The lightweight division is arguably one of the most competitive in the UFC, consisting of some of the best athletes in the game. For the sake of uniformity, most American mixed martial arts media outlets consider Lightweight competitors to be between 146 and 155 lb (66 and 70 kg). Take a look at a chronological history of the UFC lightweight belt.
At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, Mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight classes. The original codification for weight classes introduced only two divisions: heavyweight, which grouped together all competitors above 200 pounds (91 kg), and lightweight, which encompassed all competitors 199 pounds (90 kg) and under. It would be nearly ten years before the UFC would expand their divisional offerings to include any of the lower weight classes.
The first additions came in late 2010 when the UFC merged with their sister organization World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC). Due to the WEC's focus on lighter weight fighters, this merger necessitated the addition of both the featherweight and bantamweight divisions to the UFC, starting with The Ultimate Fighter season 12 finale. In early 2012 the UFC decided they would delve even further into the lower weight classes when they announced the introduction of the flyweight division to their ranks, beginning with UFC on FX: Alves vs.
In November 2012, as a result of the forthcoming dissolution of their sister organization Strikeforce, the UFC announced they would be adding female fighters to their roster for the first time in the promotion's history. Initially, only the women's bantamweight division was brought over, with the division's premiere bout taking place at UFC 157. A little over a year later, the UFC announced they would be expanding their weight classes for female fighters with the addition of a women's strawweight division, the first bout took place at UFC Fight Night: Cowboy vs. In late 2016, a featherweight division was introduced for the women with the first bout to be for the inaugural championship at UFC 208 on February 11, 2017.
History of the UFC Lightweight Title
The UFC's lightweight division was reinstated at UFC 58 after falling into disuse following UFC 49.
Read also: UFC Lightweight Title Vacancy
Jens Pulver (2001-2002)
- Date: Feb. 23, 2001
- Event: UFC 30
- Opponent: Caol Uno
- Total reign: 393 days
- Title defenses: Dennis Hallman (UFC 33), B.J. Penn (UFC 35)
- Notes: Pulver was the UFC's first lightweight champion. After two title defenses in less than a year, he was stripped of the belt in March 2002 after he left the promotion in a contract dispute. Pulver was inducted into the Pioneer Wing of the UFC Hall of Fame in 2023.
Jens Pulver defeated Caol Uno at UFC 30 (2/23/01) to win the UFC lightweight championship. (Watch On UFC Fight Pass) Pulver defends his title against Dennis Hallman and BJ Penn before leaving the organization and vacating the title. In 2002-03, a four-man tournament featuring BJ Penn, Caol Uno, Matt Serra, and Din Thomas is held to determine a new champion, but the title remains vacant after a five round draw between Penn and Uno in the final match at UFC 41.
Sean Sherk (2006-2007)
- Date: Oct. 14, 2006
- Event: UFC 64
- Opponent: Kenny Florian
- Total reign: 420 days
- Title defenses: Hermes Franca (UFC 73)
- Notes: The title remained vacant for years after Pulver left the UFC in part thanks to a draw in the final of a four-man tournament for the belt in 2003. Sherk was stripped of the title in December 2007 after a positive steroid test result.
B.J. Penn (2008-2010)
- Date: Jan. 19, 2008
- Event: UFC 80
- Opponent: Joe Stevenson
- Total reign: 812 days
- Title defenses: Sean Sherk (UFC 84), Kenny Florian (UFC 101), Diego Sanchez (UFC 107)
- Notes: Penn, a member of the 2015 UFC Hall of Fame class, remains the standard bearer for lightweights. He has more lightweight title fights than anyone in UFC history. He went on to win the welterweight title after his lightweight reign.
On January 19, 2008, BJ Penn and Joe Stevenson fought for the UFC lightweight championship title, left vacant by Sean Sherk. Penn defeated Stevenson with a second-round submission coming by way of rear naked choke to claim the title of UFC lightweight champion.
Read also: Boxing Training with Speed Bag
BJ Penn (2008-10) Defeats Joe Stevenson in the second round at UFC 80 (1/19/08) to win the vacant UFC crown.
Frankie Edgar (2010-2012)
- Date: April 10, 2010
- Event: UFC 112
- Opponent: B.J. Penn
- Total reign: 687 days
- Title defenses: B.J. Penn (UFC 118), Gray Maynard (draw at UFC 125; win at UFC 136)
- Notes: Edgar ended Penn's lengthy reign, then beat him again in a rematch before two fights with Maynard. Edgar, an 11-time bonus winner, will be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame next month.
Frankie Edgar (2010-12) Defeats BJ Penn via unanimous decision at UFC 112 (4/10/10) to win the UFC crown. B.J. Edgar's title defense against Gray Maynard at UFC 125 was a split draw. Edgar retained the Lightweight title.
Benson Henderson (2012-2013)
- Date: Feb. 26, 2012
- Event: UFC 144
- Opponent: Frankie Edgar
- Total reign: 552 days
- Title defenses: Frankie Edgar (UFC 150), Nate Diaz (UFC on FOX 5), Gilbert Melendez (UFC on FOX 7)
- Notes: Henderson, a former WEC lightweight champion, picked up another piece of hardware with an upset of Edgar to end his reign. Along with Khabib Nurmagomedov and Edgar, he's tied at the top for most lightweight title defenses with three.
Benson Henderson (2012-13) Defeats Frankie Edgar via unanimous decision at UFC 144 (2/26/12) to win the UFC crown. Henderson defeated Gilbert Melendez at UFC on Fox: Henderson vs. The Strikeforce Lightweight Championship was unified (perhaps unofficially) with the UFC Lightweight Championship on April 20, 2013, when Benson Henderson defeated Gilbert Melendez at UFC on Fox: Henderson vs.
Anthony Pettis (2013-2015)
- Date: Aug. 31, 2013
- Event: UFC 164
- Opponent: Benson Henderson
- Total reign: 560 days
- Title defenses: Gilbert Melendez (UFC 181)
- Notes: Pettis stopped Henderson's lengthy title reign, which included a division-best three successful defenses. Pettis' win over Henderson was his second in a title fight in less than two years. He also beat him to win the WEC title in that promotion's final event in 2010.
Anthony Pettis (2013-15) Defeats Benson Henderson via submission at UFC 164 (8/31/13) to win the UFC crown.
Rafael dos Anjos (2015-2016)
- Date: March 14, 2015
- Event: UFC 185
- Opponent: Anthony Pettis
- Total reign: 481 days
- Title defenses: Donald Cerrone
- Notes: Dos Anjos became the first non-American to win the UFC's lightweight title when he upset "Showtime" during Pettis' Wheaties box cover days. RDA turned in a quick first-round finish of "Cowboy" Cerrone for his lone title defense.
Rafael Dos Anjos (2015-16) Defeats Anthony Pettis via unanimous decision at UFC 185 (3/14/15) to win the UFC crown. Henderson defeated Nate Diaz at UFC on Fox: Henderson vs. Rafael dos Anjos defeated Donald Cerrone at UFC on Fox: dos Anjos vs.
Eddie Alvarez (2016)
- Date: July 7, 2016
- Event: UFC Fight Night 90
- Opponent: Rafael dos Anjos
- Total reign: 128 days
- Title defenses: None
- Notes: Alvarez's reign as champion is the shortest in the division's history and one of the shortest in UFC history, regardless of weight class. The former Bellator lightweight champ won the belt in just his fourth UFC fight.
Conor McGregor (2016-2018)
- Date: Nov. 12, 2016
- Event: UFC 205
- Opponent: Eddie Alvarez
- Total reign: 511 days
- Title defenses: None
- Notes: McGregor famously became the first fighter in UFC history to hold two titles at the same time when he took out Alvarez to add the lightweight title to his featherweight belt. But then he infamously never defended either and was stripped of both.
Tony Ferguson (Interim, 2017)
- Date: Oct. 7, 2017
- Event: UFC 216
- Opponent: Kevin Lee
- Notes: Ferguson won an interim title while Conor McGregor took a boxing match with Floyd Mayweather. He later was stripped of the interim belt due to injury.
Khabib Nurmagomedov (2018-2020)
- Date: April 7, 2018
- Event: UFC 223
- Opponent: Al Iaquinta
- Total reign: 1,077 days
- Title defenses: Conor McGregor (UFC 229), Dustin Poirier (UFC 242), Justin Gaethje (UFC 254)
- Notes: Nurmagomedov was supposed to fight Tony Ferguson, who pulled out. Then-featherweight champ Max Holloway stepped in, but was pulled on weigh-in day. Because of Conor McGregor's bus incident two days prior, multiple fighters were in the wind. Anthony Pettis needed a new opponent, but was over weight. Paul Felder was rejected by the New York commission. So instead, Iaquinta fought Nurmagomedov instead of Felder for what was in essence a vacant title â though McGregor hadn't been stripped for inactivity yet.
Khabib Nurmagomedov (2018-2020) Defeats Al Iaquinta via unanimous decision at UFC 223 (4/7/18) to win the vacant UFC lightweight title. On April 7, 2018, Khabib Nurmagomedov defeated Al Iaquinta by unanimous decision to become the 10th UFC lightweight champion, a spot left vacant by both Conor McGregor and Tony Ferguson.
Dustin Poirier (Interim, 2019)
- Date: April 13, 2019
- Event: UFC 236
- Opponent: Max Holloway
- Notes: When Khabib Nurmagomedov was suspended for nine months for his part in the UFC 229 post-fight brawl with Conor McGregor, Poirier beat then-featherweight champion Holloway to win the vacant title. He lost to Nurmagomedov later that year in a unification fight.
Dustin Poirier (2019) Defeats Max Holloway via unanimous decision at UFC 236 (4/13/19) to win the interim UFC lightweight title while Nurmagomedov serves a suspension. (Watch On UFC Fight Pass) Loses belt in UFC 242 (9/7/19) bout with Nurmagomedov.
Justin Gaethje (Interim, 2020)
- Date: May 9, 2020
- Event: UFC 249
- Opponent: Tony Ferguson
- Notes: When Khabib Nurmagomedov couldn't leave Russia due to air travel restrictions early in the COVID-19 pandemic, Gaethje stepped in on short notice and dominated Ferguson to win the interim belt. He lost a title unification fight later that year to Nurmagomedov, who retired after the bout â ultimately leaving the belt vacant yet again.
Charles Oliveira (2021-2022)
- Date: May 15, 2021
- Event: UFC 262
- Opponent: Michael Chandler
- Total reign: 357 days
- Title defenses: Dustin Poirier (UFC 269)
- Notes: Oliveira was stripped of the title May 2, 2022, when he missed weight for a title defense against Justin Gaethje. Oliveira won the fight, but could not win the belt back and it became vacant.
CHARLES OLIVEIRA - THE MOVIE (Documentary)
On May 15, 2021, Charles Oliveira met Michael Chandler in the main event at UFC 262. Oliveira rode an eight-fight win streak coming into the bout, while Chandler only had one fight and one win in the UFC â a first round TKO against Dan Hooker. They competed for the lightweight title, a belt vacated by UFC Hall of Famer Khabib Nurmagomedov, who relinquished the belt after retiring from mixed martial arts in October 2020.
Charles Oliveira (2021-2022) Defeats Michael Chandler via first round TKO on 5/15/21 to win UFC crown. (Watch On UFC Fight Pass) Defended at UFC 269 against Dustin Poirier (12/11/2021).
Islam Makhachev (2022-Present)
- Date: Oct. 22, 2022
- Event: UFC 280
- Opponent: Charles Oliveira
- Total reign: Incumbent
- Title defenses: Alexander Volkanovski (UFC 284), Volkanovski (UFC 294), Dustin Poirier (UFC 302)
- Notes: Makhachev beat Oliveira to win the belt Oliveira had to vacate for missing weight. Then he stopped back-to-back attempts by Volkanovski to become a two-division champion. He got a solid test against Dustin Poirier, despite Makhachev as a huge 6-1 favorite, but he finished Poirier with a fifth-round D'Arce choke.
On October 22, 2022, former lightweight champion Charles Oliveira meets Islam Makhachev in UFC 280âs main event live from Abu Dhabi. Islam MakhachevDate: Oct. 22, 2022.
Vacant Title Fights
Throughout UFC history, numerous titles have been left vacant for various reasons. Here are some notable instances:
- Heavyweight Title: On October 22, 2004, Matt Hughes and Georges St-Pierre fought to determine the fifth UFC welterweight champion, a title left vacant by BJ Penn. Hughes reclaimed the title of champion, which he had previously held for 820 days with five title defenses, which he preserved for another 757 days across two title defenses.
- Light Heavyweight Title: On May 23, 2015, Daniel Cormier secured a third-round submission victory via rear naked choke over Anthony Johnson to claim the UFC light heavyweight title left vacant by Jon Jones. Cormier went on to defend this title three times during a reign that lasted 1,315 days. On September 27, 2020, Jan Blachowicz faced Dominick Reyes to claim the UFC light heavyweight crown left vacant by Jon Jones. Blachowicz defeated Reyes via second-round TKO.
- Womenâs Featherweight Title: On July 29, 2017, Cris Cyborg faced Tonya Evinger for the UFC womenâs featherweight title left vacant by Germaine de Randamie.
- Bantamweight Title: On June 8, 2019, Henry Cejudo moved up to bantamweight to challenge Marlon Moraes for the UFC bantamweight title, which was left vacant by TJ Dillashaw. Cejudo defeated Moraes by way of TKO with just nine seconds remaining in the third round to become the fourth-ever fighter to hold UFC championships at two weights simultaneously. On July 12, 2020, Petr Yan was matched to face José Aldo for the vacant UFC bantamweight title left open by Henry Cejudo. Yan defeated Aldo with a fifth-round TKO, with just over 90 seconds remaining in the fight.
- Flyweight Title: On July 19, 2020, Deiveson Figuriredo faced Joseph Benavidez for a second time to claim the vacant UFC flyweight title. The first time the two met, nearly five months prior, Figueiredo defeated Benavidez by way of TKO, but missed weight and was made ineligible to win the title.
UFC Lightweight Champions
The following table summarizes the UFC Lightweight Champions and their reigns:
| Champion | Reign Start Date | Reign End Date | Title Defenses |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jens Pulver | February 23, 2001 | March 2002 | 2 |
| Sean Sherk | October 14, 2006 | December 2007 | 1 |
| B.J. Penn | January 19, 2008 | April 10, 2010 | 3 |
| Frankie Edgar | April 10, 2010 | February 26, 2012 | 2 |
| Benson Henderson | February 26, 2012 | August 31, 2013 | 3 |
| Anthony Pettis | August 31, 2013 | March 14, 2015 | 1 |
| Rafael dos Anjos | March 14, 2015 | July 7, 2016 | 1 |
| Eddie Alvarez | July 7, 2016 | November 12, 2016 | 0 |
| Conor McGregor | November 12, 2016 | April 7, 2018 | 0 |
| Khabib Nurmagomedov | April 7, 2018 | October 24, 2020 | 3 |
| Charles Oliveira | May 15, 2021 | May 2, 2022 | 1 |
| Islam Makhachev | October 22, 2022 | Present | 3 |