A detailed timeline of every UFC champion since the start of the new millennium [UPDATED JULY 2024]
By Amy Kaplan
The year 2000 seems like a heartbeat away for a lot of people, but for some young UFC fans, they weren’t even born yet. For others (like me) it was the year they were graduating high school, and well before I ever discovered MMA. So, just for fun, we’re putting together a brief timeline of every UFC champion since the start of the new millennium.
New UFC champions in 2000
April 14 – Tito Ortiz won the UFC light heavyweight title when he defeated Wanderlei Silva at UFC 25.
Nov. 17 – Randy Couture won the UFC heavyweight title when he defeated Kevin Randleman at UFC 28.
New UFC champions in 2001
Feb. 23 – Jens Pulver won the UFC lightweight title when he defeated Caol Uno at UFC 30.
May 4 – Carlos Newton won the UFC welterweight title when he defeated Pat Miletich at UFC 31.
Sept. 28 – Dave Menne won the inaugural UFC middleweight title when he defeated Gil Castillo at UFC 33.
Nov. 2 – Matt Hughes won the UFC welterweight title when he defeated Carlos Newton at UFC 34.
New UFC champions in 2002
Jan. 11 – Murilo Bustamante won the UFC middleweight title when he defeated Dave Menne at UFC 35.
March 22 – Josh Barnett won the UFC heavyweight title when he defeated Randy Couture.
March 23 – Jens Pulver was stripped of the lightweight title when he left the UFC due to contract issues.
July 26 – Barnett was stripped of the title when he tested positive for anabolic steroids in a post-fight drug test.
Sept. 27 – Ricco Rodriguez won the UFC heavyweight title when he defeated Randy Couture at UFC 39.
Oct. 5 – Murilo Bustamante was stripped of the UFC middleweight title when he left the promotion for Pride.
New UFC champions in 2003
Feb. 28 (UFC 41)
- Tim Sylvia won the UFC heavyweight title when he defeated Ricco Rodriguez.
- B.J. Penn and Caol Uno fought to a draw in the finale of a 4-man tournament for the vacant title.
June 6 – Randy Couture won the interim UFC light heavyweight title when he defeated Chuck Liddell at UFC 43.
Sept. 26 – Randy Couture won the UFC light heavyweight title when he defeated Tito Ortiz at UFC 44
Oct. 15 – Sylvia was stripped of the title after testing positive for anabolic steroids in a post-fight drug test.
New UFC champions in 2004
Jan. 31, 2004 (UFC 46)
- Vitor Belfor won the UFC light heavyweight title when he defeated Randy Couture.
- B.J. Penn won the UFC welterweight title when he defeated Matt Hughes.
May 17 – B.J. Penn was stripped of his welterweight title when he left the UFC for K-1
June 19 – Frank Mir won the UFC heavyweight title when he defeated Tim Sylvia at UFC 48.
Aug. 21 – Randy Couture won the UFC light heavyweight title when he defeated Vitor Belfort at UFC 49.
Oct. 22 – Matt Hughes won the vacant UFC welterweight title when he defeated Georges St-Pierre at UFC 50.
New UFC champions in 2005
Feb. 5 (UFC 51)
- Andrei Arlovski won the interim UFC heavyweight title when he defeated Tim Sylvia.
- Evan Tanner won the vacant UFC middleweight title when he defeated David Terrell.
April 16 – Chuck Liddell won the UFC light heavyweight title when he defeated Randy Couture at UFC 52.
June 4 – Rich Franklin won the UFC middleweight title when he defeated Evan Tanner at UFC 53.
Aug. 12 – Mir was stripped of the title for inactivity resulting from injuries he sustained in a road accident. Arlovski was promoted to undisputed champion.
New UFC champions in 2006
April 15 – Tim Sylvia won the UFC heavyweight title when he defeated Andrei Arlovski at UFC 59: Reality Check.
Oct. 14 (UFC 64)
- Anderson Silva won the UFC middleweight title when he defeated Rich Franklin.
- Sean Sherk won the vacant UFC lightweight title when he defeated Kenny Florian.
Nov. 18 – Georges St-Pierre won the UFC welterweight title when he defeated Matt Hughes.
New UFC champions in 2007
March 3 – Randy Couture won the UFC heavyweight title when he defeated Tim Sylvia at UFC 68
April 7 – Matt Serra won the UFC welterweight title when he defeated Georges St-Pierre at UFC 69.
May 26 – Quinton “Rampage” Jackson won the UFC light heavyweight title when he defeated Chuck Liddell at UFC 71.
Dec. 8 – Sean Sherk was stripped of the lightweight title after testing positive for anabolic steroids.
Dec. 29 – Georges St-Pierre won the interim UFC welterweight title when he defeated Matt Hughes at UFC 79.
New UFC champions in 2008
Jan. 19 – B.J. Penn won the vacant UFC lightweight title when he defeated Joe Stevenson at UFC 80.
Feb. 2 – Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira won the interim UFC heavyweight title when he defeated Tim Sylvia at UFC 81.
March 1 – The Pride World Welterweight Championship was unified with the UFC Middleweight Championship when Anderson Silva defeated Dan Henderson at UFC 82.
April 19 – Georges St-Pierre won the UFC welterweight title when he defeated Matt Serra at UFC 83.
July 5 – Forrest Griffin won the UFC light heavyweight title when he defeated Quinton “Rampage” Jackson at UFC 86
Nov 15 – Brock Lesnar won the UFC heavyweight title when he defeated Randy Couture at UFC 81.
Dec 27 (UFC 92)
- Frank Mir won the interim UFC heavyweight title when he defeated Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira.
- Rashad Evans won the UFC light heavyweight title when he defeated Forrest Griffin.
New UFC champions in 2009
May 23 – Lyoto Machida won the UFC light heavyweight title when he defeated Rashad Evans at UFC 98.
New UFC champions in 2010
March 27 – Shane Carwin won the interim UFC heavyweight title when he defeated Frank Mir at UFC 111.
April 10 – Frankie Edgar won the UFC lightweight title when he defeated B.J. Penn at UFC 112.
May 8 – Maurício “Shogun” Rua won the UFC light heavyweight title when he defeated Lyoto Machida at UFC 113.
Oct. 23 – Cain Velasquez won the UFC heavyweight title when he defeated Brock Lesnar at UFC 121.
Nov. 20 – Jose Aldo was awarded the inaugural UFC featherweight title at UFC 123 in a ceremony prior to the event.
Dec. 16 – Dominick Cruz defeated Scott Jorgensen at WEC 52 to retain his WEC bantamweight title and was awarded the inaugural UFC bantamweight title.
New UFC champions in 2011
March 19 – Jon Jones won the UFC light heavyweight title when he defeated Maurício “Shogun” Rua at UFC 128.
July 21 – Renan Barão won the interim UFC bantamweight title when he defeated Urijah Faber at UFC 149.
Nov. 12 – Junior dos Santos won the UFC heavyweight title when he defeated Cain Velasquez at UFC on Fox: Velasquez vs. dos Santos.
New UFC champions in 2012
Feb. 4 – Carlos Condit won the interim UFC welterweight title when he defeated Nick Diaz at UFC 143.
Feb. 26 – Benson Henderson won the UFC lightweight title when he defeated Frankie Edgar at UFC 144.
Sept. 22 – Demetrious Johnson defeated Joseph Benavidez at UFC 152 in the finale of a 4-man tournament for the inaugural title.
Dec. 6 – Ronda Rousey was given the UFC women’s bantamweight title at the UFC on Fox: Henderson vs. Diaz pre-event press conference.
Dec. 29 – Cain Velasquez won the UFC heavyweight title when he defeated Junior dos Santos at UFC 155.
New UFC champions in 2013
July 6, 2013 – Chris Weidman won the UFC middleweight title when he defeated Anderson Silva at UFC 162.
Aug. 31 – Anthony Pettis won the UFC lightweight title when he defeated Benson Henderson at UFC 164.
Dec. 13 – Georges St-Pierre vacated the welterweight title to take time off from the sport.
New UFC champions in 2014
Jan. 6 – Renan Barão promoted to UFC bantamweight champion.
March 15 – Johny Hendricks won the UFC welterweight title when he defeated Robbie Lawler
May 24 – T.J. Dillashaw won the UFC bantamweight title when he defeated Renan Barao at UFC 173.
Nov. 15 – Fabrício Werdum won the interim UFC heavyweight title when he defeated Mark Hunt at UFC 180.
Dec. 6 – Robbie Lawler won the UFC welterweight title when he defeated Johny Hendricks.
Dec. 12 – Carla Esparza defeated Rose Namajunas for the inaugural women’s strawweight title in the tournament finale of The Ultimate Fighter: A Champion Will Be Crowned.
New UFC champions in 2015
March 14 (UFC 185)
- Rafael dos Anjos won the UFC lightweight title when he defeated Anthony Pettis at UFC 185.
- Joanna Jędrzejczyk won the UFC women’s strawweight title when she defeated Carla Esparza.
April 28 – Jon Jones was stripped of the UFC light heavyweight title due to his involvement and arrest in a felony hit-and-run.
May 23 – Daniel Cormier won the interim UFC light heavyweight title when he defeated Anthony Johnson at UFC 187.
June 13 – Fabrício Werdum won the UFC heavyweight title when he defeated Cain Velasquez at UFC 188.
July 11 – Conor McGregor won the interim UFC featherweight title when he defeated Chad Mendes at UFC 189.
Nov. 15 – Holly Holm won the UFC women’s bantamweight title when she defeated Ronda Rousey at UFC 193.
Dec. 12 (UFC 194)
- Luke Rockhold won the UFC middleweight title when he defeated Chris Weidman.
- Conor McGregor won the UFC featherweight title when he defeated Jose Aldo.
New UFC champions in 2016
Jan. 17 – Dominick Cruz won the UFC bantamweight title when he defeated T.J. Dillashaw at UFC Fight Night: Dillashaw vs. Cruz
March 5 – Miesha Tate won the UFC women’s bantamweight title when she defeated Holly Holm at UFC 196.
April 23 – Jon Jones won the interim UFC light heavyweight title when he defeated Ovince Saint Preux at UFC 197.
May 14 – Stipe Miocic won the UFC heavyweight title when he defeated Fabrício Werdum at UFC 198.
June 4 – Michael Bisping won the UFC middleweight title when he defeated Luke Rockhold at UFC 199.
July 7 – Eddie Alvarez won the UFC lightweight title when he defeated Rafael dos Anjos at UFC Fight Night: dos Anjos vs. Alvarez.
July 9 (UFC 200)
- Jose Aldo won the interim UFC featherweight title when he defeated Frankie Edgar.
- Amanda Nunes won the UFC women’s bantamweight title when she defeated Miesha Tate.
July 30 – Tyron Woodley won the UFC welterweight title when he defeated Robbie Lawler at UFC 201.
Nov. 9 – Jon Jones was stripped of the title again, this time for a failed pre-fight drug test.
Nov. 12 – Conor McGregor won the UFC lightweight title when he defeated Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205. With this win, he became the first-ever UFC two-division champion, and the champ-champ era was born.
Nov. 26 – Conor McGregor relinquished his featherweight title, Jose Aldo promoted to undisputed champion.
Dec. 10 – Max Holloway won the interim UFC featherweight title when he defeated Anthony Pettis at UFC 206.
Dec. 30 – Cody Garbrandt won the UFC bantamweight title when he defeated Dominick Cruz at UFC 207.
New UFC champions in 2017
Feb. 11 – Germaine de Randamie won the inaugural women’s featherweight title when she defeated Holly Holm at UFC 208.
June 3 – Max Holloway won the interim UFC featherweight title when he defeated Jose Aldo at UFC 212.
June 8 – Robert Whittaker won the interim UFC middleweight title when he defeated Yoel Romero at UFC 213.
June 19 – Germaine de Randamie was stripped of the featherweight title after she refused to defend the title against Cris “Cyborg” Justino.
July 29 (UFC 214)
- Jon Jones won the UFC light heavyweight title when he defeated Daniel Cormier.
- Cris “Cyborg” Justino won the UFC featherweight title when she defeated Tonya Evinger.
Sept. 13– Jon Jones’s UFC 241 win was overturned and he was stripped of the title after a failed pre-fight drug test. Daniel Cormier was reinstated as UFC light heavyweight champion.
Oct. 7 – Tony Ferguson won the interim UFC lightweight title when he defeated Kevin Lee at UFC 216.
Nov. 4 (UFC 217)
- Georges St-Pierre won the UFC middleweight title when he defeated Michael Bisping.
- T.J. Dillashaw won the UFC bantamweight title when he defeated Cody Garbrandt.
- Rose Namaunas won the UFC women’s strawweight title when she defeated Joanna Jędrzejczyk.
Dec. 1 – Nicco Montaño won the inaugural UFC women’s flyweight title when she defeated Roxanne Modafferi at The Ultimate Fighter 26 Finale.
Dec. 7 – Georges St-Pierre vacated the UFC middleweight title due to ulcerative colitis. Robert Whittaker promoted to the undisputed champion.
New UFC champions in 2018
April 7 –
- Khabib Nurmagomedov won the vacant UFC lightweight title when he defeated Al Iaquinta at UFC 223.
- Conor McGregor was stripped of his lightweight title due to inactivity.
- Tony Ferguson was stripped of his interim lightweight title due to injury.
June 9 – Colby Covington won the interim UFC welterweight title when he defeated Rafael dos Anjos at UFC 225.
July 7 – Daniel Cormier won the UFC heavyweight title when he defeated Stipe Miocic at UFC 226. With this win, Cormier becomes a double champion, holding both the heavyweight and light heavyweight titles.
Aug. 4 – Henry Cejudo won the UFC flyweight title when he defeated Demetrious Johnson at UFC 227.
Sept. 7 – Nicco Montaño was stripped of her UFC flyweight title after she was forced to withdraw from UFC 228 due to weight issues.
Sept. 8 ( UFC 231)
- Colby Covington stripped of his interim welterweight title.
- Valentina Shevchenko won the vacant UFC women’s flyweight title when she defeated Joanna Jędrzejczyk.
Dec. 28 – Daniel Cormier vacated his light heavyweight title.
Dec 29 (UFC 232)
- Jon Jones won the UFC light heavyweight title when he defeated Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 232.
- Amanda Nunes won the UFC featherweight title when she defeated Cris “Cyborg” Justino to become the first women’s double champion.
New UFC champions in 2019
March 2 – Kamaru Usman won the UFC welterweight title when he defeated Tyron Woodley at UFC 235.
March 20 – T.J. Dillashaw vacated the bantamweight title due to a failed drug test.
April 13 (UFC 236)
- Israel Adesanya won the interim UFC middleweight title after defeating Kelvin Gastelum.
- Dustin Poirier won the interim UFC lightweight title when he defeated Max Holloway.
May 11 – Jéssica Andrade won the UFC women’s strawweight title when she defeated Rose Namajunas at UFC 237.
June 8 – Henry Cejudo won the UFC bantamweight title when he defeated Marlon Moraes to become a two-division champion.
Aug. 17 – Stipe Miocic won the UFC heavyweight title when he defeated Daniel Cormier at UFC 241.
Aug. 31 – Zhang Weili won the UFC women’s strawweight title when she defeated Jéssica Andrade at UFC Fight Night: Andrade vs. Zhang. She became the first Chinese born UFC champion.
Oct. 5 - Israel Adesanya becomes undisputed middleweight champion after beating Robert Whittaker via second round KO.
Dec. 14 - Alexander Volkanovski wins the featherweight title by defeating Max Holloway at UFC 245.
Dec. 20 - Henry Cejudo announced he will vacate the flyweight title in order to focus on the bantamweight title.
New UFC champions in 2020
May 9 - Justin Gaethje defeated Tony Ferguson to claim the interim lightweight title.
May 24 - Henry Cejudo announces his retirement, the bantamweight title is now vacant.
July 12 - Petr Yan wins vacant featherweight title when he defeats Jose Aldo at UFC 251.
July 19 - Deiveson Figueiredo becomes undisputed flyweight champion when he defeated Joseph Benavidez.
Aug 17 - Jon Jones vacates the light heavyweight title, announces desire to fight for heavyweight title.
Sept. 27 - Jan Błachowicz defeated Dominick Reyes to become the new undisputed light heavyweight champion,
Oct. 24 - Khabib Nurmagomedov retires from MMA following the defeat of Justin Gaethje. The lightweight title is vacant.
New UFC champions in 2021
March 6 - Aljamain Sterling wins the featherweight title via a controversial head kick after Petr Yan was disqualified.
March 27- Francis Ngannou becomes heavyweight champion when he defeated the interim champion Ciryl Gane at UFC 270.
April 24 - Rose Namajunas defeated Zhang Weili at UFC 261 to become the strawweight champion.
May 15 - Charles Oliveira wins the vacant lightweight title when he defeated Michael Chandler at UFC 262.
June 12 - Brandon Moreno wins the flyweight title after (finally) defeating Deiveson Figueiredo.
Aug 7 - Ciryl Gane regains his interim heavyweight title when he defeated Derrick Lewis. Ngannou was sidelined due to a knee injury.
Oct. 30 - UFC 267:
- Glover Teixeira defeated Jan Błachowicz to become the new light heavyweight champion.
- Petr Yan wins interim bantamweight title while Sterling recovered from neck surgery.
Dec. 11 - Julianna Pena defeated Amanda Nunes to become the fourth women's bantamweight champion in UFC history.
New UFC champions in 2022
Jan. 22 - Deiveson Figueiredo wins the flyweight title back when he defeated Brandon Moreno at UFC 270.
April 9 - Aljamain Sterling returns from injury time off to defeat Petr Yan again, retains undisputed bantamweight title.
May 7 - UFC 274:
- Charles Oliveira was stripped of the title for missing weight after controversial scale issues. He defeated Justin Gaethje a day later but the title remained vacant.
- Carla Esparza narrowly snatches the strawweight title from Rose Namajunas after a boring five-round title fight where no strikes were thrown.
June 12 - Jiří Procházka stuns with a final second submission of Glover Teixeira to become the new light heavyweight champion.
July 30 - Brandon Moreno wins the interim flyweight title when he defeated Kai Kara-France after Deiveson Figueiredo is injured.
Aug. 20 - Leon Edwards stuns the Salt Lake City crowd with a highlight reel KO of Kamaru Usman to win middleweight title.
Oct. 22 - Islam Makhachev wins mentor Khabib Nurmagomedov's old title when he defeated Charles Oliviera for the vacant lightweight title.
Nov. 12 - UFC 281:
- Alex Pereira shocks with fifth-round KO of Israel Adesanya to earn the middleweight title.
- Zhang Weili regains her strawweight title by defeating Carla Esparza.
Nov. 23 - Jiří Procházka suffers shoulder injury and vacates his title.
Dec. 10 - UFC light heavyweight title remains vacant after Jan Błachowicz and Magomed Ankalaev fight to a draw.
New UFC champions in 2023
Jan. 14 - Francis Ngannou leaves the UFC after contract negotiations stalled. The UFC heavyweight title is now vacant.
Jan. 21 - UFC 283:
- Jamahal Hill becomes the first Dana White Contender Series product to become an undisputed UFC champion when he defeated Glover Teixeira at UFC 283 to be the new light heavyweight champion.
- Brandon Moreno becomes undisputed flyweight champion when he defeated Deiveson Figueiredo.
Feb. 12 - Yair Rodríguez wins interim featherweight title after Volkanovski tries for another title.
March 4 - UFC 285:
- Jon Jones wins the undisputed heavyweight title when he finished Ciryl Gane in the first round. Jones is hailed as the GOAT now that he has held both light heavyweight and heavyweight titles.
- Alexa Grasso becomes the third woman to become the UFC flyweight champion when she defeated longtime champion, Valentina Shevchenko.
April 8 - Israel Adesanya gets his title back and redemption after three losses when he defeated Alex Pereira at UFC 287 for the middleweight title.
June 10 - Amanda Nunes announces her retirement, the women's featherweight and bantamweight titles becomes vacant.
July 8 - UFC 290:
- Alexander Volkanovski returns to featherweight division and defends his undisputed title against interim champion, Yair Rodríguez.
- Alexandre Pantoja becomes the new flyweight champion after defeating Brandon Moreno.
July 14 - Jamahal Hill vacated his light heavyweight title due to an achilles tendon rupture.
Aug. 19 - Sean O'Malley became the bantamweight champion when he defeated Aljamain Sterling via a second-round TKO at UFC 292. He is the second DWCS fighter to win an undisputed UFC title.
Sept. 9 - Sean Strickland shocked the world when he became the UFC middleweight champion after a five-round domination of the former champion, Adesanya.
Nov. 11 - UFC 295
- Alex Pereira became a UFC double champion when he defeated Jiri Procházka via TKO in the second round. With the win, he earned the vacant light heavyweight title.
- Tom Aspinall knocked out Sergei Pavlovich on just a few weeks' notice to become the UFC interim heavyweight champion after Jon Jones was injured and pulled out of the fight.
New UFC champions in 2024
Jan. 20 - UFC 297
- Dricus Du Plessis became the first South African UFC champion when he defeated Sean Strickland via a close split decision.
- Raquel Pennington secured the vacant women's bantamweight title when seh defeated Mayra Bueno Silva via unanimous decision.
Feb. 17 - Ilia Topuria becomes the new new featherweight champion after knocking out Alexander Volkanovski in round two.
July 27 - Belal Muhammad becomes the new welterweight champion after defeating Leon Edwards at UFC 304.
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