5 UFC titles that have changed hands the most times

With a total of 12 different titles now active in the UFC, every year is almost guaranteed to see at least a couple of title changes. However, some titles seem more likely to change hands than others.

Over the years, we’ve seen some of the UFC’s titles change hands like a hot potato, with no fighters being able to truly dominate the division for a lengthy time.

Does this make those titles less credible? Of course not. In fact, it could be argued that a title that’s hard to hold onto is worth more than one that a champion can defend with ease.

Here are the five UFC titles that have changed hands the most.

Note: For the purposes of this article, interim titles have not been considered.

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#5. UFC lightweight title – 11 champions

Khabib Nurmagomedov was one of the lightweight division's most dominant champions

When the lightweight title is mentioned, names like B.J. Penn, Khabib Nurmagomedov and Frankie Edgar instantly come to mind as some of the more dominant 155-pound champions that the promotion has had.

However, surprisingly enough, the lightweight title has actually changed hands on more occasions than fans might think, with 11 different title reigns taking place over the two decades since its inauguration in February 2001.

The division’s first champion was actually one of its more dominant titleholders. Jens Pulver claimed the inaugural title by defeating Caol Uno, and then went onto defend it twice, beating Dennis Hallman and Penn.

When ‘Lil Evil’ departed the promotion due to a contract dispute in 2002, though, it took another four years to crown another champion, as Sean Sherk outpointed Kenny Florian for the vacant belt in late 2006.

It was Penn’s title reign, which began in 2008, that really put the title and the lightweight division as a whole on the map, though. ‘The Prodigy’ was the first 155lber to become a true pay-per-view draw, although his reign only lasted two years and encompassed just three defenses before he was unseated by Edgar.

Following that, the title switched hands on multiple occasions, with the likes of Anthony Pettis, Rafael dos Anjos and Eddie Alvarez having short reigns before Conor McGregor’s time as champ threw the division into flux due to his lengthy reign seeing no defenses.

In 2018, though, Nurmagomedov claimed the title and immediately brought the prestige back, holding it for 1077 days and defending it three times.

Right now, though, the title is vacant due to previous champion Charles Oliveira missing weight for his latest bout, meaning that a 12th lightweight champion will need to be crowned soon.

#4. UFC middleweight title – 11 champions

Anderson Silva held the middleweight title for nearly seven years

Given that Anderson Silva’s epic reign as middleweight champion lasted for nearly seven years and encompassed 10 successful defenses, it should probably come as a surprise of sorts to see the 185-pound title on this list.

However, for the most part, Silva is the outlier in the division’s history. Ignoring ‘The Spider’ and his epic reign, the middleweight title has moved around from fighter to fighter over the years, with Chris Weidman and current kingpin Israel Adesanya being the only two champions to manage more than two defenses.

The first UFC middleweight champion was Dave Menne, who only held the title for four months and quickly became a footnote in the promotion’s history when he lost it to Murilo Bustamante in his first defense.

In turn, a contract dispute saw Bustamante stripped of the title after his only defense. It took the promotion three years to bring it back, with Evan Tanner winning the vacant championship by defeating David Terrell in early 2005.

Just a little over a year later, Silva claimed the title from Rich Franklin. From there, it didn’t change hands until ‘The Spider’ was upset by Weidman in 2013.

Since that point, though, there have been a further six champions, bringing the middleweight title’s total to 11 overall. Given Adesanya’s current dominance, though, it could be a while before the 12th champion is crowned.

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#3. UFC welterweight title – 12 champions

Current welterweight champ Kamaru Usman has five successful title defenses to his name

The UFC welterweight title has arguably seen the majority of the promotion’s truly dominant reigns, as four of the fighters to hold it – Pat Miletich, Matt Hughes, Georges St-Pierre and Kamaru Usman - were able to put on at least four successful defenses.

Between those dominant reigns, though, the 170-pound title did switch hands on a number of occasions. The likes of B.J. Penn, Carlos Newton and Matt Serra can all count themselves as former UFC welterweight champions, but none of them were able to put on a single successful defense.

Miletich was the first welterweight titleholder, defeating Mikey Burnett for the inaugural title back in 1998. His title reign ended up lasing for nearly three years before Newton unseated him, only for Miletich protégé Hughes to take the gold from the Canadian in late 2001.

From there – Penn’s short reign notwithstanding – Hughes dominated the division until the rise of St-Pierre in 2006. Once ‘GSP’ had regained the title from Serra in 2008, he held it for over five years before vacating in 2013.

Since that point, four more fighters have held the title, with Robbie Lawler and Tyron Woodley both making a handful of defenses before Usman’s current dominant reign began in 2019.

Only time will tell whether ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ can match St-Pierre’s record of nine defenses – he’s currently on five – but it seems unlikely that anyone will dethrone him any time soon.

#2. UFC light heavyweight title – 17 champions

Jon Jones was the UFC's most dominant light-heavyweight champion

Once considered the UFC’s marquee title, the light heavyweight championship has changed hands on 17 occasions over the years, with some of the biggest names in MMA history being amongst those to hold it.

Initially known as the UFC middleweight title during Frank Shamrock’s reign as inaugural champion, a reign that saw him defend the crown on four occasions, the title was re-christened the light heavyweight title at UFC 31, when champion Tito Ortiz defeated Evan Tanner in his second defense.

At the time, Ortiz was considered the UFC’s most dominant champion, but once he was dethroned by Randy Couture in 2003, the title moved around like a hot potato for essentially the next eight years.

During that period, a total of nine champions were crowned, with only Chuck Liddell managing more than one successful title defense.

That changed in 2011, when Jon Jones claimed the title from then-champ Mauricio Rua. ‘Bones’ dominated the entire division, making eight successful defenses and never actually losing the gold in the octagon before he was stripped in 2015 due to a legal issue.

Since then, we’ve seen five more fighters hold the title, including Jones for a second time, taking the total of champions to 17, with the latest change coming last weekend when Jiri Prochazka dethroned Glover Teixeira to claim the gold.

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#1. UFC heavyweight title – 22 champions

Stipe Miocic is the UFC's most successful heavyweight champion with three defenses

The UFC title that has changed hands the most, unsurprisingly, is the heavyweight title. Dating all the way back to its inauguration in February 1997, the title has seen a total of 22 different fighters holding it, meaning there’s been a new champion almost every year.

The first UFC heavyweight champion was Mark Coleman, who claimed the title by defeating Dan Severn at UFC 12. Incredibly, none of the division’s first 18 champions were able to make more than two successful defenses, with Randy Couture, Tim Sylvia, Brock Lesnar and Cain Velasquez all falling in their third.

That record finally changed during the reign of the 19th heavyweight champion, Stipe Miocic. After knocking out Fabricio Werdum to claim the title in May 2016, Miocic was able to defend it successfully against Alistair Overeem, Junior dos Santos and Francis Ngannou before losing to Daniel Cormier.

The fact that Miocic was then able to regain the title from ‘DC’ in 2019 and make another successful defense against him before falling in a rematch with Ngannou makes him clearly the most accomplished heavyweight in UFC history.

Right now, the future of the heavyweight title is up in the air due to Ngannou’s contract dispute with the promotion, but if the history is anything to go by, it probably won’t be long before he falls and a new champion is crowned anyway.