Ranking every UFC middleweight champion from worst to best
14 different fighters have held the UFC middleweight championship since the title came into existence in 2001. Since then, the 185-pound title has become one of the most prestigious achievements in mixed martial arts. Many of the sport's most iconic fighters have had the gold around their waste, but which among them stands out as the best of all time?
Ranking champions is never an easy feat as all those who have reached that pinnacle did so by being the absolute best at what they did. Even the "worst" one still became a UFC champion and that is an accolade an athlete could hold proud the rest of their life. Nevertheless, in the annals of great fighters and even greater champions, there are those whose achievements set them apart, putting them in a rarified position amongst the most elite to ever compete in MMA.
The champions on this list represent over 20 years of the best MMA offers at middleweight. Important aspects when compiling this ranking are overall title defenses, quality of competition before and during the championship reign, and each fighter's respective eras.
Many fighters dream of becoming UFC champions but out of all those to compete at middleweight and challenge for belts, only a select few have made their ambitions a reality. These are all the middleweight champions in UFC history thus far, ranked from worst to best.
14. Evan Tanner
The late Evan Tanner (32-8) won the vacant middleweight title in 2005 by defeating David Terrell (6-2). Tanner used effective ground and pound to a first-round victory at UFC 51. Unfortunately, Tanner lost the belt in his first defense at UFC 53 to Rich Franklin (29-7-1). Tanner had a solid MMA career, compiling over thirty wins and even competing for the UFC light heavyweight title against Tito Ortiz (21-12-1) at UFC 30. Despite coming up short, Tanner remained a contender and took notable wins over men like future UFC welterweight champion, Robbie Lawler (30-16-1). Though his time at the top was short-lived, Tanner was an MMA pioneer who got his start in the sport when it was nowhere near as popular as it would come to be.
13. Dave Menne
Dave Menne (45-17-2) was the first-ever UFC middleweight champion. He won the belt by defeating Gil Castillo (11-5) at UFC 33. Despite his achievement, Menne, lost the title in his first defense, succumbing to Murilo Bustamante (15-8-1) at UFC 35. Menne fought and beat some of the highest-quality competition the early days of MMA offered. He beat Carlos Newton (16-14) and Hayato Sakurai (38-13-2). Unfortunately, despite Menne's accomplishments, he is often overshadowed by other middleweight champions. It doesn't help Menne's case that he never successfully defended his belt.
12. Murilo Bustamante
Bustamante arguably paved the way for the stellar Brazilian middleweights who came after him. He defeated Menne for the middleweight title and defended it once against Matt Lindland (22-9) at UFC 37, famously submitting Lindland twice in the same bout after referee John McCarthy allegedly missed Lindland's first tapout in the opening round. This was Bustamante's last fight with the UFC, as he became a free agent right after and moved on to Pride FC. There's no telling how much Bustamante could have accomplished as champion had contract negotiations made it so he could've stayed with the UFC.
11. Sean Strickland
Sean Strickland (29-6) defeated one of the greatest fighters ever, Israel Adesanya (24-3) at UFC 293 to earn his middleweight title. It was one of the biggest upsets in history, and a long time coming for Strickland who had put a lot of time into the UFC, fighting everyone the company told him to. Strickland's out-of-cage antics and behavior caused many to question whether he'd even get a crack at the title due to his propensity for negative press.
However, a solid middleweight track record was enough to push him forward to gold. Strickland was unsuccessful in his lone title defense, losing a split decision to Dricus du Plessis (21-2) at UFC 297. Fortunately, Strickland is a popular middleweight with the skills to back it up, so he's still in the championship hunt and could potentially find himself ranked higher if he regains gold.
10. Dricus du Plessis
Du Plessis can be a longstanding champion but hasn't done enough to assert his legacy yet. He has beaten great fighters already though like Strickland. He is one of the few middleweights to unravel the puzzle of former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker (26-7), stopping him in the second round at UFC 290. Du Plessis is due to make his first title defense against Adesanya at UFC 305. Defeating Adesanya would go a long way toward making du Plessis one of the greatest UFC middleweight champions.
9. Alex Pereira
Alex Pereira (11-2) is the only fighter to become a double champion in kickboxing and MMA. He defeated one of the most elite middleweights in history, Adesanya to gain the crown at UFC 281 but dropped it shortly after in the rematch at UFC 287. He has since found a home at light heavyweight, earning that title at UFC 295 by beating Jiri Prochazka. Pereira went from unranked challenger to champion in an exceptionally short time, defeating opponents like Strickland on his path to gold. Pereira seems more fit for the light heavyweight division, not having to deal with as hellish a weight cut down to 185 pounds.
8. Luke Rockhold
Luke Rockhold (16-6) was a former Strikeforce middleweight champion before debuting with the UFC. He defeated men like Michael Bisping (30-9) and former UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida (26-12) on his way to UFC gold. His crowning moment came when he beat Chris Weidman (16-7) via fourth-round TKO to earn the middleweight belt. Rockhold's reign was short, dropping the belt one bout later to Bisping in a rematch and never quite regaining his championship form after.
7. Georges St-Pierre
Georges St-Pierre (26-2) isn't as often remembered as a great middleweight champion because his welterweight resume eclipses almost everything else. However, after a four-year break from fighting, St-Pierre moved up to middleweight and won the title, defeating Bisping at UFC 217 in round three with a rear naked choke. Though St-Pierre vacated the belt due to illness, he's one of the best fighters of all time and to achieve what he did in a completely different division from the one he made his name in has to place him amongst the greatest middleweight champions.
6. Robert Whittaker
Whittaker first tasted UFC gold by defeating Yoel Romero (16-7) by unanimous decision for the interim middleweight title at UFC 213 in a back-and-forth matchup. Whittaker was eventually promoted to undisputed champion after St-Pierre vacated. Despite losing his first title defense to Adesanya, Whittaker is one of the greatest middleweights of all time. He's defeated almost every notable fighter to compete in the division, with names like Ronaldo Souza (26-10)(1) and Jared Cannonier (17-7) on his resume. Whittaker still hunts a title shot and has all the tools to one day possibly wear gold again.
5. Michael Bisping
Bisping won the middleweight belt in a huge upset against his bitter rival Rockhold. He then defended it once against Dan Henderson (32-15) to avenge one of the worst knockout losses in MMA history. Their first meeting at UFC 100 stifled Bisping's momentum, but his path back to the title and toward redemption is as inspirational as it gets. Bisping suffered an eye injury after a knockout loss to Vitor Belfort (26-14)(1) in 2013 and spent the rest of his career with impaired vision. Despite this unfortunate circumstance, Bisping kept fighting and stacking wins against top contenders till he was finally a champion himself.
4. Rich Franklin
Franklin is a former high school math teacher turned MMA champion. He captured the belt at UFC 53 and defended twice against Nate Quarry (12-4) and David Loiseau (23-11) before running into the all-time great, Anderson Silva (34-11-1) and losing at UFC 64. For his time, Franklin was considered one of the best pound-for-pound fighters. He challenged once more for the middleweight title but lost to Silva again at UFC 77. His career impresses nonetheless and his status as an MMA pioneer and solid champion for his era can't be understated.
3. Chris Weidman
Weidman brought an end to one of the longest title reigns in UFC history by defeating Silva at UFC 162. He was a heavy underdog who did the impossible knocking out the once-dominant champion in stunning fashion early into the second round. Three title defenses were all Weidman had in him, defeating Silva in a rematch and then the legends Machida and Belfort back to back. He unfortunately fell off after losing to Rockhold but his accomplishments have held up. Weidman was a fantastic MMA wrestler with a strong overall game. Weidman was merely 9-0 when he battled and defeated the vastly more experienced Silva and his victory remains iconic.
2. Israel Adesanya
Adesanya is the only man on this list to regain the middleweight title after losing it the first time. He's not only one of the most successful kickboxers ever, but one of the most accomplished athletes to cross over to MMA from that background. He earned his middleweight crown at UFC 243 by defeating Whittaker and uniting the interim title he won against Kelvin Gastelum (19-9-1) at UFC 236 with Whittaker's undisputed crown.
His five successful title defenses are second most to Silva and he has notable wins over some of the best middleweights currently competing. Though he lost the belt to Pereira, he regained it shortly after before dropping it again against Strickland. Adesanya will attempt to reach gold a third time at UFC 305 when he fights his bitter rival du Plessis.
1. Anderson Silva
Silva is not only the greatest middleweight champion of all time, but possibly one of the greatest fighters ever. His 10 successful middleweight title victories are still the most ever and he held the belt from 2006-2013. Silva was virtually unbeatable at his peak easily dispatching every challenger no matter how tough they seemed on paper. He won the belt from Franklin at UFC 64 and lost it at UFC 162, a span of 2,457 days.
Silva was champion for a while till age caught up and he faced the next generation of talent, with men like Weidman and Adesanya amongst those fighters he fell to. However, Silva defended successfully against the best fighters of his time like Belfort, Henderson, and even survived close calls with fierce competitors like Chael Sonnen (31-17-1). Silva was the most dominant fighter of his era and the best middleweight champion in UFC history thus far.