Who was the UFC's first middleweight champion?
Everything you need to know about who the UFC's first middleweight champion.
With how fast-paced the UFC has become over the years, champions come and champions go, and UFC Hall of Fame careers are built on title reigns and dominance in each division.
For example, take a look at former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva. Silva took the title from Rich Franklin and never looked back. Silva would become the face of the UFC middleweights during his reign. The records that he set in the division are so impressive it is a huge factor in why he will forever be enshrined in the UFC Hall of Fame.
As the sport of mixed martial arts evolves, so does the excitement and demand for entertaining champions. Contenders emerge at a rapid pace, but to become champ it creates a new breed of athlete.
As time continues to pass, former champions and pioneers who paved the way for the sport often are forgotten in the blink of an eye.
Dave Menne captured gold in Vegas
This seems to be the case when it comes to the first-ever UFC middleweight champion. Dave Menne became the first UFC middleweight champ on Sep 28, 2001, against Gil Castillo on what was a stacked UFC 33: Victory in Vegas card that had three big title fights on the line, including the middleweight.
Once Menne won the middleweight championship, his short reign could be the reason that he is a lesser known champion in the legacy of the middleweight title picture, as he did not defend his title. Menne looked to defend it against Murilo Bustamante, but with a well-timed overhand bomb Menne succumbed to strikes in round two at UFC 35: Throwdown.
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Now Menne’s legacy inside the Octagon as the first ever UFC middleweight champion may go unnoticed as the UFC’s fan base continues to grow, but Menne will always be the first pillar in the middleweight division and he will always go down in the history books as the first ever champion.