Let's look at all you need to know about UFC Bantamweight Division.
UFC Bantamweight Division
Bantamweight is a weight class in combat sports. In MMA, the Bantamweight Division is within 126-135 lbs (57.2-61.2 kg). The Bantamweight Division sits between the Flyweight Division (116-125 lbs) and the Featherweight Division.
Current Bantamweight Champion- 2024
The current UFC Bantamweight Champion is Sean O'Malley (17-1-0 (1NC))
At UFC 292, Sean O'Malley defeated Aljamain Sterling to become the new bantamweight champion. O'Malley was declared victor via a TKO in the second round.
Latest Results from UFC Bantamweight
| Date | Fight | Method | Round | Result |
| March 23, 2024 | Payton Talbott vs. Cameron Saaiman | TKO (punches) | R2 (0:21) | Payton Talbott def. Cameron Saaiman |
| March 23, 2024 | Miles Johns vs. Cody Gibson | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27) | R3 (5:00) | Miles Johns def. Cody Gibson |
UFC Bantamweight Rankings 2024
| Rank | Fighter | Record | M | Win Streak | Result | Last fight | Next fight |
| C | Sean O'Malley | 18–1 (1 NC) | 3 (1 def) | Win | UFC 299 Marlon Vera | TBD | |
| 1 | Merab Dvalishvili | 17–4 | 10 | Win | UFC 298 Henry Cejudo | TBD | |
| 2 | Cory Sandhagen | 17–4 | 3 | Win | UFC on ESPN 50 Rob Font | UFC on ABC 7 Umar Nurmagomedov | |
| 3 | Petr Yan | 17–5 | 1 | Win | UFC 299 Song Yadong | TBD | |
| 4 | Marlon Vera | 23–9–1 | 0 | Loss | UFC 299 Sean O'Malley | TBD | |
| 5 | Henry Cejudo | 16–4 | 0 | Loss | UFC 298 Merab Dvalishvili | TBD | |
| 6 | Deiveson Figueiredo | 23–3–1 | 2 | Win | UFC 300 Cody Garbrandt | TBD | |
| 7 | Song Yadong | 21–7–1 (1 NC) | 0 | Loss | UFC 299 Petr Yan | TBD | |
| 8 | José Aldo | 32–8 | 1 | Win | UFC 301 Jonathan Martinez | TBD | |
| 9 | Rob Font | 20–8 | −1 | 0 | Loss | UFC on ESPN 52 Deiveson Figueiredo | TBD |
| 10 | Umar Nurmagomedov | 17–0 | −1 | 17 | Win | UFC Fight Night 238 Bekzat Almakhan | UFC on ABC 7 Cory Sandhagen |
| 11 | Kyler Phillips | 12–2 | −1 | 3 | Win | UFC 299 Pedro Munhoz | TBD |
| 12 | Dominick Cruz | 24–4 | −1 | 0 | Loss | UFC on ESPN 41 Marlon Vera | TBD |
| 13 | Mario Bautista | 14–2 | 6 | Win | UFC Fight Night 234 Ricky Simón | TBD | |
| 14 | Jonathan Martinez | 19–5 | −2 | 0 | Loss | UFC 301 José Aldo | TBD |
| 15 | Pedro Munhoz | 20–9 (2 NC) | 0 | Loss | UFC 299 Kyler Phillips | TBD |
Check Out: All the Weight Classes from UFC
History of Bantamweight Class
Before the 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 simultaneously awarded the inaugural UFC Bantamweight Championship.
At UFC 173, T.J. Dillashaw defeated Renan Barao to win the UFC Bantamweight Championship. At UFC Fight Night: Dillashaw vs Cruz, Dominick Cruz became the first-ever two-time Bantamweight Champion. At UFC 207, Cruz lost the title to Cody Garbrandt, who eventually lost it to Dillashaw, making the latter a two-time division champion.
Due to a failed drug test, Dillashaw vacated his title in March 2019. After winning the vacant title at UFC 238 and defending it at UFC 249, Cejudo became the fourth UFC fighter to hold titles in two different weight classes (Flyweight and Bantamweight) simultaneously and the second to defend titles in two other weight divisions.
Petr Yan defeated Jose Aldo at UFC 251 and became the current UFC Bantamweight Champion.
In his first title defense, Yan faced #1 ranked Bantamweight Aljamain Sterling at UFC 259 on March 6, 2021, and lost the title by disqualification due to an intentional illegal knee landed by him in the fourth round to Sterling.
Sterling couldn't continue the fight any further due to a concussion, and the doctor recommended stopping the fight, thus making him the new UFC Bantamweight champion. This is the first-ever title change caused by disqualification in UFC history.
Sterling then defended his belt against Petr Yan, T.J. Dillashaw, and Henry Cejudo.
Sterling's next title defense was against Sean O'Malley at UFC 292, where he lost the championship via a TKO in the second round, making O'Malley the new bantamweight champion.
UFC Weight Divisions
Men
Women
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*Last Updated on May 12, 2024
FAQs On UFC Bantamweight Division
A. The division's name is derived from bantam chickens in mixed martial arts.
A. In UFC, bantamweight is classified as between 126 to 135 lb.
A. Sean O'Malley is the current bantamweight champion.
A. Aljamain Sterling recently announced that he is moving up to the featherweight (145 lbs) division.
