490 days
(490+ 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, USA		 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.[7]
8 Ricco Rodriguez
def. Randy Couture		 UFC 39
Uncasville, CT, USA		 Sep 27, 2002 154 days
9 Tim Sylvia UFC 41
Atlantic City, NJ, USA		 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.[8]
10 Frank Mir
def. Tim Sylvia		 UFC 48
Las Vegas, NV, USA		 Jun 19, 2004 419 days
- Andrei Arlovski
def. Tim Sylvia for interim title		 UFC 51
Las Vegas, NV, USA		 Feb 5, 2005 —

1. def. Justin Eilers at UFC 53 on Jun 4, 2005
Mir relinquished the title on August 12, 2005 due to injuries sustained in a road accident.[9]
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, USA		 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, USA		 Mar 3, 2007 623 days
(1,113+ 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, USA		 Feb 2, 2008 —
14 Brock Lesnar
def. Randy Couture		 UFC 91
Las Vegas, NV, USA		 Nov 15, 2008 707 days

1. def. Frank Mir at UFC 100 on Jul 11, 2009
2. def. Shane Carwin at UFC 116 on Jul 2, 2010
- Frank Mir
def. Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira
for interim title		 UFC 92
Las Vegas, NV, USA		 Dec 27, 2008 —
- Shane Carwin
def. Frank Mir for interim title		 UFC 111
Newark, NJ, USA		 Mar 27, 2010 —
15 Cain Velasquez
def. Brock Lesnar		 UFC 121
Anaheim, CA, USA		 Oct 23, 2010 385 days
16 Junior dos Santos UFC on Fox: Velasquez vs. Dos Santos
Anaheim, CA, USA		 Nov 12, 2011 104 days
(incumbent)

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).
The Pride World Middleweight Title (204.6 lb) was unified with the UFC Light Heavyweight Title on September 8, 2007 when Quinton Jackson defeated Dan Henderson at UFC 75.
# 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 relinquished 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, USA		 Jun 6, 2003 —
3 Randy Couture
def. Tito Ortiz		 UFC 44
Las Vegas, NV, USA		 Sep 26, 2003 127 days
4 Vitor Belfort UFC 46
Las Vegas, NV, USA		 Jan 31, 2004 203 days
5 Randy Couture (2) UFC 49
Las Vegas, NV, USA		 Aug 21, 2004 238 days
(365 days)
6 Chuck Liddell UFC 52
Las Vegas, NV, USA		 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, USA		 May 26, 2007 406 days

1. def. Dan Henderson at UFC 75 on Sep 8, 2007
8 Forrest Griffin UFC 86
Las Vegas, NV, USA		 Jul 5, 2008 175 days
9 Rashad Evans UFC 92
Las Vegas, NV, USA		 Dec 27, 2008 147 days
10 Lyoto Machida UFC 98
Las Vegas, NV, USA		 May 23, 2009 350 days

1. def. Mauricio Rua at UFC 104 on Oct 24, 2009
11 Mauricio Rua UFC 113
Montreal, QC, Canada		 May 8, 2010 315 days
12 Jon Jones UFC 128
Newark, NJ, USA		 Mar 19, 2011 342 days
(incumbent)

1. def. Quinton Jackson at UFC 135 on Sept 24, 2011
2. def. Lyoto Machida at UFC 140 on Dec 10, 2011

Middleweight Championship

171 to 185 lbs (77 to 84 kg)
The Pride World Welterweight Title (183 lb) was unified with the UFC Middleweight Title on March 1, 2008 when Anderson Silva defeated Dan Henderson at UFC 82.
# Name Event Date Reign Defenses
1 Dave Menne
def. Gil Castillo		 UFC 33
Las Vegas, NV, USA		 Sep 28, 2001 105 days
2 Murilo Bustamante UFC 35
Las Vegas, NV, USA		 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, USA		 Feb 5, 2005 119 days
4 Rich Franklin UFC 53
Atlantic City, NJ, USA		 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, USA		 Oct 14, 2006 1959 days
(incumbent)

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

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).
# 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. Andre 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, USA		 May 4, 2001 182 days
3 Matt Hughes UFC 34
Las Vegas, NV, USA		 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, USA		 Jan 31, 2004 107 days
Penn was stripped of the title on May 17, 2004 when he left the UFC for K-1.[10]
5 Matt Hughes (2)
def. Georges St. Pierre		 UFC 50
Atlantic City, NJ, USA		 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, USA		 Nov 18, 2006 140 days
7 Matt Serra UFC 69
Houston, TX, USA		 Apr 7, 2007 378 days
- Georges St. Pierre
def. Matt Hughes for interim title		 UFC 79
Las Vegas, NV, USA		 Dec 29, 2007 —
8 Georges St. Pierre (2) UFC 83
Montreal, Quebec, Canada		 Apr 19, 2008 1406 days
(incumbent)

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

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).
# Name Event Date Reign Defenses
1 Jens Pulver
def.Caol Uno		 UFC 30
Atlantic City, NJ, USA		 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, USA in the finale of a 4-man tournament for the vacant title.[1]
2 Sean Sherk
def. Kenny Florian		 UFC 64
Las Vegas, NV, USA		 Oct 14, 2006 420 days

1. def. Hermes Franca 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.[11]
3 B.J. Penn
def. Joe Stevenson		 UFC 80
Newcastle upon Tyne, England		 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 685 days
(incumbent)

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

Featherweight Championship

136 to 145 lbs (61 to 66 kg)
Prior to November 20, 2010 José Aldo was the WEC Featherweight Champion. Following the UFC-WEC merger, he became the first UFC Featherweight Champion.[12]
# Name Event Date Reign Defenses
1 José Aldo
promoted to undisputed champion		 UFC 123
Detroit, MI, USA		 Nov 20, 2010 461 days
(incumbent)

1. def. Mark Hominick at UFC 129 on Apr 30, 2011
2. def. Kenny Florian at UFC 136 on Oct 8, 2011

Bantamweight Championship

126 to 135 lbs (57 to 61 kg)
Prior to December 16, 2010 Dominick Cruz was the WEC Bantamweight Champion. Following the UFC-WEC merger, he became the first UFC Bantamweight Champion.
# Name Event Date Reign Defenses
1 Dominick Cruz
def.Scott Jorgensen		 WEC 53
Glendale, AZ, USA		 Dec 16, 2010 435 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

Superfight Championship

Openweight fights featuring previous UFC tournament winners.
# Name Event Date Reign Defenses
Ken Shamrock and Royce Gracie fought to a draw on April 7, 1995 at UFC 5 in Charlotte, NC, USA for the inaugural Superfight title.[1]
1 Ken Shamrock
def. Dan Severn		 UFC 6
Casper, WY, USA		 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, USA		 May 17, 1996 266 days
Mark Coleman defeated Severn on February 7, 1997 at UFC 12 in Dothan, AL, USA for the inaugural UFC Heavyweight title.

UFC Tournaments

Event Date Weight class 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 Feb 16, 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 July 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
Ultimate Japan 2 Nov 14, 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.

The Ultimate Fighter

Event Date Weight class Winner Runner-up
The Ultimate Fighter 1 Apr 9, 2005 Light Heavyweight Forrest Griffin Stephan Bonnar
Middleweight Diego Sanchez Kenny Florian
The Ultimate Fighter 2 Nov 5, 2005 Heavyweight Rashad Evans Brad Imes
Welterweight Joe Stevenson Luke Cummo
The Ultimate Fighter 3 Jun 24, 2006 Middleweight Kendall Grove Ed Herman
Light Heavyweight Michael Bisping Josh Haynes
The Ultimate Fighter 4 Nov 11, 2006 Middleweight Travis Lutter Patrick Côté
Welterweight Matt Serra Chris Lytle
The Ultimate Fighter 5 Jun 23, 2007 Lightweight Nate Diaz Manvel Gamburyan
The Ultimate Fighter 6 Dec 8, 2007 Welterweight Mac Danzig Tommy Speer
The Ultimate Fighter 7 Jun 21, 2008 Middleweight Amir Sadollah C.B. Dollaway
The Ultimate Fighter 8 Dec 13, 2008 Light Heavyweight Ryan Bader Vinicius Magalhães
Lightweight Efrain Escudero Phillipe Nover
The Ultimate Fighter 9 Jun 20, 2009 Lightweight Ross Pearson Andre Winner
Welterweight James Wilks DaMarques Johnson
The Ultimate Fighter 10 Dec 5, 2009 Heavyweight Roy Nelson Brendan Schaub
The Ultimate Fighter 11 Jun 19, 2010 Middleweight Court McGee Kris McCray
The Ultimate Fighter 12 Dec 4, 2010 Lightweight Jonathan Brookins Michael Johnson
The Ultimate Fighter 13 Jun 4, 2011 Welterweight Tony Ferguson Ramsey Nijem
The Ultimate Fighter 14 Dec 3, 2011 Bantamweight John Dodson T.J. Dillashaw
Featherweight Diego Brandao Dennis Bermudez
The Ultimate Fighter 15 Lightweight
Welterweight

By Nationality

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

Country Titles
 United States 70
 Brazil 14
 Canada 3
 United Kingdom 3
 Japan 2
 Netherlands 1
 Russia 1
 Belarus 1
 Mexico 1

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g "UFC Championship Lineage". The Orange County Register. July 2, 2007. http://www.ocregister.com/sports/ufc-def-title-1751549-round-heavyweight. Retrieved September 14, 2007. 
  2. ^ Plotz, David (November 7, 1999). "Fight Clubbed". Slate.com. http://www.slate.com/id/46344. Retrieved March 21, 2007. 
  3. ^ Gentry III, Clyde (2003). No Holds Barred: Ultimate Fighting and the Martial Arts Revolution (Paperback Edition ed.). Milo Books. pp. 106, 123. ISBN ISBN 0-903854-90-X. 
  4. ^ "Mixed Martial Arts Unified Rules of Conduct". New Jersey State Athletic Control Board. 2000. http://www.state.nj.us/lps/sacb/docs/martial.html. Retrieved September 8, 2007. 
  5. ^ Trembow, Ivan (2000). "New Jersey Commission Corrects Mainstream UFC Stories" (Reprint). MMAWeekly.com. http://www.ivansblog.com/2006/07/mixed-martial-arts-new-jersey.html. Retrieved September 8, 2007. 
  6. ^ Rutten, Bas. "Bas Rutten Biography". Archived from the original on May 20, 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20070520191724/http://www.basrutten.tv/biography.html. Retrieved September 12, 2007. 
  7. ^ Fitzgerald, Tom (November 26, 2006). "UFC fighter flunks drug test". SFgate.com: the San Francisco Chronicle website. http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2004/Aug-14-Sat-2004/sports/24534514.html. Retrieved September 12, 2007. 
  8. ^ Fitzgerald, Tom (November 26, 2006). "Fighting outside the box". SFgate.com: the San Francisco Chronicle website. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/11/26/SPG19MJT8O1.DTL. Retrieved September 12, 2007. 
  9. ^ "UFC Strips Mir of Heavyweight Belt, Arlovski New Champion". Sherdog.com. August 13, 2005. http://www.sherdog.com/news/articles.asp?n_id=3249. Retrieved September 12, 2007. 
  10. ^ "B.J. Penn Stripped of Title". MMARingReport.com. May 17, 2004. http://www.mmaringreport.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=476&Itemid=37. Retrieved December 9, 2007. 
  11. ^ Meltzer, Dave (December 9, 2007). "Sherk stripped of lightweight title". Yahoo! Sports. http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/mma_experts/post/Sherk-stripped-of-lightweight-title?urn=mma,56811. Retrieved December 10, 2007. 
  12. ^ "New UFC Champion Jose Aldo officially awarded title belt". mmajunkie.com. November 20, 2010. http://mmajunkie.com/news/21481/new-ufc-champion-jose-aldo-officially-awarded-title-belt.mma. 

External links

Current champions for active organizations
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Legacy champions for defunct organizations
Pride FC · IFL · EliteXC · Cage Rage · Hero's · WEC · SRC