List of UFC champions

Below is a list of Ultimate Fighting Championship champions at each weight class.^[1]

At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, the sport of mixed martial arts was unsanctioned in the United States, and as such weight classes did not exist; 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 which saw the the loss of their 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 lbs. (90.7 kg), and lightweight; which encompassed all other competitors. The UFC would later rename their lightweight division to middleweight, and add lightweight (170 lbs, 77.1 kg) and bantamweight (155 lbs, 70.3 kg) divisions. In 2000, the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board completely took over regulation in its home state, and their rules and weight classes became the de facto rule set for mixed martial arts today.^[4] The UFC realigned their weight classes to comply with the new regulations in 2001.^[5]

Title histories

Heavyweight championship (265 lbs, 120.2 kg)

Name	Date	Location	Defenses
Mark Coleman (def. Dan Severn)	February 7 1997 (UFC 12)	Dothan, AL
Maurice Smith	July 27 1997 (UFC 14)	Birmingham, AL	def. David Abbott on October 17 1997 in Bay St. Louis, MS (UFC 15)
Randy Couture	December 21 1997 (UFC Japan)	Yokohama, Japan
Couture was stripped of the title in January 1998 due to a contract dispute.
Bas Rutten (def. Kevin Randleman)	May 7 1999 (UFC 20)	Birmingham, AL
The title was vacated in June 1999 when Rutten left the heavyweight division.^[6]
Kevin Randleman (def. Pete Williams)	November 19 1999 (UFC 23)	Tokyo, Japan	def. Pedro Rizzo on June 9 2000 in Cedar Rapids, IA (UFC 26)
Randy Couture (2)	November 17 2000 (UFC 28)	Tokyo, Japan	def. Pedro Rizzo on May 4 2001 in Atlantic City, NJ (UFC 31) def. Pedro Rizzo on November 2 2001 in Las Vegas, NV (UFC 34)
Josh Barnett	March 22 2002 (UFC 36)	Las Vegas, NV
Barnett was stripped of the title in March 2002 after testing positive for anabolic steroids in a post-fight drug test.^[7]
Ricco Rodriguez (def. Randy Couture)	September 27 2002 (UFC 39)	Uncasville, CT
Tim Sylvia	February 28 2003 (UFC 41)	Atlantic City, NJ	def. Gan McGee on September 26 2003 in Las Vegas, NV (UFC 44)
Sylvia relinquished his title in September 2003 after testing positive for anabolic steroids in a post-fight drug test.^[8]
Frank Mir (def. Tim Sylvia)	June 19 2004 (UFC 48)	Las Vegas, NV
Andrei Arlovski (def. Tim Sylvia for interim title)	February 5 2005 (UFC 51)	Las Vegas, NV	def. Justin Eilers on June 4 2005 in Atlantic City, NJ (UFC 53)
Mir was stripped of the title in August 2005 after being unable to defend due to an injury.^[9]
Andrei Arlovski (promoted to undisputed champion)	August 12 2005		def. Paul Buentello on October 7 2005 in Uncasville, CT (UFC 55)
Tim Sylvia (2)	April 15 2006 (UFC 59)	Anaheim, CA	def. Andrei Arlovski on July 8 2006 in Las Vegas, NV (UFC 61) def. Jeff Monson on November 18 2006 in Sacramento, CA (UFC 65)
Randy Couture (3)	March 3 2007 (UFC 68)	Columbus, OH	def. Gabriel Gonzaga on August 25 2007 in Las Vegas, NV (UFC 74)

Light heavyweight championship (205 lbs, 93 kg)

The light heavyweight title was known as the middleweight title prior to UFC 31 (May 4 2001). The PRIDE middleweight championship was unified with the UFC light heavyweight championship at UFC 75 (September 8 2007).

Name	Date	Location	Defenses
Frank Shamrock (def. Kevin Jackson)	December 21 1997 (UFC Japan)	Yokohama, Japan	def. Igor Zinoviev on March 13 1998 in New Orleans, LA (UFC 16) def. Jeremy Horn on May 15 1998 in Mobile, AL (UFC 17) def. John Lober on October 16 1998 in São Paulo, Brazil (UFC Brazil) def. Tito Ortiz on September 24 1999 in Lake Charles, LA (UFC 22)
The title was vacated in November 1999 when Shamrock retired.
Tito Ortiz (def. Wanderlei Silva)	April 14 2000 (UFC 25)	Tokyo, Japan	def. Yuki Kondo on December 16 2000 in Tokyo, Japan (UFC 29) def. Evan Tanner on February 23 2001 in Atlantic City, NJ (UFC 30) def. Elvis Sinosic on June 29 2001 in East Rutherford, NJ (UFC 32) def. Vladimir Matyushenko on September 28 2001 in Las Vegas, NV (UFC 33) def. Ken Shamrock on November 22 2002 in Las Vegas, NV (UFC 40)
Randy Couture (def. Chuck Liddell for interim title)	June 6 2003 (UFC 43)	Las Vegas, NV
Randy Couture (def. Tito Ortiz for undisputed title)	September 26 2003 (UFC 44)	Las Vegas, NV
Vitor Belfort	January 31 2004 (UFC 46)	Las Vegas, NV
Randy Couture (2)	August 21 2004 (UFC 49)	Las Vegas, NV
Chuck Liddell	April 16 2005 (UFC 52)	Las Vegas, NV	def. Jeremy Horn on August 20 2005 in Las Vegas, NV (UFC 54) def. Randy Couture on February 4 2006 in Las Vegas, NV (UFC 57) def. Renato Sobral on August 26 2006 in Las Vegas, NV (UFC 62) def. Tito Ortiz on December 30 2006 in Las Vegas, NV (UFC 66)
Quinton Jackson	May 26 2007 (UFC 71)	Las Vegas, NV	def. Dan Henderson on September 8 2007 in London, England (UFC 75)

Middleweight championship (185 lbs, 83.9 kg)

Name	Date	Location	Defenses
Dave Menne (def. Gil Castillo)	September 28 2001 (UFC 33)	Las Vegas, NV
Murilo Bustamante	January 11 2002 (UFC 35)	Las Vegas, NV	def. Matt Lindland on May 10 2002 in Bossier City, LA (UFC 37)
Bustamante was stripped of the title on October 5 2002 after signing with PRIDE.
Evan Tanner (def. David Terrell)	February 5 2005 (UFC 51)	Las Vegas, NV
Rich Franklin	June 4 2005 (UFC 53)	Las Vegas, NV	def. Nathan Quarry on November 19 2005 in Atlantic City, NJ (UFC 56) def. David Loiseau on March 4 2006 in Las Vegas, NV (UFC 58)
Anderson Silva	October 14 2006 (UFC 64)	Las Vegas, NV	def. Nate Marquardt on July 7 2007 in Sacramento, CA (UFC 73)

Welterweight championship (170 lbs, 77.1 kg)

The welterweight title was known as the lightweight title prior to UFC 31 (May 4 2001)

Name	Date	Location	Defenses
Pat Miletich (def. Mikey Burnett)	October 16 1998 (UFC Brazil)	São Paulo, Brazil	def. Jorge Patino on January 8 1999 in New Orleans, LA (UFC 18) def. Andre Pederneiras on July 16 1999 in Cedar Rapids, IA (UFC 21) def. John Alessio on June 9 2000 in Cedar Rapids, IA (UFC 26) def. Kenichi Yamamoto on December 16 2000 in Tokyo, Japan (UFC 29)
Carlos Newton	May 4 2001 (UFC 31)	Atlantic City, NJ
Matt Hughes	November 2 2001 (UFC 34)	Las Vegas, NV	def. Hayato Sakurai on March 22 2002 in Las Vegas, NV (UFC 36) def. Carlos Newton on July 13 2002 in London, England (UFC 38) def. Gil Castillo on November 22 2002 in Las Vegas, NV (UFC 40) def. Sean Sherk on April 25 2003 in Miami, FL (UFC 42) def. Frank Trigg on November 21 2003 in Uncasville, CT (UFC 45)
B.J. Penn	January 31 2004 (UFC 46)	Las Vegas, NV
Penn was stripped of the title in February 2004 after signing with K-1.^[10]
Matt Hughes (2) (def. Georges St. Pierre)	October 22 2004 (UFC 50)	Las Vegas, NV	def. Frank Trigg on April 16 2005 in Las Vegas, NV (UFC 52) def. B.J. Penn on September 23 2006 in Anaheim, CA (UFC 63)
Georges St. Pierre	November 18 2006 (UFC 65)	Sacramento, CA
Matt Serra	April 7 2007 (UFC 69)	Houston, TX

Lightweight championship (155 lbs, 70.3 kg)

The lightweight title was known as the bantamweight title prior to UFC 31 (May 4 2001).

Name	Date	Location	Defenses
Jens Pulver (def. Caol Uno)	February 23 2001 (UFC 30)	Atlantic City, NJ	def. Dennis Hallman on September 28 2001 in Las Vegas, NV (UFC 33) def. B.J. Penn on January 11 2002 in Uncasville, CT (UFC 35)
Pulver was stripped of the title and left the UFC in March 2002 due to a contract dispute.
Sean Sherk (def. Kenny Florian)	October 14 2006 (UFC 64)	Las Vegas, NV	def. Hermes Franca on July 7 2007 in Sacramento, CA (UFC 73)

Superfight championship

Open weight fights featuring previous tournament fighters.

Name	Date	Location	Defenses
Ken Shamrock (def. Dan Severn)	July 14 1995 (UFC 6)	Casper, WY	drew with Oleg Taktarov on September 8 1995 in Buffalo, NY (UFC 7) def. Kimo Leopoldo on February 16 1996 in San Juan, Puerto Rico (UFC 8)
Dan Severn	May 17 1996 (UFC 9)	Detroit, MI
The Superfight championship was unified with Mark Coleman's heavyweight championship on February 7, 1997 in Dothan, AL (UFC 12) when Coleman defeated Severn.

Tournaments

Event	Weight class	Winner	Runner-up	Date
UFC 1	None	Royce Gracie	Gerard Gordeau	November 12 1993
UFC 2	None	Royce Gracie	Patrick Smith	March 11 1994
UFC 3	None	Steve Jennum	Harold Howard	September 9 1994
UFC 4	None	Royce Gracie	Dan Severn	December 16 1994
UFC 5	None	Dan Severn	Dave Beneteau	February 16 1995
UFC 6	None	Oleg Taktarov	David Abbott	July 14 1995
UFC 7	None	Marco Ruas	Paul Varelans	September 8 1995
The Ultimate Ultimate	None	Dan Severn	Oleg Taktarov	December 16 1995
UFC 8	None	Don Frye	Gary Goodridge	February 16 1996
UFC 10	None	Mark Coleman	Don Frye	July 12 1996
UFC 11	None	Mark Coleman	Scott Ferrozzo	September 20 1996
The Ultimate Ultimate 2	None	Don Frye	David Abbott	December 7 1996
UFC 12	Heavyweight	Vitor Belfort	Scott Ferrozzo	February 7 1997
UFC 12	Lightweight	Jerry Bohlander	Nick Sanzo	February 7 1997
UFC 13	Heavyweight	Randy Couture	Steven Graham	May 30 1997
UFC 13	Lightweight	Guy Mezger	Tito Ortiz	May 30 1997
UFC 14	Heavyweight	Mark Kerr	Dan Bobish	July 27 1997
UFC 14	Middleweight	Kevin Jackson	Tony Fryklund	July 27 1997
UFC 15	Heavyweight	Mark Kerr	Dwayne Cason	October 17 1997
Ultimate Japan	Heavyweight	Kazushi Sakuraba	Marcus Silveira	December 21 1997
UFC 16	Lightweight	Pat Miletich	Chris Brennan	March 13 1998
UFC 17	Middleweight	Dan Henderson	Carlos Newton	May 15 1998
Ultimate Japan 2	Middleweight	Kenichi Yamamoto	Shamoji Fujii	November 14 1999
The Ultimate Fighter 1	Light heavyweight	Forrest Griffin	Stephan Bonnar	April 9 2005
The Ultimate Fighter 1	Middleweight	Diego Sanchez	Kenny Florian	April 9 2005
The Ultimate Fighter 2	Heavyweight	Rashad Evans	Brad Imes	November 5 2005
The Ultimate Fighter 2	Welterweight	Joe Stevenson	Luke Cummo	November 5 2005
The Ultimate Fighter 3	Middleweight	Kendall Grove	Ed Herman	June 24 2006
The Ultimate Fighter 3	Light heavyweight	Michael Bisping	Josh Haynes	June 24 2006
The Ultimate Fighter 4	Middleweight	Travis Lutter	Patrick Côté	November 11 2006
The Ultimate Fighter 4	Welterweight	Matt Serra	Chris Lytle	November 11 2006
The Ultimate Fighter 5	Lightweight	Nathan Diaz	Manvel Gamburyan	June 23 2007

References

General

"Title Holders". UFC. 2007. Retrieved 2007-08-12. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
"Previous Title Holders". UFC. 2007. Retrieved 2007-08-12. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

Specific

^ "UFC Championship Lineage". The Orange County Register. July 2, 2007. Retrieved 2007-09-14. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
^ Plotz, David (1999-11-07). "Fight Clubbed". Slate. Retrieved 2007-03-21. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
^ 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. {{cite book}}: |edition= has extra text (help); Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help); Check date values in: |year= (help)CS1 maint: year (link)
^ "Mixed Martial Arts Unified Rules of Conduct". New Jersey State Athletic Control Board. 2000. Retrieved 2007-09-08. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)CS1 maint: year (link)
^ Trembow, Ivan (2000). "New Jersey Commission Corrects Mainstream UFC Stories" (Reprint). MMA Weekly. Retrieved 2007-09-08. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)CS1 maint: year (link)
^ Rutten, Bas. "Bas Rutten Biography". Retrieved 2007-09-12.
^ Iole, Kevin (August 14, 2004). "UFC fighter flunks drug test". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved 2007-09-12. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
^ Fitzgerald, Tom (November 26, 2006). "Fighting outside the box". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2007-09-12. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
^ "UFC Strips Mir of Heavyweight Belt, Arlovski New Champion". Sherdog. August 13, 2005. Retrieved 2007-09-12. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
^ Iole, Kevin (September 22, 2006). "Penn won't be content with welterweight title". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved 2007-09-12. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

[1] "UFC Championship Lineage". The Orange County Register. July 2, 2007. Retrieved 2007-09-14. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

[2] Plotz, David (1999-11-07). "Fight Clubbed". Slate. Retrieved 2007-03-21. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

[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. {{cite book}}: |edition= has extra text (help); Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help); Check date values in: |year= (help)CS1 maint: year (link)

[4] "Mixed Martial Arts Unified Rules of Conduct". New Jersey State Athletic Control Board. 2000. Retrieved 2007-09-08. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)CS1 maint: year (link)

[5] Trembow, Ivan (2000). "New Jersey Commission Corrects Mainstream UFC Stories" (Reprint). MMA Weekly. Retrieved 2007-09-08. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)CS1 maint: year (link)

[6] Rutten, Bas. "Bas Rutten Biography". Retrieved 2007-09-12.

[7] Iole, Kevin (August 14, 2004). "UFC fighter flunks drug test". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved 2007-09-12. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

[8] Fitzgerald, Tom (November 26, 2006). "Fighting outside the box". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2007-09-12. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

[9] "UFC Strips Mir of Heavyweight Belt, Arlovski New Champion". Sherdog. August 13, 2005. Retrieved 2007-09-12. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

[10] Iole, Kevin (September 22, 2006). "Penn won't be content with welterweight title". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved 2007-09-12. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

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