UFC Bantamweight

Last Modified Mar 03, 2024 11:02 GMT

Let's look at all you need to know about UFC Bantamweight Division.


UFC Bantamweight Division


Bantamweight is a weight class in combat sports. In MMA, the Bantamweight Division is within 126-135 lbs (57.2-61.2 kg). The Bantamweight Division sits between the Flyweight Division (116-125 lbs) and the Featherweight Division.


Current Bantamweight Champion- 2024


The current UFC Bantamweight Champion is Sean O'Malley (17-1-0 (1NC))


UFC 292: Sterling v O'Malley
UFC 292: Sterling v O'Malley


At UFC 292, Sean O'Malley defeated Aljamain Sterling to become the new bantamweight champion. O'Malley was declared victor via a TKO in the second round.



Latest Results from UFC Bantamweight


Date Fight MethodRound Result
March 2, 2024
Umar Nurmagomedov vs. Bekzat Almakhan
Decision (unanimous) (30–25, 30–26, 30–26)R3 (5:00)
Umar Nurmagomedov def. Bekzat Almakhan
March 2, 2024
Vinicius Oliveira vs. Bernardo Sopaj
KO (flying knee)R3 (4:41)
Vinicius Oliveira def. Bernardo Sopaj
March 2, 2024
Aiemann Zahabi vs. Javid Basharat
Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28)R3 (5:00)
Aiemann Zahabi def. Javid Basharat


UFC Bantamweight Rankings 2024

RankFighterRecordMWin StreakResultLast fightNext fight
CSean O'Malley17–1
(1 NC)
2
(0 def)
WinUFC 292 Aljamain Sterling
UFC 299 Marlon Vera
1Merab Dvalishvili17–4110WinUFC 298 Henry CejudoTBD
2Aljamain Sterling23–4−10LossUFC 292 Sean O'Malley
UFC 300 Calvin Kattar
3Cory Sandhagen17–413WinUFC on ESPN 50 Rob FontTBD
4Petr Yan16–510LossUFC Fight Night 221 Merab Dvalishvili
UFC 299 Song Yadong
5Marlon Vera23–8–111WinUFC 292 Pedro Munhoz
UFC 299 Sean O'Malley
6Henry Cejudo16–4−30LossUFC 298 Merab DvalishviliTBD
7Song Yadong21–6–1
(1 NC)
2WinUFC Fight Night 233 Chris Gutiérrez
UFC 299 Petr Yan
8Deiveson Figueiredo22–3–1 1WinUFC on ESPN 52 Rob Font
UFC 300 Cody Garbrandt
9Rob Font20–8 0LossUFC on ESPN 52 Deiveson FigueiredoTBD
10Jonathan Martinez19–4 6WinUFC Fight Night 230 Adrian YanezTBD
11Dominick Cruz24–4 0LossUFC on ESPN 41 Marlon VeraTBD
12Pedro Munhoz20–8
(2 NC)
0LossUFC 292 Marlon Vera
UFC 299 Kyler Phillips
13Umar Nurmagomedov17–0 17WinUFC Fight Night 238 Bekzat AlmakhanTBD
14Mario Bautista14–2 6WinUFC Fight Night 234 Ricky SimónTBD
15Ricky Simón20–5 0LossUFC Fight Night 234 Mario BautistaTBD


Check Out: All the Weight Classes from UFC


History of Bantamweight Class


Before the UFC-WEC merger, Dominick Cruz was the WEC Bantamweight Champion. At WEC 53, Cruz defeated Scott Jorgensen to retain the WEC Bantamweight Championship and was simultaneously awarded the inaugural UFC Bantamweight Championship.


At UFC 173, T.J. Dillashaw defeated Renan Barao to win the UFC Bantamweight Championship. At UFC Fight Night: Dillashaw vs Cruz, Dominick Cruz became the first-ever two-time Bantamweight Champion. At UFC 207, Cruz lost the title to Cody Garbrandt, who eventually lost it to Dillashaw, making the latter a two-time division champion.


Due to a failed drug test, Dillashaw vacated his title in March 2019. After winning the vacant title at UFC 238 and defending it at UFC 249, Cejudo became the fourth UFC fighter to hold titles in two different weight classes (Flyweight and Bantamweight) simultaneously and the second to defend titles in two other weight divisions.


Petr Yan defeated Jose Aldo at UFC 251 and became the current UFC Bantamweight Champion.


In his first title defense, Yan faced #1 ranked Bantamweight Aljamain Sterling at UFC 259 on March 6, 2021, and lost the title by disqualification due to an intentional illegal knee landed by him in the fourth round to Sterling.


Sterling couldn't continue the fight any further due to a concussion, and the doctor recommended stopping the fight, thus making him the new UFC Bantamweight champion. This is the first-ever title change caused by disqualification in UFC history.


Sterling then defended his belt against Petr Yan, T.J. Dillashaw, and Henry Cejudo.


Sterling's next title defense was against Sean O'Malley at UFC 292, where he lost the championship via a TKO in the second round, making O'Malley the new bantamweight champion.


UFC Weight Divisions


Men

  1. Heavyweight
  2. Light Heavyweight
  3. Middleweight
  4. Welterweight
  5. Lightweight
  6. Featherweight
  7. Bantamweight
  8. Flyweight


Women

  1. Featherweight
  2. Bantamweight
  3. Flyweight
  4. Strawweight


Click for more UFC Rankings.


*Last Updated on March 3, 2024

FAQs

Q. Why do they call it bantamweight?

A. The division's name is derived from bantam chickens in mixed martial arts. 

Q. How many kg is a bantamweight in UFC?

A. In UFC, bantamweight is classified as between 126 to 135 lb.

Q. Who is the current Bantamweight Champion?

A. Sean O'Malley is the current bantamweight champion.

Q. Is Aljamain Sterling still a bantamweight?

A. Aljamain Sterling recently announced that he is moving up to the featherweight (145 lbs) division.