17 Most UFC Title Defenses (Tables and per Division Included)

Amanda Nunes

After seeing successful title fights by dominant undisputed champions in the UFC, are you wondering which fighter has the most UFC title defenses?

In this article, we’ll look at who has the most UFC title defenses in total, per weight class division, and the 5 longest UFC title reigns.

Who Has the Most UFC Title Defenses?

The most UFC title defenses are shared between Demetrious Johnson and Jon Jones, who both have 11. However, Demetrious Johnson had 11 consecutive title defenses, whereas Jon Jones has 2 title defense reigns, split into 8 and 3.

FighterTitle DefensesDivisionTimeframe
1. Demetrious Johnson (American)11Flyweight (11)2013-2018
2. Jon Jones (American)11Light heavyweight (11)2011-2021
3. Anderson Silva (Brazilian)10Middleweight (10)2007-2014
4. Georges St-Pierre (Canadian)9Welterweight (9)2008-2014
5. Jose Aldo* (Brazilian)7Featherweight (7)2011-2015
6. Valentina Shevchenko (Russian)7Flyweight (7)2019-2023
7. Amanda Nunes (Brazilian)7Bantamweight (5) / Featherweight (2)2016-2022
8. Matt Hughes (American)7Welterweight (7)2002-2007
9. Ronda Rousey* (American)6Women’s bantamweight (6)2013-2016
10. Israel Adesanya (Nigerian)5Middleweight (5)2019-2022
11. Joanna Jedrzejczyk (Polish)5Women’s strawweight (5)2015-2018
12. Tito Ortiz (American)5Light heavyweight (5)2000-2003
13. Kamaru Usman (Nigerian)5Welterweight (5)2019-2022
14. Alexander Volkanovski (Australian)5Featherweight (5)2019-2023 (active)
15. Tyron Woodley (American)4Welterweight (4)2016-2019
16. Frank Shamrock (American) /4Light heavyweight (4)1998-2000
17. Chuck Liddell (American)4Light heavyweight (4)2005-2007
Most UFC title defenses

* Jose Aldo and Ronda Rousey were both made immediate champions upon joining the UFC as part of the mergers from WEC (Aldo) and Strikeforce (Rousey). This means their first fights were considered title defenses, whereas every other champion had to first win the title.

/ Frank Shamrock was fighting in what used to be called the middleweight division before it was renamed the light heavyweight division when the UFC adopted the Official Unified Rules of MMA in 2000.

Who Has the Most UFC Title Defenses per Division?

There are 12 weight class divisions in the UFC, and here is the table of the most UFC title defenses for each division:

FighterDivisionTitle DefensesReigns
Stipe Miocic Heavyweight (265 lbs)42 (2/2)
Jon Jones (American)Light heavyweight (205 lbs)112 (8/3)
Anderson Silva (Brazilian)Middleweight (185 lbs)101
Georges St-Pierre (Canadian)Welterweight (170 lbs)91
Khabib Nurmagomedov + (Russian)Lightweight (155 lbs)31
Jose Aldo (Brazilian)Featherweight (145 lbs)71
Dominick Cruz* (American)Bantamweight (135 lbs)32
Demetrious Johnson (American)Flyweight (125 lbs)111
Joanna Jedrzejczyk (Polish)Women’s strawweight (115 lbs)51
Valentina Shevchenko (Russian)Women’s flyweight (125 lbs)71
Amanda Nunes (Brazilian)Women’s bantamweight (135 lbs)51
Amanda Nunes / (Brazilian)Women’s featherweight (145 lbs)21
Most UFC title defenses per weight class division

* Dominick Cruz was made immediate champion upon joining the UFC as part of the merger with WEC, so his first fight against Urijah Faber (UFC 132) was considered a title defense.

/ Cris Cyborg also has 2 title defenses in the women’s featherweight division. However, Amanda Nunes was the fighter to dethrone her and is still active as featherweight champion in 2022; which is why she made the table.

+ Along with Khabib, Frankie Edgar, Benson Henderson, and BJ Penn also have 3 title defenses in the lightweight division. Khabib made the table because he’s the best fighter of the four, and could’ve extended his 3 lightweight title defenses if he chose not to retire early as an undefeated fighter.

5 Longest UFC Title Reigns

FighterDivisionTitle DefensesTitle Reign (days)
Anderson SilvaMiddleweight102457
Demetrious JohnsonFlyweight112142
Georges St-PierreWelterweight92064
Amanda NunesBantamweight51981
Jose Aldo Featherweight71864
Longest UFC title reigns

Questions and Answers

Conor McGregor title defenses: does he have any?

Conor McGregor has 0 UFC title defenses, despite becoming a double champion and holding these titles simultaneously. He was stripped of the featherweight title as he never returned to defend it, while he lost the lightweight title against Khabib.

Stipe Miocic title defenses: how many in total?

Stipe Miocic has 4 UFC title defenses, split between two title reigns. He had three consecutive title defenses after he became the heavyweight champion by beating Fabricio Werdum.

His first three title defenses were against Alistair Overeem, Junior Dos Santos, and Francis Ngannou between September 10, 2016, and January 20, 2018, until he lost his 4th title defense against Daniel Cormier at UFC 226.

He would then reclaim the heavyweight title (UFC 241) against Daniel Cormier, and get his 4th UFC title defense after beating Cormier in their third fight (UFC 252).

How many title defenses does Jon Jones have?

Jon Jones has 11 title defenses, split between two title reigns of 8 consecutive title defenses between September 24, 2011, and January 3, 2015, and 3 consecutive title defenses between December 29, 2018, and February 8, 2020.

He would have 12 successful title defenses and more, but he’s been stripped of the title 3 times, twice as the undisputed champion and once as the interim champion.

His first reign ended after the UFC stripped him of the title because he was involved in a hit and run incident for which he received 18 months probation.

He was stripped a second time after failing drug tests, this time for the interim light heavyweight title before his scheduled rematch with Daniel Cormier.

The banned substances were clomiphene and letrozole metabolites, often found in erectile dysfunction medication. Jones was suspended by USADA for 12 months.

He would then go on to KO Cormier in their rematch, but the fight was overturned to a no contest and Jones was stripped for a third time after he again tested positive for banned substances, this time for anabolic steroids Turinabol.

His next reign of 3 title defenses is on hold as he moves up to the heavyweight division. If it weren’t for Jones’ antics, he’d likely be far ahead with the most UFC title defenses of 14+, especially as he was also wrongly disqualified by Steve Mazzagatti for illegal elbows against Matt Hamill.

GSP title defenses: how many does he have?

Georges St-Pierre has 9 title defenses, all in the welterweight division. He vacated the welterweight title in 2013, wanting to take a break from MMA. He later returned in 2017 to beat Michael Bisping and become the UFC middleweight champion, again vacating the belt after deciding to retire.

Many consider GSP as one of the best UFC fighters of all time, and if it weren’t for him taking a 4-year break and retiring as the middleweight champion, he’d likely have many more than 9 title defenses.

To Summarize

A lot of the fighters with the most UFC title defenses are considered the greatest UFC fighters of all time.

Those with 7 plus title defenses are UFC greats, especially when you consider Khabib is thought of as one of, if not the best UFC fighter of all time, and he only had 3 title defenses. 

Names like Demetrious Johnson, Jon Jones, Anderson Silva, and Georges St-Pierre are understandably in contention for status as the best ever, with 11, 10, and 9 title defenses, beating the best competition time after time. 

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