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There have been twelve UFC welterweight champions since the division was created in 1998. UFC welterweight title fights have featured massive upsets, legendary slams, and close decisions.
The 170-pound division has been home to some of the best fighters, rivalries, and champions in MMA. However, certain champions stand out among the others. Here are the top 5 greatest UFC welterweight champions in history.
5. Tyron Woodley
One of the most polarising UFC welterweight champions in the promotion’s history. Tyron Woodley became the welterweight champ after brutally knocking out ex-training partner Robbie Lawler at UFC 201.
He went on to defend the title four times. His first two defenses came against Stephen 'Wonderboy' Thompson. The first fight at UFC 205 was an epic battle that ended in a majority draw. The rematch at UFC 209 was a forgettable affair with Woodley winning by majority decision.
‘The Chosen One’ then faced Demian Maia at UFC 214. After injuring his shoulder in the first round, Woodley easily won a unanimous decision. The up-and-coming Englishman Darren Till was the next challenger for Woodley at UFC 228. The reigning champion submitted Till in the second round.
Woodley would eventually lose the welterweight belt to Kamaru Usman at UFC 235 by unanimous decision.
4. Pat Miletich
Pat Miletich was the first-ever UFC welterweight champion. He won the title by beating Mikey Burnett at UFC Brazil on October 16th, 1998. Miletich would defend the welterweight belt four times.
His first defense was against Jorge Patino at UFC 18, and Miletich won the fight by unanimous decision. He then defended the title by stopping Andre Pederneiras (Jose Aldo’s head coach) at UFC 21. John Alessio was Miltech’s next challenger. He submitted him in the second round to retain the welterweight title.
At UFC 29 in Tokyo, he submitted challenger Kenichi Yamamoto to defend the title for the fourth time. The inaugural UFC welterweight champion finally lost his title to Carlos Newton at UFC 31. He was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in 2014.
3. Kamaru Usman
Current UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman deserves to be on this list. Undefeated in the UFC, Usman won the championship by dominating Tyron Woodley at UFC 235.
Longtime rival Colby Covington was Usman’s first title challenger at UFC 245. In one of the greatest UFC welterweight title fights, the champion Usman was able to outlast Covington and knock him out in the final round.
He was scheduled to face former teammate Gilbert Burns next but due to Burns contracting Covid-19 Jorge Masvidal stepped in on two weeks’ notice. Usman easily outwrestled ‘Gamebred’ to retain his title at UFC 251.
His third defense was against Gilbert Burns. After being hurt early in round one, Usman rallied to knock out Burns in the third round. He is now on a historic 13 fight win streak in the UFC.
2. Matt Hughes
At his peak, Matt Hughes was considered the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world.
He won the title at UFC 34 when he knocked out Carlos Newton by slamming him in the middle of the octagon.
Hughes would go on an amazing run where he defended the welterweight championship six times, at UFC 34, 36, 38, 40, 42, and UFC 45.
He went on to lose BJ Penn at UFC 46. Hughes would regain the title at UFC 50 when he submitted Georges St-Pierre in the last second of the first round. The two-time UFC champ then defended the belt on two more occasions, including a victory over rival BJ Penn at UFC 63.
The legendary welterweight title run would end at the hands of Georges St-Pierre at UFC 65. Hughes was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in 2010.
1. Georges St-Pierre
Georges ‘Rush’ St-Pierre is arguably the greatest MMA fighter in history. The French-Canadian won the title when he defeated Matt Hughes at UFC 65.
He immediately lost the title to Matt Serra in the biggest upset in UFC history at UFC 69. GSP regained the welterweight title when he demolished Matt Serra in their rematch at UFC 83 in front of his home fans in Montreal.
St-Pierre then defended the UFC welterweight title a record nine times from 2008 to 2013. He became one of the biggest pay-per-view draws during this time. After narrowly beating Johny Hendricks at UFC 167, GSP stepped away from MMA and relinquished the title.
In 2017, ‘Rush’ returned to challenge Michael Bisping for the UFC middleweight championship at UFC 217. GSP won by submission in the third round to become a two-division UFC champion. St-Pierre decided to step away from the UFC again, vacating the middleweight championship.
St-Pierre officially announced his retirement on February 21, 2019. He was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in 2020.
