List of UFC champions

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC titles.^[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]

Current champions

Timeline of all champions.

Men^[13]
Division	Champion	Since	Defenses
Heavyweight	Fabrício Werdum	Jun 13, 2015	0
Light Heavyweight	Daniel Cormier	May 23, 2015	1
Middleweight	Luke Rockhold	Dec 12, 2015	0
Welterweight	Robbie Lawler	Dec 6, 2014	2
Lightweight	Rafael dos Anjos	Mar 14, 2015	1
Featherweight	Conor McGregor	Dec 12, 2015	0
Bantamweight	Dominick Cruz	Jan 17, 2016	0
Flyweight	Demetrious Johnson	Sep 22, 2012	7

Women^[13]
Division	Champion	Since	Defenses
Bantamweight	Holly Holm	Nov 15, 2015	0
Strawweight	Joanna Jędrzejczyk	Mar 14, 2015	2

Men's championship history

Heavyweight Championship

206 to 265 lb (93 to 120 kg)
The UFC Superfight Championship was unified with the UFC Tournament Championship to determine the inaugural UFC Heavyweight Champion on February 7, 1997, when Mark Coleman defeated Dan Severn at UFC 12.^[4]

No.	Name	Event	Date	Reign (Total)	Defenses
1	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.
4	Bas Rutten def. Kevin Randleman	UFC 20 Birmingham, AL, USA	May 7, 1999	? days
Rutten vacated the title in June 1999 in order to drop down to Light heavyweight. He retired soon after due to training injuries.^[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, 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.^[15]
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.^[16]
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 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, 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	UFC 91 Las Vegas, NV, USA	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, USA	Dec 27, 2008	—
-	Shane Carwin def. Frank Mir for interim title	UFC 111 Newark, NJ, USA	Mar 27, 2010	—
15	Cain Velasquez	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	413 days	1. def. Frank Mir at UFC 146 on May 26, 2012
17	Cain Velasquez (2)	UFC 155 Las Vegas, NV, USA	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	247 days (incumbent)

Light Heavyweight Championship

186 to 205 lb (84 to 93 kg) The Light Heavyweight Title was known as the Middleweight Title prior to UFC 31 (May 4, 2001). The Pride World Middleweight Title (204.6 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, USA	Jun 6, 2003	—
3	Randy Couture	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. 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, USA	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, USA	May 23, 2015	7002268000000000000♠268 days (incumbent)	1. def. Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 192 on Oct 3, 2015

Middleweight Championship

171 to 185 lb (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.^[19]

No.	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	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, USA	July 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, USA	Dec 12, 2015	65 days (incumbent)

Welterweight Championship

156 to 170 lb (70 to 77 kg) The Welterweight Title was known as the Lightweight Title prior to UFC 31 (May 4, 2001).

No.	Name	Event	Date	Reign (Total)	Defenses
1	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	183 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.^[20]
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, 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, USA	Feb 4, 2012	—
St-Pierre vacated the title on December 13, 2013, when he decided to take time off from the sport.^[21]
9	Johny Hendricks def. Robbie Lawler	UFC 171 Dallas, TX, USA	Mar 15, 2014	266 days
10	Robbie Lawler	UFC 181 Las Vegas, NV, USA	Dec 6, 2014	7002436000000000000♠436 days (incumbent)	1. def. Rory MacDonald at UFC 189 on Jul 11, 2015 2. def. Carlos Condit at UFC 195 on Jan 2, 2016

Lightweight Championship

146 to 155 lb (66 to 70 kg) The Lightweight Title was known as the Bantamweight Title prior to UFC 31 (May 4, 2001). The Strikeforce Lightweight Title was unified (perhaps unofficially) with the UFC Lightweight Title on April 20, 2013, when Benson Henderson defeated Gilbert Melendez at UFC on Fox: Henderson vs. Melendez.^[22]

No.	Name	Event	Date	Reign	Defenses
1	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.^[23]
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. draw 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, USA	Aug 31, 2013	560 days	1. def. Gilbert Melendez at UFC 181 on Dec 6, 2014
7	Rafael dos Anjos	UFC 185 Dallas, TX, USA	Mar 14, 2015	338 days (incumbent)	1. def. Donald Cerrone at UFC on Fox: dos Anjos vs. Cerrone 2 on Dec 19, 2015

Featherweight Championship

136 to 145 lb (61 to 66 kg) Prior to the UFC-WEC merger, José Aldo was the WEC Featherweight Champion. Aldo was awarded the inaugural UFC Featherweight Championship on November 20, 2010, at UFC 123 in a ceremony prior to the event.^[24]

No.	Name	Event	Date	Reign	Defenses
1	José Aldo promoted to undisputed champion	UFC 123 Auburn Hills, MI, USA	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, USA	Jul 11, 2015	—
2	Conor McGregor	UFC 194 Las Vegas, NV, USA	Dec 12, 2015	65 days (incumbent)

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 Champion.^[25]

No.	Name	Event	Date	Reign	Defenses
1	Dominick Cruz def. Scott Jorgensen	WEC 53 Glendale, AZ, USA	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.^[26]
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, USA	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, USA	Jan 17, 2016	29 days (1146 days) (incumbent)

Flyweight Championship

116 to 125 lb (53 to 57 kg) Demetrious Johnson defeated Joseph Benavidez on September 22, 2012, at UFC 152 in Toronto, ON, Canada in the finale of a 4-man tournament for the inaugural title.^[27]

No.	Name	Event	Date	Reign	Defenses
1	Demetrious Johnson def. Joseph Benavidez	UFC 152 Toronto, ON, Canada	Sep 22, 2012	1,241 days (incumbent)	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

Women's championship history

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.^[28]

No.	Name	Event	Date	Reign	Defenses
1	Ronda Rousey promoted to undisputed champion	UFC on Fox: Henderson vs. Diaz press conference Seattle, WA, USA	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	92 days (incumbent)

Women's Strawweight Championship

106 to 115 lb (48 to 52 kg) Previously the Invicta FC strawweight champion, Carla Esparza defeated Rose Namajunas for the inaugural title on December 12, 2014 in the tournament finale for The Ultimate Fighter: A Champion Will Be Crowned.^[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, USA	Dec 12, 2014	92 days
2	Joanna Jędrzejczyk	UFC 185 Dallas, TX, USA	Mar 14, 2015	338 days (incumbent)	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

Superfight Championship (defunct)

An openweight title used before the introduction of weight classes in 1997. It was designed to create a reigning UFC Champion for the UFC tournament winners to challenge.^[29]

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, 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. This bout unified the UFC Superfight Championship with the UFC Tournament Championship to determine the inaugural UFC Heavyweight Champion.^[4]

Tournament winners

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
UFC 12	Feb 7, 1997	Lightweight	Jerry Bohlander	Nick Sanzo
UFC 13	May 30, 1997	Heavyweight	Randy Couture	Steven Graham
UFC 13	May 30, 1997	Lightweight	Guy Mezger	Tito Ortiz
UFC 14	July 27, 1997	Heavyweight	Mark Kerr	Dan Bobish
UFC 14	July 27, 1997	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

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
TUF 1: Team Couture vs. Team Liddell	Apr 9, 2005	Middleweight	Diego Sanchez	Kenny Florian
TUF 2: Team Hughes vs. Team Franklin	Nov 5, 2005	Heavyweight	Rashad Evans	Brad Imes
TUF 2: Team Hughes vs. Team Franklin	Nov 5, 2005	Welterweight	Joe Stevenson	Luke Cummo
TUF 3: Team Ortiz vs. Team Shamrock	Jun 24, 2006	Middleweight	Kendall Grove	Ed Herman
TUF 3: Team Ortiz vs. Team Shamrock	Jun 24, 2006	Light Heavyweight	Michael Bisping	Josh Haynes
TUF 4: The Comeback	Nov 11, 2006	Middleweight	Travis Lutter	Patrick Côté
TUF 4: The Comeback	Nov 11, 2006	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
TUF 8: Team Nogueira vs. Team Mir	Dec 13, 2008	Lightweight	Efrain Escudero	Phillipe Nover
TUF 9: United States vs. United Kingdom	Jun 20, 2009	Lightweight	Ross Pearson	Andre Winner
TUF 9: United States vs. United Kingdom	Jun 20, 2009	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
TUF 14: Team Bisping vs. Team Miller	Dec 3, 2011	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
TUF: Brazil	Jun 23, 2012	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
TUF: The Smashes	Dec 15, 2012	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
TUF 18: Team Rousey vs. Team Tate	Nov 30, 2013	Women's Bantamweight	Julianna Peña	Jessica Rakoczy
TUF: China	Nov 30, 2013	Featherweight	Ning Guangyou	Yang Jianping
TUF: China	Nov 30, 2013	Welterweight	Zhang Lipeng	Wang Sai
TUF Nations: Canada vs. Australia	Apr 16, 2014	Welterweight	Chad Laprise	Olivier Aubin-Mercier
TUF Nations: Canada vs. Australia	Apr 16, 2014	Middleweight	Elias Theodorou	Sheldon Westcott
TUF: Brazil 3	May 31, 2014	Middleweight	Warlley Alves	Márcio Alexandre Júnior
TUF: Brazil 3	May 31, 2014	Heavyweight	Antônio Carlos Júnior	Vitor Miranda
TUF 19: Team Edgar vs. Team Penn	Jul 6, 2014	Middleweight	Eddie Gordon	Dhiego Lima
TUF 19: Team Edgar vs. Team Penn	Jul 6, 2014	Light Heavyweight	Corey Anderson	Matt Van Buren
TUF: Latin America	Nov 15, 2014	Bantamweight	Alejandro Pérez	José Alberto Quiñonez
TUF: Latin America	Nov 15, 2014	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
TUF: Brazil 4	Aug 1, 2015	Lightweight	Glaico França	Fernando Bruno
TUF: Latin America 2	Nov 21, 2015	Lightweight	Enrique Barzola	Horacio Gutiérrez
TUF: Latin America 2	Nov 21, 2015	Welterweight	Erick Montaño	Enrique Marín
TUF 22: Team McGregor vs. Team Faber	Dec 11, 2015	Lightweight	Ryan Hall	Artem Lobov

Champions by nationality

Division champions include title holders and interim title holders. Interim champions who become undisputed champions are listed only once. Tournament runners-up and The Ultimate Fighter runners-up are not included.

Country	Division champions	Tournament champions	TUF Winners	Total
USA	51	16	24	91
Brazil	11	5	8	24
Canada	3	-	2	5
Mexico	-	-	4	4
England	-	-	3	3
China	-	-	2	2
Japan	-	2	-	2
Belarus	1	-	-	1
Ireland	1	-	-	1
Jamaica	-	-	1	1
Netherlands	1	-	-	1
New Zealand	-	-	1	1
Nigeria	-	-	1	1
Northern Ireland	-	-	1	1
Peru	-	-	1	1
Poland	1	-	-	1
Russia	-	1	-	1

Most wins in title bouts

Fighters with four or more championship and/or interim championship title wins.^[30] 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
12	Georges St-Pierre	Welterweight	12 - 2 - 0
11	Anderson Silva	Middleweight	11 - 2 - 0
9	Randy Couture	Heavyweight Light Heavyweight	6 - 3 - 0 3 - 3 - 0
	Matt Hughes	Welterweight	9 - 3 - 0
	Jon Jones	Light Heavyweight	9 - 0 - 0
8	Demetrious Johnson	Bantamweight Flyweight	0 - 1 - 0 8 - 0 - 0
7	José Aldo	Featherweight	7 - 1 - 0
6	Tito Ortiz	Light Heavyweight	6 - 3 - 0
6	Ronda Rousey	Women's Bantamweight	6 - 1 - 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
	Pat Miletich	Welterweight	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
	Dominick Cruz	Bantamweight	4 - 0 - 0

Most consecutive title defenses

The following includes all UFC champions who were able to consecutively defend their title three times or more. Fighters with the same number of title defenses are listed chronologically.^[31]

Defenses	Champion	Division	Period
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
7	Demetrious Johnson	Flyweight	Sep 22, 2012 – present
6	Ronda Rousey	Women's Bantamweight	Dec 6, 2012 – Nov 15, 2015
5	Tito Ortiz	Light Heavyweight	Apr 14, 2000 - Sep 26, 2003
5	Matt Hughes	Welterweight	Nov 2, 2001 - Jan 31, 2004
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^{[lower-alpha 1]}	Lightweight	Apr 10, 2010 - Feb 26, 2012
	Benson Henderson	Lightweight	Feb 26, 2012 - Aug 31, 2013
	Renan Barão^{[lower-alpha 2]}	Bantamweight	Jul 21, 2012 - May 24, 2014
	Chris Weidman	Middleweight	Jul 6, 2013 – Dec 12, 2015

↑ Edgar successfully defended the UFC Lightweight Championship twice and retained the title once following a draw against Gray Maynard at UFC 125.
↑ Barão successfully defended the interim UFC Bantamweight Championship twice before being promoted to undisputed champion and defending his title once more.

Longest reigning champions

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

Longest individual reigns

	Name	Title Reign	Weight class	Successful defenses
1.	Anderson Silva	2,457 days	Middleweight	10
2.	Georges St-Pierre	2,064 days	Welterweight	9
3.	Jose Aldo	1,848 days	Featherweight	7
4.	Jon Jones	1,501 days	Light Heavyweight	8
5.	Tito Ortiz	1,260 days	Light Heavyweight	5
6.	Demetrious Johnson	1,241 days (incumbent)	Flyweight	7
7.	Dominick Cruz	1,117 days	Bantamweight	2
8.	Ronda Rousey	1,074 days	Women's Bantamweight	6
9.	Pat Miletich	931 days	Welterweight	4
10.	Cain Velasquez	896 days	Heavyweight	2

Longest combined reigns

	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	2,204 days	2	Welterweight	9
3.	Jose Aldo	1,848 days	1	Featherweight	7
4.	Matt Hughes	1,577 days	2	Welterweight	7
5.	Jon Jones	1,501 days	1	Light Heavyweight	8
6.	Randy Couture	1,478+ days	5	Heavyweight, Light Heavyweight	3
7.	Cain Velasquez	1,281 days	2	Heavyweight	2
8.	Tito Ortiz	1,260 days	1	Light Heavyweight	5
9.	Demetrious Johnson	1,241 days (incumbent)	1	Flyweight	7
10.	Dominick Cruz	1,146 days (incumbent)	2	Bantamweight	2

Multi-division champions

Fighters who have won championships in multiple weight classes.^[32] Tournament championships and The Ultimate Fighter winners are not included.

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
	Heavyweight	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
	Light Heavyweight	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
B.J. Penn	Lightweight	Jan 19, 2008 (UFC 80)	Apr 10, 2010 (UFC 112)	3	812 days	919 days

References

1 2 3 4 5 6 "UFC Championship Lineage". The Orange County Register. July 2, 2007. Retrieved September 14, 2007.
↑ Plotz, David (November 7, 1999). "Fight Clubbed". Slate.com. Retrieved March 21, 2007.
↑ Gentry III, Clyde (2003). No Holds Barred: Ultimate Fighting and the Martial Arts Revolution (Paperback ed.). Milo Books. pp. 106, 123. ISBN 1-903854-30-X.
1 2 3 4 5 Harshcore, Rod. "UFC Weight Classes & Their Champions: A History". Yell! Magazine. Retrieved December 24, 2012.
↑ Meltzer, Dave (April 18, 2009). "UFC 16: Frank’s house". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved January 15, 2013.
↑ "Mixed Martial Arts Unified Rules of Conduct". New Jersey State Athletic Control Board. 2000. Retrieved September 8, 2007.
↑ Trembow, Ivan (July 21, 2006). "New Jersey Commission Corrects Mainstream UFC Stories". MMAWeekly.com. Ivan's Blog. Retrieved September 8, 2007.
↑ Whitman, Mike (October 28, 2010). "UFC, WEC to Merge in 2011". Sherdog.com. Retrieved October 20, 2012.
↑ Whitman, Matt (December 11, 2011). "UFC Adds Flyweight Class; 4-Man Title Tourney Begins March 3". Sherdog.com. Retrieved October 20, 2012.
↑ Whitman, Mike (November 9, 2012). "Report: Strikeforce Champion Ronda Rousey to Join UFC in 2013, Strikeforce to Fold". Sherdog.com. Retrieved December 12, 2012.
1 2 Doyle, Dave (December 11, 2013). "'TUF 20' will feature all-women's cast; crown first UFC strawweight champion". MMAFighting.com. Retrieved December 15, 2013.
↑ Cruz, Guilherme (June 11, 2014). "Strawweights Claudia Gadelha, Tina Lahdemaki meet at UFC Fight Night 45". MMAFighting.com. Retrieved June 11, 2014.
1 2 "Fighters". Ultimate Fighting Championship. Retrieved April 24, 2012.
↑ Rutten, Bas. "Bas Rutten Biography". Archived from the original on May 20, 2007. Retrieved September 12, 2007.
↑ Fitzgerald, Tom (November 26, 2006). "UFC fighter flunks drug test". SFgate.com: the San Francisco Chronicle website. Retrieved September 12, 2007.
↑ Fitzgerald, Tom (November 26, 2006). "Fighting outside the box". SFgate.com: the San Francisco Chronicle website. Retrieved September 12, 2007.
↑ Staff (August 13, 2005). "UFC Strips Mir of Heavyweight Belt, Arlovski New Champion". Sherdog.com. Retrieved September 12, 2007.
↑ "Jon Jones stripped of title, Daniel Cormier vs. Anthony Johnson for belt headlines UFC 187". mmafighting.com. April 28, 2015. Retrieved April 28, 2015.
↑ Kyte, Spencer (October 19, 2012). "Champion vs. Champion: A UFC History". UFC.com. Retrieved December 24, 2012.
↑ "Zuffa Strips Penn of Title". Sherdog.com. May 18, 2004. Retrieved December 9, 2007.
↑ "It’s official: Georges St-Pierre vacating UFC welterweight title". mmajunkie.com. December 13, 2013. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
↑ "Benson Henderson vs. Gilbert Melendez, Daniel Cormier vs. Frank Mir set for UFC on FOX 7". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2014-08-12.
↑ Meltzer, Dave (December 9, 2007). "Sherk stripped of lightweight title". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved December 10, 2007.
↑ Morgan, John; Stupp, Dann (November 20, 2010). "New UFC Champion Jose Aldo officially awarded title belt". MMAjunkie.com. Retrieved October 20, 2012.
↑ Nelson, Chris (December 14, 2010). "Harris Eager to Crown First UFC Bantamweight Champ". Sherdog.com. Retrieved October 20, 2012.
↑ "Dominick Cruz out, vacates bantamweight title; Urijah Faber now meets Renan Barao at UFC 169". mmajunkie.com. January 6, 2014. Retrieved January 6, 2014.
↑ Mrosko, Geno (September 23, 2012). "UFC 152 results: Demetrious Johnson wins flyweight title with split decision victory over Joseph Benavidez". MMAmania.com. Retrieved December 24, 2012.
↑ Gerbasi, Thomas (December 6, 2012). "The UFC Crowns Its First Queen". UFC. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
↑ Meltzer, Dave (April 8, 2009). "Relive UFC 6: Clash of the Titans". Sports.yahoo.com. Retrieved January 8, 2013.
↑ "Most wins in UFC title bouts". Fightmatrix.com. Retrieved December 24, 2012.
↑ "Most consecutive UFC title defenses". Fightmatrix.com. Retrieved December 24, 2012.
↑ "MMA All-time Record Holders". sportsillustrated.

External links

Current Title Holders at UFC.com

Ultimate Fighting Championship current champions

Heavyweight	Fabrício Werdum

Light Heavyweight	Daniel Cormier

Middleweight	Luke Rockhold

Welterweight	Robbie Lawler

Lightweight	Rafael dos Anjos

Featherweight	Conor McGregor

Bantamweight	Dominick Cruz

Flyweight	Demetrious Johnson

Women's Bantamweight	Holly Holm

Women's Strawweight	Joanna Jędrzejczyk

Mixed martial arts champions

Current champions for active organizations	UFC Bellator MMA ONE WSOF Pancrase Shooto KOTC Deep Invicta FC SFL

Legacy champions for defunct organizations	Pride FC Strikeforce IFL EliteXC Cage Rage Dream Hero's WEC SRC

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Monday, February 15, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.