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The UFC championships are considered to be the epitome of achievements in Mixed Martial Arts. An MMA fighter who gets hold of the title gets a special place in the history books. Though the importance of the UFC championship has taken a hit recently, it is still one of the most prized possessions in the sport.
Getting hold of the UFC championship is not an easy task. Holding on to it, meanwhile, is something more daunting. A lot of fighters have succeeded in doing the former while failing miserably at doing the latter.
In this list, we will be taking a look at some of the best UFC fighters that managed not only to win the UFC championship but also defend it on multiple occasions. So without further ado, here is the list of UFC champions with the most wins.
#5 Jose Aldo
A good portion of the MMA fans only remember Jose Aldo for the 13-second KO defeat that the Brazilian suffered against Conor McGregor. What they fail to see is the dominant run that Aldo had as the UFC Featherweight champion.
He started his run as the UFC Featherweight champion back in 2010 and managed to keep the title around his waist for five long years. In this time period, Aldo defeated names like Mark Hominick, Kenny Florian, Chad Mendes, Frankie Edgar and Chang Sung Jung among others.
When everything was done and dusted, Aldo had seven successful title defences to his name in the UFC Featherweight division. If we count his run as the WEC Featherweight champion as well, then the number goes up to nine. This stat alone would be enough to categorize Aldo as one of the best UFC champions out there. In fact, he also belongs to the list of best UFC fighters out there.
#4 Jon Jones
Jon Jones might be a controversial and polarizing figure but inside the octagon, he is a force to reckon with. He won his first UFC championship at the age of 23 by defeating Mauricio Rua at UFC 128. It was a dominating win for Jones and it started his long run as the UFC Light Heavyweight champion.
He successfully defended the title against names like Lyoto Machida, Quinton Jackson, Rashad Evans, Vitor Belfort and Chael Sonnen among others. He also had a memorable showdown with Alexander Gustafsson during this run. Four years and eight successful title defences later, Jones was stripped of the title after he violated UFC’s Athlete code of conduct policy.
Technically speaking, Jones never lost the title in the first place. After dealing with multiple issues in his personal life, Jones came back strong to reclaim the championship and it would be interesting to see whether or not he will be able to beat his previous run as champion.
#3 Georges St. Pierre
Georges St. Pierre had two reigns as the UFC Welterweight champion. His first run as the champion was something forgettable as he lost the title in his first defence itself.
His second run, on the other hand, was a historic one. He won the title by defeating Matt Serra at UFC 83 and then went on to have nine successful title defences over five years. GSP got the better of names like BJ Penn, Jake Shields, Nick Diaz, Carlos Condit and Thiago Alves among others during this run.
His last title defence of this run came against Johny Hendricks at UFC 167. It was also one of the closest fights during GSP’s run as Welterweight champion as he needed a split decision to get the win.
After this fight, GSP decided to take a break from the sport and vacated the title.
#2 Anderson Silva
Anderson Silva’s run as the UFC Middleweight champion was a historic one. He entered into the UFC back in 2006 by defeating Chris Leben at UFC Fight Night 5. In his second fight in the UFC, Silva was given a title shot and he managed to make it count.
The Brazilian defeated Rich Franklin at UFC 64 to become the Middleweight champion and no one managed to stop Anderson Silva for the next six years. He piled up ten successful title defences and defeated big names like Demian Maia, Chael Sonnen, Vitor Belfort and Forrest Griffin. Though he had only 10 title defences, he fought 16 times during this period which also earned him the record for the longest winning streak in UFC history.
Silva finally dropped the title at UFC 162 to Chris Weidman and his career has been on a dip ever since. Despite this, Silva still belongs to the list of best UFC fighters.
#1 Demetrious Johnson
Compared to his counterparts in this list, Demetrious Johnson might not be a popular figure among casual fans. But hardcore followers of the sport would know how good he is. Demetrious Johnson was the inaugural UFC Flyweight champion. The Flyweight division started off with Johnson as champion after he defeated Joseph Benavidez in the Flyweight Tournament Final.
Johnson held onto the title for five long years after this win and defended it on 11 separate occasions. Many fighters like John Dodson, Joseph Benavidez, Kyoji Horiguchi, and Henry Cejudo among others tried to take the title away from Johnson and failed.
It was pure dominance from Johnson in most of these fights and through these, he cemented his place as one of the best MMA fighters out there. He finally dropped the title in 2018 when Henry Cejudo edged out Johnson via a split decision.
Who do you think will break Johnson’s record in the future or will break into this top five list? Let us know in the comments below.
