5 UFC titles that have changed hands the most times

#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.

---

#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.