Most UFC Title Defenses: Top 10 Fighters Of Weight Divisions
Contents
- 10 Champions With The Most UFC Title Defenses
- 1. Jon Jones
- 2. Demetrious Johnson
- 3. Anderson Silva
- 4. Georges St-Pierre
- 5. Jose Aldo
- 6. Valentina Shevchenko
- 7. Ronda Rousey
- 8. Joanna Jedrzejczyk
- 9. Stipe Miocic
- 10. Daniel Cormier
- Watch This!
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Which Active Fighter Has The Most UFC Welterweight Title Defenses?
- Which Active UFC Fighter Has The Most Consecutive Flyweight Title Defenses?
- Who Has The Longest Title Reign?
- Conclusion
- Sources
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The UFC has eight men's weight divisions plus its women's divisions, so there have been many champions over the last few decades.
But…
Very few of them defended the belt more than a handful of times. Many fans don't consider anyone a true champion until they've defended it.
Listed below are the fighters with the most title defenses in UFC history:
10 Champions With The Most UFC Title Defenses
1. Jon Jones
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Before relinquishing the light heavyweight title in 2020 to move up, he was nearly unstoppable at 205 pounds. Jones won the title at UFC 128 in 2011 by defeating Shogun Rua, becoming the youngest UFC champion ever at 23.
Jones holds the UFC record for the most title-fight wins, with 16, according to the UFC's official stat leaders.
His light heavyweight defenses came in two reigns: eight in the first and three in the second, for 11 in total. He beat Daniel Cormier, Alexander Gustafsson, and Chael Sonnen, among others.
He later won the heavyweight title in 2023 and defended it once, against Stipe Miocic, before vacating it in June 2025.
2. Demetrious Johnson
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When it comes to consecutive title defenses, Demetrious is the king. Johnson defended his flyweight title 11 consecutive times, a UFC record. He won the inaugural flyweight title in 2012 by defeating Joseph Benavidez at UFC 152.
Demetrious successfully defended his title against some of the best UFC fighters, including Henry Cejudo, Chris Cariaso, and John Dodson.
Demetrious' dominance ended in 2018 at the UFC 227, where he was defeated via a split-decision loss by Henry Cejudo.
After leaving the UFC, Johnson won ONE Championship's flyweight Grand Prix.
3. Anderson Silva
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When it comes to dominance, think about Anderson Silva. He won the UFC middleweight title in only his second UFC fight, in 2006, and held it until 2013, a record 2,457 days.
Silva made 10 consecutive title defenses, the UFC record until Demetrious Johnson passed it.
He also won 16 UFC fights in a row, the second-longest streak in UFC history behind Islam Makhachev. His career faded after he lost the title to Chris Weidman, but his reign remains one of the most dominant ever.
4. Georges St-Pierre
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Georges St-Pierre lost to Matt Serra in his first title defense in 2007, but he is still considered the best Canadian MMA fighter. He regained the title by stopping Serra in the second round of their 2008 rematch, then made 9 successful welterweight title defenses.
But in terms of wins, he has 13 title fight wins, which put him number two in that category.
After four years away, he returned in 2017, moved up to middleweight, and won that title from Michael Bisping. He defeated fighters like Jake Shields, Dan Hardy, Thiago Alves, and Carlos Condit during his career.
5. Jose Aldo
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Jose Aldo is often called the greatest featherweight in MMA history. He made seven UFC featherweight title defenses, beating Mark Hominick, Kenny Florian, Chad Mendes (twice), Frankie Edgar, Chan Sung Jung, and Ricardo Lamas.
His streak ended in 2015, when Conor McGregor knocked him out in 13 seconds. Aldo then beat Frankie Edgar for the interim title in 2016 and was promoted to undisputed champion after the UFC stripped McGregor.
6. Valentina Shevchenko
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Valentina Shevchenko won the vacant women's flyweight title by beating Joanna Jedrzejczyk in 2018. She then made seven consecutive defenses from 2019 to 2022, the women's record for a single division.
She lost the belt to Alexa Grasso in 2023 and won it back in 2024. Her few career losses include two to Amanda Nunes, one of the greatest MMA fighters of all time.
7. Ronda Rousey
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Ronda Rousey was one of the most dominant champions in UFC history. She won most of her early fights by armbar, and her last four title defenses each lasted less than 70 seconds.
Rousey made 6 straight UFC bantamweight title defenses. She then lost back-to-back fights by knockout to Holly Holm and Amanda Nunes and left MMA.
8. Joanna Jedrzejczyk
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Joanna Jedrzejczyk began her career 14-0 and retired in 2022 with a 16-5 record. Every loss came against an elite opponent, so she remains one of the most dominant strawweights of all time.
She made 5 consecutive strawweight title defenses before Rose Namajunas beat her twice, her first two losses.
9. Stipe Miocic
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Many fans consider Miocic the greatest heavyweight in UFC history, and his resume backs that up. He holds the record for the most consecutive heavyweight title defenses, with three from 2016 to 2018.
He added a fourth defense after regaining the title from Daniel Cormier in 2019, beating Cormier again in 2020. He retired after losing to Jon Jones in 2024.
10. Daniel Cormier
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Daniel Cormier is one of the best MMA fighters ever, and his only losses came against Stipe Miocic and Jon Jones, who are also on our list. Cormier had 4 title defenses.
Jones knocked him out at UFC 214 in 2017, but the result became a no contest and Cormier got the belt back after Jones tested positive for Turinabol.
He defended the light heavyweight title three times and the heavyweight title once. He is also one of the few fighters to hold UFC titles in two divisions at the same time.
Knock-Out Point: Check out our list of MMA fighters with the most wins here -- Most Wins In UFC History.
Watch This!
Frequently Asked Questions
Which Active Fighter Has The Most UFC Welterweight Title Defenses?
Georges St-Pierre holds the welterweight record with 9 defenses. Next is Kamaru Usman, who made 5 straight welterweight title defenses from 2019 to 2021 before losing the belt to Leon Edwards in 2022.
Usman beat both Jorge Masvidal and Colby Covington twice. Masvidal and Covington later met each other at UFC 272, one of that card's most entertaining bouts to watch.
Which Active UFC Fighter Has The Most Consecutive Flyweight Title Defenses?
Ronda Rousey could be one of the most popular female UFC fighters. However, Valentina Shevchenko holds the record for flyweight title defenses. She defended her title 7 straight times from 2019 to 2022. Among men, Demetrious Johnson's 11 straight flyweight defenses are the overall UFC record.
Who Has The Longest Title Reign?
UFC has several weight classes featuring different champions, but Anderson Silva had the longest title reign of all the fighters. Silva managed to hold on to his middleweight title for 2,457 days.
Conclusion
UFC is one of the most popular combat sports that have featured some of the world's best and most popular MMA artists. As much as there have been many champions, very few have managed to successfully defend their titles a number of times.
Jon Jones has the most title defenses overall, Demetrious Johnson has the most in a row, and Anderson Silva had the longest UFC title reign. These are the fighters, along with the up-and-coming ones, that give you a reason to watch.
Sources
- Most consecutive UFC title defences, Guinness World Records
- Jon Jones athlete profile, UFC
- Most consecutive UFC title defences (female), Guinness World Records
- UFC Career Stat Leaders, UFC
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