UFC Light Heavyweight

Last Modified Mar 03, 2024 10:27 GMT

The Light Heavyweight Division is a weight class in combat sports. The UFC Light Heavyweight Division limits between 186.1 lbs to 205 lbs (84 to 93 kg).


Current Light Heavyweight Champion


UFC 295: Prochazka v Pereira
UFC 295: Prochazka v Pereira


The current UFC Light Heavyweight champion is Alex Pereira. He won the title against former UFC light heavyweight champion Jiri Prochazka via a 2nd round TKO at UFC 295 on November 11, 2023.


Latest Results from UFC Light Heavyweight Championship Fight


Date FightMethodRound Result
March 3, 2024
Vitor Petrino vs. Tyson Pedro
Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 29–28)R3 (5:00)
Vitor Petrino def. Tyson Pedro


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UFC Light Heavyweight Rankings 2024


RankFighterRecordMWin StreakResultLast fightNext Fight
CAlex Pereira9–2 2
(0 def)
WinUFC 295 Jiří Procházka
UFC 300 Jamahal Hill
1Jamahal Hill12–1
(1 NC)
4WinUFC 283 Glover Teixeira
UFC 300 Alex Pereira
2Jiří Procházka29–4–1 0LossUFC 295 Alex Pereira
UFC 300 Aleksandar Rakić
3Magomed Ankalaev18–1–1
(1 NC)
1WinUFC Fight Night 234 Johnny WalkerTBD
4Jan Błachowicz29–10–1 0LossUFC 291 Alex PereiraTBD
5Aleksandar Rakić14–3 0LossUFC on ESPN 36 Jan Błachowicz
UFC 300 Jiří Procházka
6Nikita Krylov30–9 3WinUFC Fight Night 221 Ryan SpannTBD
7Johnny Walker21–8
(1 NC)
0LossUFC Fight Night 234 Magomed AnkalaevTBD
8Khalil Rountree Jr.13–5
(1 NC)
5WinUFC Fight Night 233 Anthony SmithTBD
9Volkan Oezdemir19–7 1WinUFC Fight Night 226 Bogdan GuskovTBD
10Anthony Smith37–19 0LossUFC Fight Night 233 Khalil Rountree Jr.TBD
11Ryan Spann21–9 0LossUFC Fight Night 225 Anthony SmithTBD
12Alonzo Menifield15–3–1 2WinUFC 296 Dustin Jacoby
UFC Fight Night 244 Carlos Ulberg
13Azamat Murzakanov13–0 13WinUFC on ESPN 44 Dustin JacobyTBD
14Dominick Reyes12–4 0LossUFC 281 Ryan SpannTBD
15Dustin Jacoby19–8–1 0LossUFC 296 Alonzo MenifieldTBD

History of Light Heavyweight Class


The Light Heavyweight Title was known as the Middleweight Title before UFC 31 (May 4, 2001). In 2007, the Pride World Middleweight Championship was unified with the UFC Light Heavyweight Title when Quinton Jackson defeated Dan Henderson at UFC 75.


The UFC Light Heavyweight Title has been held by the likes of Frank Shamrock, Tito Ortiz, Randy Couture, Vitor Belfort, Chuck Liddell, Quinton Jackson, Forest Griffin, Rashad Evans, Lyoto Machida, and Mauricio Rua.


At UFC 128, Jon Jones won the Light Heavyweight Title for the first time in his career after defeating Mauricio Rua. Jones held the title for 1501 days and defended it eight times before being stripped of it due to a hit-and-run issue. Daniel Cormier won the vacant belt by beating Anthony Johnson at UFC 187.


Cormier, who became the second fighter in UFC history to hold titles in two weight classes simultaneously and is the first to defend them in two divisions, vacated his Light Heavyweight Championship 174 days after winning the Heavyweight title. Jon Jones won the vacant belt for the second time in his career after defeating Alexander Gustafsson. He defended it against Anthony Smith, Thiago Santos, and Dominick Reyes before vacating it to move up to the Heavyweight division.


In his first title defense as champion, Glover Teixeira lost to Jiri Prochazka via rear-naked choke at UFC 275, making Jiri Prochazka the incumbent light heavyweight champion.


Jamahal Hill was crowned as the new UFC Light Heavyweight Champion after defeating Glover Teixeira at UFC 283. Hill is the first fighter in the UFC to become champion after appearing on the Dana White Contender Series.


On July 14th, Jamahal Hill shared a video on his YouTube channel stating that he would be vacating his Light Heavyweight title because of a severe Achilles tendon injury.


Jiri Prochazka and Alex Pereira squared off for the vacant light heavyweight title at the main event of UFC 295 at Madison Square Garden on November 11, 2023. Pereira became a 2-division champion after defeating Prochazka via a TKO in the closing minutes of the 2nd round.


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


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Last Updated On March 3, 2024

FAQs

Q. Who is the current UFC light heavyweight champion?

A. Alex 'Poatan' Pereira is the current UFC Light Heavyweight champion.

Q. Who is the No.1 ranked fighter in UFC light heavyweight?

A. Jamahal Hill is the No.1 contender in the UFC light heavyweight division.

Q. What is the UFC (weight class) Weight Limit?

A. The UFC light heavyweight division weighs 186.1 lbs to 205 lbs (84 to 93 kg).

Q. Is Alex Pereira now a Light Heavyweight fighter?

A. Yes, Alex Pereira now competes in the light heavyweight division, where he is also the champion.