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Each UFC weight class has its own rich history when it comes to the Championships.
While some weight classes have seen long-reigning champions, others have witnessed fighters struggling to keep the gold around their waist. Either way, UFC championships are always an area of interest for the fans and the fighters.
Over the years, we’ve seen many dominating champions in the UFC and as mentioned earlier, each weight class has a different story to tell. So based on some numbers, we will be trying to list out five of the best UFC champions across weight classes.
We have already covered the Women’s Weight classes so this list will only be taking a look at the male fighters. So without further ado, here are 5 best UFC champions across weight classes.
#5 Featherweight: Jose Aldo
Jose Aldo’s dominance in the Featherweight division dates back to WEC. He became the Featherweight champion of the promotion in November 2009 and defended the title on two occasions before they merged with the UFC.
After the merger, UFC decided to crown Aldo as the UFC Featherweight champion and did the same in a ceremony held just before UFC 123. Though it was not a graceful way to become champion, Aldo proved all his doubters wrong when he held the title for 1848 days.
He defended the gold seven times in this time frame and defeated names like Frankie Edgar, Chad Mendes, Ricardo Lamas and Kenny Florian among others.
Though Aldo was such a dominant champion, his title reign and brilliance as a featherweight champion is currently overshadowed by the 13-second knockout defeat that he suffered against Conor McGregor.
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#4 Light Heavyweight: Jon Jones
Jon Jones might not have the best track record when it comes to PEDs but that doesn’t mean he is a bad fighter. In fact, he is one of the best fighters that have stepped into the Octagon. Jones underlined this fact when he won the UFC Light Heavyweight championship at UFC 128. He was 23 at that time.
He went on to defend the title eight times and outclassed legendary names like Quinton Jackson, Lyoto Machida, Rashad Evans, Vitor Belfort and Chael Sonnen among others.
Let’s also not forget the wins he secured against Alexander Gustafsson, Glover Teixeira and Daniel Cormier during his run as the champion. When all was done and dusted, Jones held the title for a whopping 1501 days before he was stripped due to his involvement in a hit-and-run case.
To be precise, he never lost the title in the first place. Despite such an impressive resume to showcase it’s sad that Jones is always in the headlines for the bad reasons.
#3 Middleweight: Anderson Silva
When talking about great UFC champions, it’s hard to exclude Anderson Silva. The Brazilian still holds the record for the longest title reign in UFC history as he held the Middleweight championship for 2,457 days.
The reign started at UFC 64 when Silva knocked out Rich Franklin to win the title. He then went on to defend it 10 times and defeated some big names like Dan Henderson, Chael Sonnen, Demian Maia, and Vitor Belfort in the process.
This legendary reign, however, came to an end at UFC 162 when Chris Weidman produced one of the biggest upsets in UFC history.
After this defeat, Silva lost three fights and won just one. Though he is currently light years away from his old self, the iconic reign that Silva had as the UFC Middleweight championship is enough to get him a spot on this list.
#2 Welterweight: Georges St. Pierre
When Anderson Silva was showcasing his dominance in the Middleweight division, Georges St. Pierre was having a similar run in the Welterweight division. After a forgettable first spell as the Welterweight champion, GSP won the title back in April 2008 by defeating Matt Serra.
This marked the start of a lengthy title reign that ran over 2000 days and nine title defences. GSP seemed unstoppable during this time frame and defeated names like BJ Penn, Carlos Condit, Nick Diaz and Jake Shields.
While almost all the nine defences were memorable, the most memorable one perhaps was the war that GSP had against Johny Hendricks. GSP required a split decision to win the fight and after the showdown, he decided to retire from the sport as well.
The Canadian, however, returned in 2017 after a four-year layoff and went on to defeat Michael Bisping for the UFC Middleweight championship.
#1 Flyweight: Demetrious Johnson
Though Demetrious Johnson is hands down the best champion in UFC history, he barely got the recognition for it. He won the UFC Flyweight championship at UFC 152 after defeating Joseph Benavidez in the final of a 4-man tournament.
After this win, there was no looking back for Johnson. He went on to defend the title 11 times which is still a record in the UFC. John Dodson, John Moraga, Henry Cejudo, and Ray Borg are just some of the names that Johnson defeated during this dominant run.
In total, Johnson held the title for 2142 days before he was dethroned by Henry Cejudo at UFC 227. Johnson then decided to move away from the UFC and signed with ONE Championship.
Although Johnson did not get the mainstream attention like most of the other names in the list, as a champion, he did what he had to do and the numbers back it up.
What do you think of the list? Did we miss out any champions? Let us know in the comments section below.
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