5 shortest-reigning champions in UFC history
This weekend at UFC 297, Sean Strickland will look to defend his middleweight title against top contender Dricus du Plessis.
Having only won the middleweight title in September, if Sean Strickland loses this weekend, he’ll become one of the shortest-reigning UFC champions in UFC history. ‘Tarzan’ will not have the shortest reign, though. His time could end at 132 days, but remarkably, there have been a number of shorter-reigning titleholders.
With that in mind, here are the five shortest-reigning champions in UFC history.
(Note: For the purposes of this article, only champions who lost their title in the octagon have been considered.)
#5. Evan Tanner – UFC middleweight champion (119 days)
After Murilo Bustamante departed the UFC in October 2002, the promotion was left without a middleweight champion for a long time – the best part of three years.
Despite the 185-pound division essentially being on ice, though, by 2005, a number of newer talents had begun to break through. Once such talent was David Terrell, a grappling whiz who burst onto the scene by knocking out top-ranked middleweight Matt Lindland in his octagon debut.
Following his big win, Terrell was instantly put into a bout for the vacant title against veteran Evan Tanner, who’d won three fights since moving to 185 pounds in 2004.
The majority of observers expected Terrell to blast through Tanner, but in a mild upset, the veteran survived a hellacious opening portion to stop ‘The Soul Assassin’ late in the first round.
Tanner’s win made him one of the most unlikely titleholders in UFC history, but his reign didn’t last long at all.
The promotion never felt completely behind him as a champ, and just under four months after beating Terrell, he found himself faced with Rich Franklin, who he’d already lost to at 205 pounds in 2003.
The bout was a bridge too far for Tanner, who succumbed to a fourth-round TKO loss, ending his reign at 119 days and making him one of the shortest-reigning titleholders.
#4. Jessica Andrade – UFC strawweight champion (112 days)
It’s hard to call any title win in the UFC a fluke, but Jessica Andrade’s strawweight title victory in 2019 was probably closer to that than most.
The Brazilian appeared to be outgunned in her bout with reigning champ Rose Namajunas and suffered a knockdown in the first round.
In the second, though, after the two women clinched, Namajunas went for an ill-conceived standing kimura. ‘Bate Estaca’ countered by lifting her up and slamming her to the ground.
‘Thug Rose’ hit the ground headfirst, knocking her senseless, and the fight was over, with Andrade becoming the new champion.
Just over three months later, though, the Brazilian agreed to head into hostile territory to face off with Weili Zhang in her home country of China.
Quite why she agreed to such a quick turnaround was mystifying, but it turned out to be a major error. After eating a huge right hand, Andrade clinched, only to eat a series of brutal elbows to the head.
From there, Zhang quickly swarmed her, and the fight was over, with ‘Magnum’ ending Andrade’s brief title reign after just 112 days.
#3. Holly Holm – UFC bantamweight champion (111 days)
Holly Holm’s bantamweight title win in November 2015 remains one of the most memorable victories in UFC history.
‘The Preacher’s Daughter’ famously dispatched longtime titleholder Ronda Rousey, arguably the promotion’s biggest star, with a second-round head kick, carving her name into history.
Following her win, most fans expected her to be put into an immediate rematch with Rousey, who was apparently gunning to get her title back.
Strangely, though, that wasn’t the case. ‘Rowdy’ decided to take a lengthy absence from the octagon, and so less than four months after her title win, Holm instead found herself faced with Miesha Tate.
On paper, it seemed like a relatively simple defense for Holm, who had plenty of hype around her after her win over Rousey.
However, ‘Cupcake’ proved to be tougher than anyone could’ve imagined, and after a back-and-forth fight, she was able to sink in a rear-naked choke in the fifth round.
Despite fighting with everything she had, ‘The Preacher’s Daughter’ eventually passed out, making Tate an unlikely champion and adding Holm to the list of short-lived titleholders.
Ironically, Tate herself ended up joining the same list just four months later, when she lost her crown to Amanda Nunes as the title continued to be passed around like a hot potato.
#2. Dave Menne – UFC middleweight champion (105 days)
Even if Sean Strickland is dethroned as middleweight champion after 132 days this weekend, he won’t be the shortest-lived titleholder at 185 pounds.
Not only will ‘Tarzan’ have a lengthier title reign than Evan Tanner, he’ll also have longer with the crown than inaugural titleholder Dave Menne.
‘The Warrior’ surprised many fans by claiming the title in a five-round slog against Gil Castillo in late 2001, despite his spotty record of 30-7-2 and the fact that he came into the bout off a loss.
Menne never really felt like a secure champion, though, and it was hardly a surprise to see him dethroned in his first title defense.
However, the speed in which it happened was slightly alarming. Just three months after claiming the title, ‘The Warrior’ was comfortably beaten by Murilo Bustamante, who knocked him out in the second round of their bout.
After his reign ended at just 105 days, Menne fought in the octagon just three more times in his career. Bustamante, meanwhile, never defended his title, instead vacating later in 2002 to move to PRIDE.
The Brazilian’s move left the middleweight division on ice for nearly three years.
#1. Carla Esparza – UFC strawweight champion (92 days)
One of only two UFC champions to win their titles by coming out on top of a season of The Ultimate Fighter, Carla Esparza became the inaugural strawweight titleholder in December 2014.
It was hard not to be impressed by ‘Cookie Monster’ during her time on the reality show. Despite accusations of bullying her fellow castmates, she defeated three highly rated opponents in Angela Hill, Tecia Torres, and Randa Markos to make the final.
In that final, Esparza ground down and eventually choked out Rose Namajunas, claiming the UFC’s newest title. The win seemed to put her on the fast track to stardom.
At the time, nobody could’ve guessed that her title reign would not even last 100 days.
Just three months after she won the title, she was matched with top contender Joanna Jedrzejczyk, one of the few fighters to have not competed in the TUF tournament.
A renowned kickboxer, many fans expected the Polish fighter to succumb to Esparza’s takedowns and top control. However, the exact opposite happened.
Esparza didn’t come close to taking Jedrzejczyk down, and found herself badly outgunned standing. After taking a brutal beating, ‘Cookie Monster’ saw her title reign end in the second round, when the fight was called off via TKO.
Jedrzejczyk went onto a legendary title reign that encompassed five successful defenses, while Esparza, for a time at least, looked destined to be a footnote in the division’s history.
Remarkably, though, 2022 saw her climb the ladder again, eventually claiming the title for a second time – ironically beating old foe Namajunas again.
Esparza’s reign once again ended in her first defense, but this time at least lasted a little longer at 190 days.