3 fighters who won the UFC title in their hometown

The location of the UFC's next heavyweight championship fight has been released and it looks set to be right in the challenger's back yard. Derrick Lewis, who looks set to take on the current champion, Francis Ngannou, will have the chance to win a UFC belt in his hometown of Houston, Texas.

Lewis has previously fought for a UFC title, although it was at UFC 230 which took place at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. If he is able to defeat Ngannou, Lewis will be able to add his name to a small list of select champions who won gold in front of their home crowd.

The following list details three fighters who were able to do just that and win a UFC title in their place of residence.

Three fighters who won the UFC title in their hometown

#3 Georges St-Pierre

French-Canadian UFC legend Georges St-Pierre first won his UFC welterweight title at UFC 65, which was located in Sacramento, California. However, St-Pierre later lost that title in a shock KO loss to Matt Serra.

He would be given the opportunity to redeem that loss, and this time do it in front of hometown fans. UFC 83 took place at the Bell Center in Montreal Quebec. St-Pierre had already picked up the interim welterweight title, defeating Matt Hughes in a rubber match.

He now faced off against the only man to ever KO him. Whilst the anticipation was high, St-Pierre did not repeat his previous mistakes, this time dominating Serra and picking up a TKO victory, much to the delight of the Canadian fans in attendance.

#2 Weili Zhang

In 2019, Weili Zhang made history by becoming the first Chinese champion in UFC history. The fight took place at UFC Fight Night 157, and saw Zhang take on the women's strawweight champion at the time, Jessica Andrade. Andrade had just KO'd Rose Namajunas and was looking to put together a series of title defenses.

However, the fight was located in Shenzen, China and Zhang was not about to lose in front of her hometown fans. Zhang blitzed Andrade and knocked her out in the first round. This win announced Chinese MMA to the world and led to a huge rise in Chinese MMA talent being recognized by the UFC.

#1 Anthony Pettis

After winning the WEC lightweight title against Benson Henderson, Anthony Pettis made his way over to the UFC. He was quickly followed over by Henderson, who was keen to exact revenge.

Both men ammassed impressive win streaks in the UFC, with Henderson picking up the UFC title. However, Pettis would soon step up as a challenger for Henderson, with the fight taking place in Pettis' hometown of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Pettis was able to get the dream win, submitting Henderson in front of thousands of his fans and taking the UFC lightweight belt.

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