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Winning UFC gold across multiple weight divisions has only been achieved by seven fighters in history. While it's never been easy, it may never be as hard as it would be today given the wealth of talent that is now competing. However, there might just be a few prospects who are in with a chance of achieving greatness.
The first man to ever win gold in two different weight divisions was Randy Couture who won both the light heavyweight and heavyweight titles. Next came B.J. Penn and then Conor McGregor. The Irishman, McGregor, became the first fighter in history to be the champion in two different divisions simultaneously.
Since then, Georges St. Pierre, Daniel Cormier, Amanda Nunes and Henry Cejudo have extended the exclusive club's numbers to seven. Others have tried and failed, most recently Israel Adesanya, who was unable to add the light heavyweight gold to his middleweight title.
Pulling off this feat is difficult due to the stacked talent across divisions. However, that is precisely the same reason we can expect the world's best fighters to continue to pursue this goal. Perhaps the next fighter to join the champ-champ club is already on the promotion's roster.
Here are 5 UFC prospects who can win titles across multiple weight divisions:
#5. Ian Garry - UFC welterweight contender
Ian Garry made his UFC debut with an impressive first-round KO win over Jordan Williams at UFC 262. The 24-year-old's record stands at a perfect 8-0 and he has already tasted championship gold when he won the Cage Warriors welterweight title last summer.
The success 'The Future' has achieved so early on in his career indicates he could achieve great things should he continue to improve. While he seems very much at home in the welterweight division, perhaps a move up to middleweight could interest him one day.
Garry's last two amateur fights were at middleweight and he's also had a catchweight bout at 177 lbs. The young Irishman finished his opponents inside the distance in each of these fights. It seems within the realms of possibility that Garry could be successful in both divisions and it will be exciting to track his career.
#4. Nassourdine Imavov - UFC middleweight contender
Nassourdine Imavov is now four fights into his UFC career and is just starting to pop up on people's radars. While the French fighter has exclusively fought in the middleweight division since joining the promotion, prior to signing, he had spent the majority of his career competing at welterweight.
Imavov went 8-2 prior to joining the American company, with only one of those bouts coming at 185 lbs. He also won the only title of his MMA career at welterweight. The success he's had in both weight divisions suggests he is better placed to achieve this unlikely double than most.
For the moment, Imavov is ranked No.12 in the middleweight division and is coming off the back of two consecutive TKO victories. At just 25 years old, he certainly has a bright future ahead of him.
#3. Movsar Evloev - UFC featherweight contender
Movsar Evloev is another fighter who changed weight divisions upon signing with the American promotion. The Russian fighter won the M-1 Global bantamweight championship but has since made the move and has gone 5-0 in the American promotion's featherweight division.
Evloev is currently a perfect 15-0 and is ranked No.13 in the featherweight division. He's even picked up a win in a catchweight bout at 150 lbs. This puts him in a somewhat unique scenario in that he is clearly capable of having success at weight both above and below 145 lbs.
Evloev is only 27 years old meaning he still has plenty of time ahead of him. He was scheduled to fight Ilia Topuria at UFC 272 but has since withdrawn from the bout. Hopefully we get to see him return to the octagon before too long.
#2. Muhammad Mokaev - UFC flyweight contender
Muhammad Mokaev is unique to this list as he is yet to make his UFC debut. However, he is one of the most highly-rated prospects in some time having never lost in over 20 fights as an amateur. The rising star also holds a 5-0 record with one no contest at just 21 years of age.
'The Punisher' is incredibly young to be achieving what he has and he's almost picked up wins in multiple weight classes. Of his six professional fights, Mokaev has fought at 135 lbs three times, at 130 lbs twice and at 125 lbs just once, although it is at this weight he will be making his debut for the American promotion.
Mokaev is being touted as an all-time prospect and is certainly one to watch. He will be making his octagon debut against Cody Durden at the planned London event on March 19.
#1. Khamzat Chimaev - UFC welterweight contender
Khamzat Chimaev has looked flawless thus far in his MMA career. His record stands at a perfect 10-0, he's finished every opponent and only three of his opponents have made it out of the first round. On top of that, his wins have been spread fairly evenly between the welterweight and middleweight divisions.
Chimaev is ranked No.11 in the welterweight division, although half of his UFC fights have been contested at middleweight. For the moment, he appears to be focused on 170 lbs with many speculating he is just one win away from earning a shot at the champion Kamaru Usman.
Chimaev has proved he is capable of competing at an elite level at both 170 and 185 lbs. At just 27 years old, he has plenty of time to earn championship success and just maybe do so in two weight divisions.
