UFC Champions 2023

Last Modified Sep 24, 2023 05:07 GMT


DivisionChampionDate SinceDefenses
HeavyweightJon Jones4-March-2023-
Light HeavyweightVacant14-July-2023-
MiddleweightIsrael Adesanya 8-April-20230
WelterweightLeon Edwards20-August-20221
LightweightIslam Makhachev21-October -20221
FeatherweightAlexander Volkanovski14-December-20194
BantamweightSean O'Malley19-August-20230
FlyweightAlexandre Pantoja8-July-20230
Women's FeatherweightAmanda Nunes29-December-20182
Women's BantamweightAmanda Nunes30-July-20221
Women's FlyweightAlexa Grasso4-March-20231
Women's StrawweightZhang Weili12-November-20221



Above is the list of all current UFC Champions concerning their weight classes.


Ultimate Fighting Championships (UFC) champions are fighters who have won and held UFC Championships concerning their weight classes and divisions. At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, MMA was unsanctioned in the US and did not include any weight classes. However, in 1997, UFC introduced weight-specific titles, starting with UFC 12.


UFC Champions
UFC Champions


By UFC 31, the Ultimate Fighting Championship had had five active weight divisions: Lightweight, Welterweight, Middleweight, Light Heavyweight, and Heavyweight.


In 2010, the UFC would expand its lower weight classes, and the first addition came in late 2010 when the UFC merged with its sister organization World Extreme Cagefighting and the Featherweight and Bantamweight Divisions were introduced in the UFC.


In 2012, the dissolution of UFC's sister promotion Strikeforce allowed the UFC to add female fighters to their roster for the first time in the promotion's history.


There are currently 12 UFC weight classes—eight divisions for men and four for women.


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UFC Heavyweight Champion 2023


Jon Jones


SinceMarch 4, 2023
Defenses-


Jon Jones became the UFC heavyweight champion by defeating the No.1 contender Ciryl Gane at UFC 285: Jones vs. Gane on March 4, 2023.


UFC 285: Jones v Gane
UFC Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones



UFC Middleweight Champion 2023


Israel Adesanya


SinceApril 8, 2023
Defenses0


UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya
(Photo courtesy: UFC Twitter: @ufc)


Israel Adesanya became the new UFC middleweight champion by knocking out Alex Pereira at UFC 287 on April 8, 2023.




UFC Lightweight Champion 2023


Islam Makhachev


SinceMay 21, 2022
Defenses1


Islam Makhachev with his lightweight belt (photo credits: UFC Twitter: @ufc)



Islam Makhachev defeated Charles Oliveira at UFC 280 in Abu Dhabi and became the new UFC lightweight champion of the world. Makhachev submitted Oliveira in the second round with a triangle arm choke.

Makhachev is currently on an eleven-win streak in UFC. And his win over Oliveira made him the No. 2 contender in the men's pound-for-pound rankings.


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UFC Welterweight Champion 2023


Leon Edwards


SinceAugust 20, 2022
Defenses1


UFC 286: Edwards v Usman 3
UFC 286: Edwards v Usman 3


At UFC 278, former champion Kamaru Usman faced old rival Leon Edwards for a rematch, where the British fighter dethroned 'The Nigerian Nightmare' via a fifth-round KO. Leon Edwards became the new UFC welterweight champion.

On March 18, 2023, Leon Edwards successfully defended the title against Kamaru Usman for their trilogy fight at UFC 283.



UFC Featherweight Champion 2023


Alexander Volkanovski


SinceDecember 14, 2019
Defenses5


UFC 273: Volkanovski v The Korean Zombie Zombie
The featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski


At UFC 245, Alexander Volkanovski dethroned Max Holloway and became the first Australian-born UFC featherweight champion.


Volkanovski then defeated Max Holloway again via a split decision at UFC 251. Alexander Volkanovski remains the current UFC featherweight champion.



UFC Light Heavyweight Champion 2023


Vacant


SinceJuly 14, 2023
Defenses-


Former champion Jamahal Hill vacated the UFC light heavyweight title after suffering a ruptured Achilles in basketball.




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UFC Bantamweight Champion 2023


Sean O'Malley


SinceAugust 19, 2023
Defenses0


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



Sean O'Malley became the new UFC bantamweight champion by defeating the former champion Aljamain Sterling via TKO at 0:51 in the second round.






UFC Flyweight Champion 2023


Alexandre Pantoja


SinceJuly 8, 2023
Defenses0


UFC 290: Volkanovski v Rodriguez
Alexandre Pantoja

Alexandre Pantoja won the UFC flyweight title by defeating the former champion Brandon Moreno at UFC 290 on July 8, 2023.




UFC Women's Featherweight Champion 2023


Amanda Nunes


SinceDecember 29, 2018
Defenses2


UFC 277 Weigh-in
Women's featherweight champion Amanda Nunes



Amanda Nunes defeated Cris Cyborg via KO for the Women's UFC featherweight championship at UFC 232 and became the first woman to become a two-division UFC champion. She is also the third fighter in UFC history to hold titles in two weight classes (bantamweight and featherweight).


She defended her title against Felicia Spencer at UFC 250 and became the first and only fighter in UFC history to defend two titles while actively holding them. Amanda Nunes remains the current UFC Women's featherweight champion.






UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion 2023


Amanda Nunes


UFC 289: Nunes v Aldana
UFC 289: Nunes v Aldana



SinceJuly 30, 2022
Defenses1


Julianna Peña defeated Amanda Nunes through submission and became the UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion at UFC 269.

Previous champion Amanda Nunes had defeated Miesha Tate with a submission via a rear-naked choke at UFC 200 to win the UFC bantamweight championship.


Amanda had defended the title against Ronda Rousey, Valentina Shevchenko, Raquel Pennington, Holly Holm, and Germaine De Randamie. However, at UFC 277, in their rematch, Nunes defeated Pena via unanimous decision and reclaimed her position as the two-division female champion in the UFC.



UFC Women's Flyweight Champion 2023


Alexa Grasso


SinceMarch 4, 2023
Defenses


UFC 285: Jones v Gane
Alexa Grasso at UFC 285: Jones v Gane

Alexa Grasso won the UFC women's flyweight championship by defeating Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 285: Jones vs. Gane via submission.



UFC Strawweight Champion 2023


Zhang Weili


SinceNovember 12, 2022
Defenses1



UFC 281: Adesanya v Pereira
Zhang Weili celebrating her win at UFC 281: Adesanya vs. Pe.reira.


Zhang Weili became the UFC strawweight champion by defeating the former champion Carla Esparza at UFC 281: Adesanya vs. Pereira on November 12, 2022, at Madison Square Garden, New York, United States.

She defended her title against Amanda Lemos at UFC 292 on August 19, 2023.







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Last Updated on September 24 20, 2023.

FAQs

Who are the current UFC Champions?

A. The current UFC Champions are- Jon Jones (Heavyweight), Vacant(Light Heavyweight), Israel Adesanya (Middleweight), Leon Edwards (Welterweight), Islam Makhachev (Lightweight), Alexander Volkanovski (Featherweight), Sean O'Malley (Bantamweight), Alexandre Pantoja (Flyweight), Amanda Nunes (Women's Bantamweight) Amanda Nunes (Women's Featherweight), Alexa Grasso (Women's Flyweight) and Zhang Weili (Women's Strawweight).