# Who is the greatest UFC heavyweight champion of all time?

> The UFC heavyweight division has seen scientific freaks of nature and stone-cold technicians trade knockout power at the highest level. Who stands as the greatest champion ever to hold the big belt?

*By YPB Team · Published May 18, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/who-is-the-greatest-ufc-heavyweight-champion-of-all-time*

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## Current results (0 votes)

1. **Stipe Miocic**
   The longest-reigning heavyweight champion in UFC history with a record four consecutive title defenses, a two-time champion who fought legends like Cormier, Ngannou, and Velasquez.
2. **Jon Jones**
   The former light heavyweight GOAT who moved up to claim the UFC heavyweight title in 2023 by submitting Ciryl Gane, cementing his case as the best ever.
3. **Randy Couture**
   Three-time UFC heavyweight champion who kept reinventing himself across different eras, known for gruff determination and masterful clinch work.
4. **Daniel Cormier**
   A two-division champion who added the heavyweight belt by knocking out Stipe Miocic, renowned for his technical wrestling and finishing ability.
5. **Cain Velasquez**
   A ferocious brawler and wrestling specialist who dominated the division with unmatched cardio, holding the title twice before injuries cut his reign short.
6. **Francis Ngannou**
   The hardest puncher ever recorded by science, Ngannou held the UFC heavyweight title from 2021–2023 with knockout power that shook the sport.
7. **Fabricio Werdum**
   Brazilian submission specialist who shocked the world by submitting Fedor Emelianenko and later became undisputed UFC heavyweight champion in 2015.
8. **Junior dos Santos**
   Brazilian knockout artist known as 'Cigano', the former UFC heavyweight champion whose right hand was one of the most dangerous weapons in the division.
9. **Frank Mir**
   Two-time interim UFC heavyweight champion and devastating submission finisher, one of the most technically skilled grapplers ever in the division.
10. **Brock Lesnar**
   WWE star turned UFC heavyweight champion, whose freakish athleticism and wrestling base let him dominate the heavyweights despite a limited MMA career.
11. **Tom Aspinall**
   The current-era British heavyweight sensation, interim champion known for electrifying first-round finishes and the most feared striking in today's division.
12. **Andrei Arlovski**
   Belarusian striker and former UFC heavyweight champion whose cat-like footwork and technical boxing were ahead of the division's time in the mid-2000s.
13. **Tim Sylvia**
   Two-time UFC heavyweight champion and one of the division's dominant gate-keepers of the mid-2000s, known for his 6'8" frame and jab-heavy game plan.
14. **Mark Coleman**
   The original 'Hammer' and UFC 10 tournament winner, widely regarded as the godfather of ground-and-pound who laid the blueprint for the modern heavyweight.
15. **Kevin Randleman**
   An explosive collegiate wrestling champion turned UFC heavyweight titleholder, whose athletic gifts were rarely matched in the early 2000s era.
16. **Ricco Rodriguez**
   UFC 43 tournament winner and former heavyweight champion, a skilled jiu-jitsu practitioner who briefly reigned before falling to Tim Sylvia.

Tags: sports, ufc, legends, fighting, mma