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Over the course of it's 25-year history, the UFC has seen plenty of titles change hands and there have been numerous distinctive Championship reigns in that time. However, there have also been many title runs so brief that there are almost lost to history.
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This countdown looks at the five shortest such reigns inside the Octagon.
#5 Holly Holm (Bantamweight Champion, 111 days)
Holly Holm shocked the world at UFC 193, when she ended the Bantamweight title reign of the undefeated, Ronda Rousey.
Dominating Rousey with her superior striking skills, the former boxer, delivered a crushing roundhouse kick to Rousey's head and ended the fight with punches to win the Championship.
However, despite the incredible victory to earn the title, Holm's reign was ended in her first defence by Miesha Tate at UFC 196.
Holm's win/loss record ever since has been spotty and she lost her only other title opportunity versus Cris Cyborg when she stepped down in weight to challenge for the Featherweight title. Holm has a long road ahead if she is to reclaim the belt that she won so memorably in 2015.
#4 BJ Penn (Welterwight Championship, 107 days)
BJ Penn sprung a surprise back at UFC 46 when he defeated long-time UFC Welterweight Champion, Matt Hughes via submission to win the Championship.
Penn was overcome by emotion following the bout but in a shock to many, he decided to jump ship from the UFC to the K-1 organisation. As a result he had to vacate the Welterweight title after just 107 days.
Penn would return to the UFC many times over the years but would never recapture Welterweight gold. One wonders what might have been had he not joined K-1. The super-talented, Penn, would likely have reigned as Champion much longer.
#3 Dave Menne (Middleweight Championship, 105 days)
Dave Menne will forever be inscribed in the record books as the first ever UFC Middleweight Champion. However, his reign is lost to history as it ended just three months after it began.
Menne defeated Gil Castillo to win the belt at UFC 33, but then lost it at UFC 35. Menne as unfortunate as UFC 35 saw many of it's competitors suffering from a flu-like illness. Menne continued to take anti-acid medication on his walk to the Octagon. He could not overcome the ill-effects of his illness and was downed by punches in the second round by Murilo Bustamonte.
Menne departed the UFC after the fight and did not return for another four years. His return was an unhappy won as he lost both of his fights versus Josh Koscheck and Luigi Fioravanti respectively.
Menne will forever rue his bad fortune in contracting that illness prior to UFC 35. One can only only surmise how long he would have reigned as Champion without it.
#2 Carla Esparza (Strawweight Championship, 92 days)
Like Dave Menne, Carla Esparza was also the inaugral Champion of her division. Also, similarly to Menne, her reign did not last long.
Esparza became the first ever Strawweight Champion, when she defeated Rose Namujunes in a hugely impressive performance; one that earned her "performance of the night" honours. Submitting the talented, Namujunes via rear naked choke, Esparza had laid a dominant marker for the new division.
Or so everybody though. Esparza's spell as figurehead of the Strawweights was over almost as soon as it began and she was upended by Joanna Jedrzejczyk via TKO at UFC 185. Esparza has struggled to fight her way back into contention ever since.
#1 George St. Pierre (Middleweight Championship, 33 days)
George St. Pierre won the Middleweight Championship in a memorable encounter with Champion, Michael Bisping on November 4, 2017 after four years away from the sport.
However, despite the classic fight that earned him the Championship, St. Pierre's reign ranks as by far the shortest in UFC history.
St. Pierre didn't lose the belt in the ring however, he vacated it due to injury. Suffering from ulcerative colitis, St. Pierre gave up the title, not wanting to hold up the Middleweight division.
It is surprising that one of the greats of the UFC should be front and centre of such an ignominious list but St. Pierre's nobility in giving up the title as soon after he was diagnosed is a testament to a man who puts his company before himself.
