It’s a fantastic moment to take a look at the UFC’s current champs. Here is a current list of UFC champions, according to the official UFC rankings, for new fans and others who may be ignorant.
The standings are as follows:
- Heavyweight Champion: Francis Ngannou (16-3)
- Light-heavyweight Champion: Glover Teixeira (33-7)
- Middleweight Champion: Israel Adesanya (21-1)
- Welterweight Champion: Kamaru Usman (20-1)
- Lightweight Champion: Charles Oliveira (31-8-1)
- Featherweight Champion: Alexander Volkanovski (22-1)
- Bantamweight Champion: Aljamain Sterling (20-3-0)
- Flyweight Champion: Brandon Moreno (19-5-2)
- Women’s Featherweight/Bantamweight Champion: Amanda Nunes (21-4)
- Women’s Flyweight Champion Valentina Shevchenko (22-3)
- Women’s Strawweight Champion: Rose Namajunas (12-4)
Heavyweight Champion: Francis Ngannou (16-3)
Francis Ngannou’s road to the UFC is one of the most extraordinary. He overcame a lot of difficulties as a child in Cameroon before making it to the UFC. He worked in sand mines, attempted many failed escapes to Europe, and began MMA training at the age of 25. He is now the world’s heavyweight champion.
At UFC 260, Ngannou knocked out Stipe Miocic in the second round. His most valuable weapon was and continues to be his strength, but he demonstrated more in this bout. In a world-class performance, he demonstrated his takedown defense and kickboxing.
Only a few months after his victory over Miocic, the UFC placed pressure on Ngannou. Derrick Lewis and Ciryl Gane fought for an interim title in August for the organization. With a fantastic performance against Lewis, Gane proved to the world that he is ready for the big stage. The undisputed UFC heavyweight championship will now be decided between Gane and Ngannou.
Light-heavyweight Champion: Glover Teixeira (33-7)
The Light Heavyweight championship had been vacant since Jon Jones vacated it on August 17th due to controversial salary discussions with the UFC. In late September, Dominick Reyes and Jan Bachowicz, the former KSW Light Heavyweight Champion, fought for the championship, with the Polish fighter coming out on top. Bachowicz faced UFC veteran Glover Teixeira after a hotly contested championship defense against middleweight champion Israel Adesanya.
Teixeira, who entered the bout on a five-fight winning run and was 42 years old, knew that this was likely his last opportunity at UFC gold. And the dude came through. Teixeira put up an outstanding performance, demonstrating once again that his durability and deft skill set may make him a challenging opponent for even the greatest in the world. The victory is regarded as one of the most inspiring in UFC history.
Middleweight Champion: Israel Adesanya (21-1)
In MMA, the “style bender” has only lost once, and in his brief career, he has risen to become the middleweight champion. His striking seemed to adjust fairly instantly to practically any opponent he has faced, even Anderson Silva. He debuted in the UFC in 2018, and by 2019 he was the interim champion, then the undisputed champion after defeating Robert Whittaker at UFC 243.
When Marvin Vettori battled Adesanya for the third time, he successfully defended his title. In the early part of 2022, Adesanay will almost certainly meet Whittaker in a rematch.
Welterweight Champion: Kamaru Usman (20-1)
In the UFC’s welterweight class, “The Nigerian Nightmare” has lived up to his reputation, proving to be a difficult challenge for many competitors competing at 170 pounds. The 32-year-old has either knocked out his opponents or fought his way to a decision victory. His only loss came in his second pro bout in 2013, when he was just starting out in MMA. Since the days of Georges St-Pierre, he has shown to be one of the most well-rounded welterweights.
Usman stunned the MMA world with a show-stopping knockout in his rematch with Jorge Masvidal. Usman faced Colby Covington in a rematch for his sixth championship defense. The two headlined UFC 268 in Madison Square Garden, the world’s most iconic venue. Usman had been pushed to the limit, but towards the end of the night, he had raised his hand.
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Lightweight Champion: Charles Oliveira (31-8-1)
Charles Oliveira, a lightweight brawler from So Paulo, Brazil, battled former Bellator Lightweight champion Michael Chandler for the vacant championship when Khabib Nurmagomedov retired.
Oliveira has been a part of the UFC since 2010, but this is his first title. Despite this, he owns multiple UFC records, including the most submission victories (14), and the most finishes (17) in the organization’s history. At UFC 269, the champion will defend his title against Dustin Poirier for the first time.
Featherweight Champion: Alexander Volkanovski (22-1)
With a recent victory against Max Holloway at UFC 245, the rugby player turned mixed martial artist just took his UFC gold. Last year, the two battled to a draw, with Volkanovski taking the win and the championship, but he believes he and Holloway need to fight again to cement his place as the new featherweight champion. At UFC 266, Volkanovski fought Brian Ortega in what is considered a “fight of the year” contender.
Bantamweight Champion: Aljamain Sterling (20-3-0)
Aljamain Sterling won bantamweight at UFC 259 in an unusual manner. Sterling was hit with a perfect example of an illegal knee strike in the fourth round against Petr Yan. The referee ruled that Sterling was definitely wounded, and Yan was disqualified as a result. Yan was winning on two of the three scorecards prior to the knee injury. All indications lead to a rematch between these two in the near future. After Sterling was forced to withdraw due to a significant neck injury, Yan fought Cory Sandhagen for the interim championship at UFC 267.
Flyweight Champion: Brandon Moreno (19-5-2)
“You have a champion in Tijuana!”
History was established as Brandon Moreno faced Deiveson Figueiredo for the second time. Moreno distanced himself from the former champion after a tight first round that was a contender for the fight of the year in 2020. Brandon Moreno became the first Mexican-born UFC champion with his impressive victory at UFC 263. At the start of 2022, Moreno and Figueiredo will battle for the third time.
Women’s Featherweight/Bantamweight Champion: Amanda Nunes (21-4)
The lioness seemed pleased with becoming the undisputed champion in both the 145-pound and 135-pound weight classes (featherweight and bantamweight). She earned the bantamweight championship in 2016 with a win over Miesha Tate, which she has successfully defended five times, and the featherweight belt in 2018 with a first-round knockout of Cris Cyborg. In December 2021, Nunes will defend her bantamweight championship at UFC 269 in Las Vegas.
Women’s Flyweight Champion Valentina Shevchenko (22-3)
Shevchenko has been fighting professionally since 2003, and her background in kickboxing has established her as a formidable opponent. She won the vacant flyweight championship at UFC 231 in 2018 and has successfully defended it six times, most recently at UFC 266.
Women’s Strawweight Champion: Rose Namajunas (12-4)
At UFC 217 in Madison Square Garden, Namajunas won the strawweight championship via knockout. She’d eventually lose her crown and have to claw her way back to the top. “Thug” Rose startled the fight world by knocking out Weilli Zhang with a head kick at UFC 261. At UFC 268 at Madison Square Garden, she defeated Zhang for the second time in a tight fight. Namajunas has consistently delivered her greatest work in the most important periods of her life.
