5 UFC fighters who could become the first triple champion in different weight classes

Conor McGregor (pictured) could become the first UFC fighter to win titles in three weight divisions.
Conor McGregor (pictured) could become the first UFC fighter to win titles in three weight divisions.

#4. Charles Oliveira - UFC lightweight champion

Oliveira has competed at featherweight, lightweight, and welterweight.
Oliveira has competed at featherweight, lightweight, and welterweight.

UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira might be better placed than many to become a three-division titleholder as he would not face a considerable size disadvantage in the divisions. Oliveira has competed at featherweight in the past. He would likely pursue that belt and the welterweight title to pull this off.

Oliveira has indicated that he is interested in pursuing both of these belts, and sitting between the two weight divisions gives him a good chance. While cutting down to featherweight might be difficult, should he do so, he would have a considerable size advantage over current champion Alexander Volkanoski.

A fight at welterweight, however, would likely be a trickier proposition. What hurts Oliveira’s chances is that he will have to beat two of the best champions in the sport, Volkanovski, and Kamaru Usman, to do so. There is also not a ton of demand to see him in these fights, so you wonder if he’ll even get the opportunity to try.


#3. Israel Adesanya - UFC middleweight champion

Israel Adesanya has competed at middleweight and light heavyweight.
Israel Adesanya has competed at middleweight and light heavyweight.

Israel Adesanya has already attempted to become a multi-division champion. While he was unsuccessful in his first attempt to win light heavyweight gold against Jan Blachowicz, he wasn’t too far away and has indicated he would like to try this again.

‘The Last Stylebender’ owns the middleweight gold and may like his chances against current light heavyweight champion Glover Teixeira. The issue, then, is that it would be difficult to jump up to the heavyweight division. However, Adesanya does have experience competing in that division in kickboxing.

If Adesanya were able to win the belt at 205lbs, he would then be just one strike away from potentially becoming the first three-division world champion. Given his striking prowess, he might be able to pull that off. To do so, Adesanya would have to focus on bulking up, which he hasn’t committed to in the past.

Quick Links