A brief timeline in the history of the UFC’s middleweight champions

Before the UFC middleweight championship is unified in a stadium showdown with Robert Whittaker and Israel Adesanya at UFC 243, take a look at the history of the championship.

For the first time since UFC 217, the UFC middleweight championship will be on the line in the main event of UFC 243, which sees champion Robert Whittaker facing the interim champion, Isreal Adesanya, for the undisputed title. It’s been quite the path for each man — Whittaker was elevated to champ outside the Octagon and has dealt with injuries, while Adesanya has been an undefeated, consistently-rising star since his 2018 UFC debut.

The UFC middleweight championship has also had quite the path, going from a time of inactivity to one of the most dominant reigns. 10 men have held the honor of being UFC middleweight champion, with two interim champions crowned  (ironically both men competing in the UFC 243 main event.)

Even the UFC middleweight championship name goes back further than the actual UFC middleweight title. The light heavyweight championship was originally known as the middleweight championship upon Frank Shamrock winning it at UFC Japan and was renamed light heavyweight in 2001 during Tito Ortiz’s title reign.

Here’s a brief timeline of the UFC middleweight title’s history:

Sept. 28, 2001

In a lackluster, one-sided decision, Dave Menne defeats Gil Castillo to become the inaugural champion at UFC 33.

Jan. 11, 2002

Murilo Bustamante finishes Dave Menne at UFC 35 to win the championship.

Oct. 5, 2002

After just one title defense, Murilo Bustamante departs for PRIDE and is stripped of the championship. The championship isn’t seen again for over two years.

Feb. 5, 2005

Evan Tanner defeats David Terrell to win the vacant UFC middleweight championship. It’s the first UFC middleweight title fight since UFC 37, and the title comes back, coincidentally, as the first season of The Ultimate Fighter airs on TV.

June 4, 2005

Rich Franklin stops Evan Tanner at UFC 53 to win the UFC middleweight championship. He went on to make two successful defenses of the belt.

October 14, 2006

Anderson Silva knocks out Rich Fraklin at UFC 64 to win the UFC middleweight championship, starting the most dominant reign in the division’s history. At 2,457 days, it is still the current longest title reign in UFC history, and it was part of Silva’s run of the current longest win streak in UFC history.

July 6, 2013

In one of the biggest, most shocking upsets in UFC history, then-undefeated Chris Weidman knocks out Anderson Silva at UFC 162 to win the UFC middleweight title.

Dec. 12, 2015

Former Strikeforce middleweight champion Luke Rockhold ends Weidman’s undefeated streak by finishing him to claim the UFC middleweight title at UFC 194.

June 4, 2016

Filling in for an injured Chris Weidman on about 10 days’ notice, Michael Bisping pulls off his own shocker when he drops and finishes Luke Rockhold to win the championship at UFC 199.

July 8, 2017

With Michael Bisping finishing an injury recovery and waiting on a fight with Georges St Pierre, Robert Whittaker defeats Yoel Romero by decision at UFC 213 to become the first interim champion in the UFC’s middleweight division history.

Nov. 4, 2017

After almost exactly four years away from the sport, Georges St Pierre chokes out Michael Bisping at UFC 217 to win the championship and become the fourth fighter in UFC history to win titles in two different weight classes.

Dec. 7, 2017

Georges St Pierre announces he is dealing with colitis and surrenders the UFC middleweight championship. Then-interim champion Robert Whittaker is promoted to undisputed champion.

April 13, 2019

Israel Adesanya defeats Kelvin Gastelum in a modern-day Octagon classic to become interim UFC middleweight champion at UFC 236.

UFC 243 takes place on Saturday, Oct.5, 2019, live from the Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Australia. Follow along with FanSided MMA for all your live results and highlights.