A few of these champions fought before the UFC had weight classes; others collected belts within the last couple of years. Title defenses, upsets and staying power all count here.
1Jon JonesWon the UFC light heavyweight title at 23 in 2011, made 11 successful defenses of that belt and added the heavyweight title in 2023.1000pts
2Brock LesnarFormer WWE and NCAA wrestling champion who took the UFC heavyweight title from Randy Couture in 2008 in only his fourth pro MMA fight.692pts
3Nate DiazStockton fighter who won The Ultimate Fighter 5 and submitted Conor McGregor at UFC 196 in 2016.581pts
4Kayla HarrisonTwo-time Olympic judo gold medalist who won the UFC women's bantamweight title from Julianna Peña at UFC 316 in 2025.546pts
5Stipe MiocicOhio firefighter who won the UFC heavyweight title in 2016, set a division record with three straight defenses and regained the belt in 2019.507pts
6Chris WeidmanKnocked out Anderson Silva at UFC 162 in 2013 to win the middleweight title, then beat Silva, Lyoto Machida and Vitor Belfort in defenses.507pts
7Robbie LawlerWon the UFC welterweight title from Johny Hendricks in 2014 and kept it with defenses against Rory MacDonald and Carlos Condit.507pts
8Aljamain SterlingWon the UFC bantamweight title in 2021 and set a division record with three defenses, against Petr Yan, T.J. Dillashaw and Henry Cejudo.507pts
9Randy CoutureHall of Famer who won the UFC heavyweight title three times and the light heavyweight title twice between 1997 and 2007.507pts
10Dominick CruzWon the WEC bantamweight title in March 2010, became the first UFC bantamweight champion by beating Scott Jorgensen at WEC 53 after the promotions merged, then regained the UFC belt from T.J. Dillashaw in 2016.464pts
11Rose NamajunasTwo-time UFC strawweight champion who beat Joanna Jędrzejczyk in 2017 and won the belt back with a head-kick knockout of Zhang Weili in 2021.464pts
12Tony FergusonUltimate Fighter 13 winner who put together a 12-fight UFC winning streak and won the interim lightweight title in 2017.464pts
13Dustin PoirierLouisiana fighter who won the interim UFC lightweight title from Max Holloway in 2019 and beat Conor McGregor twice in 2021.415pts
14Max HollowayHawaiian who won the UFC featherweight title from Jose Aldo in 2017 and knocked out Justin Gaethje in the final second at UFC 300.415pts
15Matt HughesTwo-time UFC welterweight champion who made seven title defenses across his reigns in the early 2000s.415pts
16Ken ShamrockWon the UFC Superfight Championship in 1995 and was inducted with Royce Gracie as the first members of the UFC Hall of Fame in 2003.360pts
17Sean O'MalleyWon the UFC bantamweight title by knocking out Aljamain Sterling at UFC 292 in 2023.360pts
18Tyron WoodleyKnocked out Robbie Lawler for the UFC welterweight title in 2016 and defended it four times.360pts
19Daniel CormierWon the UFC light heavyweight title in 2015 and the heavyweight title from Stipe Miocic in 2018, holding both belts at once.360pts
20Henry Cejudo2008 Olympic wrestling gold medalist who beat Demetrious Johnson for the flyweight title in 2018 and added the bantamweight belt in 2019.360pts
21Miesha TateSubmitted Holly Holm at UFC 196 in March 2016 to become UFC women's bantamweight champion.360pts
22Rashad EvansWinner of The Ultimate Fighter 2 who knocked out Forrest Griffin at UFC 92 in 2008 to become light heavyweight champion.360pts
23BJ PennHawaiian who won the UFC welterweight title from Matt Hughes in 2004 and later reigned as lightweight champion from 2008 to 2010.360pts
24Justin GaethjeArizona native who won the interim UFC lightweight title from Tony Ferguson in 2020 and the BMF belt from Dustin Poirier in 2023.360pts
25Belal MuhammadChicago native who won the UFC welterweight title from Leon Edwards at UFC 304 in Manchester in 2024.296pts
26Julianna PeñaUltimate Fighter 18 winner who submitted Amanda Nunes for the bantamweight title in 2021 and regained the belt in 2024.296pts
27Ronda RouseyFirst UFC women's bantamweight champion, who made six title defenses and was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in 2018.296pts
28Rich FranklinFormer math teacher who won the UFC middleweight title from Evan Tanner in 2005 and defended it twice.296pts
29Tito OrtizUFC light heavyweight champion from 2000 to 2002 who made five title defenses and joined the Hall of Fame in 2012.296pts
30Benson HendersonTook the UFC lightweight title from Frankie Edgar in 2012 and defended it three times.296pts
31TJ DillashawTwo-time UFC bantamweight champion who upset Renan Barão in 2014 and regained the title from Cody Garbrandt in 2017.223pts
32Frank ShamrockFirst UFC middleweight champion in 1997, a division later renamed light heavyweight, who defended the belt four times before leaving unbeaten in the promotion.223pts
33Demetrious JohnsonInaugural UFC flyweight champion in 2012 who made 11 consecutive title defenses, a UFC record.223pts
34Cain VelasquezWon the UFC heavyweight title from Brock Lesnar in 2010 and took it back from Junior dos Santos in 2012.138pts
35Chuck LiddellTook the UFC light heavyweight title from Randy Couture in 2005, made four defenses and entered the UFC Hall of Fame in 2009.138pts
36Holly HolmFormer world boxing champion who knocked out Ronda Rousey with a head kick at UFC 193 in 2015 to win the bantamweight title.138pts
37Frankie EdgarUpset BJ Penn for the UFC lightweight title in 2010 and held it through rematches with Penn and Gray Maynard.138pts
Photo credits
- Brock Lesnar — Diego Serrano, CC BY 2.0
- Nate Diaz — MMAnytt, CC BY 3.0
- Kayla Harrison — Agência Brasil Fotografias, CC BY 2.0
- Stipe Miocic — Erik Drost, CC BY 2.0
- Chris Weidman — Peter Gordon, CC BY 2.0
- Robbie Lawler — Atlanta Falcons, CC BY 3.0
- Aljamain Sterling — MMAnytt, CC BY 3.0
- Randy Couture — Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Rose Namajunas — Andy Grahn, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Dustin Poirier — Poatanfan24, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Ken Shamrock — Mike Kalasnik, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Tyron Woodley — Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Henry Cejudo — Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Belal Muhammad — Inaquout, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Julianna Peña — MMAnytt, CC BY 3.0
- Ronda Rousey — Shared Account, CC BY-SA 2.0
- TJ Dillashaw — Ciro616161, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Frank Shamrock — Bruno Massami, CC BY 3.0
- Demetrious Johnson — Onlyfans, CC BY 3.0
- Cain Velasquez — The Doppelganger (talk) (Adam Etheridge), CC BY-SA 3.0
- Chuck Liddell — U.S, CC BY 2.0
- Holly Holm — MMAnytt, CC BY 3.0
- Frankie Edgar — Jemaleddin Cole, CC BY-SA 2.0
