7 UFC fighters who have won titles in multiple weight classes
In the world of MMA, winning a UFC title is the highest a fighter can hope for. However, some great fighters aim even higher.
Over the years, there have been a small handful of fighters who were able to win UFC titles in multiple weight classes, some at the same time. This remains a rare feat, with a number of greats trying, and failing, to replicate it. Therefore, those who achieve it are marked with greatness forever.
Here are seven UFC fighters who have won championships in multiple weight classes.
#7. BJ Penn – UFC lightweight and welterweight champion
While his UFC career ended in truly awful fashion, suffering seven losses in a row, BJ Penn remains a legend of the octagon.
The Hawaiian earned his legendary status by becoming one of the few fighters to win titles in multiple weight classes, although he narrowly missed out on becoming a simultaneous double champ.
Penn’s first title win came in 2004. After failing to secure the lightweight title on two occasions, he moved up to 170lbs to face dominant welterweight champion Matt Hughes. Few fans gave ‘The Prodigy’ a shot at dethroning Hughes, who hadn’t lost in years and had already made five successful defenses of his title. However, the world was shocked when Penn took him down, hurt him with a big right hand, and then choked him out in the first round.
The Hawaiian never defended his title, instead departing the UFC to fight in multiple weight classes across the world, even competing as a 205lber at one point.
When he returned two years later, he failed to regain the welterweight crown, but a drop back to his initial weight of 155lbs worked wonders and he claimed the lightweight title in 2008.
Jan19.2008
10 years ago today,
BJ Penn submitted Joe Stevenson at UFC 80 to become the UFC Lightweight Champion. https://t.co/s1Mq4MxB3N
Three successful defenses followed, marking ‘The Prodigy’ out as one of the lightweight division’s all-time greats – a status he largely still enjoys today despite the poor end to his career.
#6. Georges St-Pierre – UFC welterweight and middleweight champion
Perhaps more than any other fighter on this list, Georges St-Pierre didn’t need to win titles in multiple weight classes to be considered a legend. The former UFC welterweight champion was already widely viewed as MMA’s GOAT when he initially stepped away from the octagon in 2013.
He achieved that status by defending his 170lbs title successfully on a total of nine occasions after claiming it for the second time in 2008.
‘GSP’ defeated the likes of Thiago Alves, Carlos Condit and Nick Diaz, before relinquishing his title after a final win over Johny Hendricks.
However, when he eventually returned to action in 2017, rather than attempt to reclaim the welterweight crown, he had something else in mind.
The Canadian instead moved to 185lbs for the first time, challenging then-middleweight kingpin Michael Bisping in an attempt to become a titleholder in two different weight classes.
Unsurprisingly, the fight wasn’t easy for St-Pierre, who suffered a bad cut at the hands of ‘The Count’. In the third round, though, he was able to drop Bisping with a punch before submitting him with a rear naked choke, claiming the title in the process.
It's been 4 years since UFC gold has been around his waist. #AndNew @GeorgesStPierre https://t.co/si3UXeWyi7
‘GSP’ did not go onto have a legendary reign as middleweight champ, as health issues forced him to head back into retirement before he made a single defense.
However, he remains widely known as one of MMA’s all-time greats, and his status as a two-weight division titleholder only adds to his reputation.
#5. Jon Jones – UFC light-heavyweight and heavyweight champion
The most recent fighter to become a two-division champion in the UFC is Jon Jones.
After stating his intentions to move to the heavyweight division for years, ‘Bones’ finally made good on his promise this year, submitting top contender Ciryl Gane to claim the vacant heavyweight title.
THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME IS NOW THE HEAVYWEIGHT WORLD CHAMP 🏆
JON JONES SUBMITS CIRYL GANE!! #UFC285 https://t.co/JOiAnweVJ5
Prior to this, of course, Jones had ruled over the light-heavyweight division with an iron fist for the best part of a decade, with his title reigns only ending due to self-inflicted issues.
‘Bones’ first claimed the 205lbs title back in 2011 by defeating Shogun Rua. At the age of 23, his win made him the youngest titleholder in UFC history. Jones quickly went about dominating the entire light-heavyweight division, turning back the challenge of eight different challengers, including Daniel Cormier, Alexander Gustafsson and Rashad Evans.
His title reign eventually ended when he was stripped by the promotion due to out-of-competition issues in 2015. After a positive drug test in 2017 then ended his second reign as champion before it’d really begun, he regained the gold at the end of 2018. This time, Jones defended it successfully against a further three challengers before vacating in 2020 to begin his quest for a second title.
It might’ve taken him a little longer than he intended, but ‘Bones’ has now achieved his goal. If his reign as heavyweight champ turns out to be as dominant as his time as 205lbs titleholder was, he may well cement himself as the GOAT before all is said and done.
#4. Henry Cejudo – UFC flyweight and bantamweight champion
Only four fighters in UFC history have claimed titles in two different weight classes simultaneously. The most recent fighter to achieve this was Henry Cejudo, who pulled off the feat in the summer of 2019.
The 2008 Olympic gold medallist first claimed gold by dethroning longtime flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson in 2018. By edging him via split decision, ‘Triple C’ became the first fighter to defeat ‘Mighty Mouse’ at 125lbs in the octagon.
Cejudo made just one defense of that flyweight title, but it was a major one. In the eyes of many, he saved the division from being closed down by the promotion when he upset bantamweight champ TJ Dillashaw, preventing him from becoming a double champion in his own right.
When Dillashaw was then stripped of his title due to a positive drug test, it made sense for ‘Triple C’ to chase a second title.
He ended up facing off with top contender Marlon Moraes for the vacant bantamweight title, and despite taking a beating of sorts in the first round, the Olympian recovered to win – becoming a legend in the process.
DOUBLE CHAMP!
@HenryCejudo #UFC238 https://t.co/gsFpDN2KCw
What happened next is more forgettable, of course. ‘Triple C’ vacated his flyweight crown and only defended his bantamweight title once before going into a self-imposed hiatus. When he returned this year, he came up short in his quest to regain the title he never really lost.
Despite this, it’s impossible to question his accomplishments overall, and he remains one of the most decorated double champions in MMA history.
#3. Amanda Nunes – UFC bantamweight and featherweight champion
The only female fighter to win UFC titles in different weight classes is Amanda Nunes. ‘The Lioness’ still holds both the bantamweight and featherweight titles, and is now widely recognised as the greatest female fighter of all time.
When she first emerged into the promotion in 2013, the Brazilian was seen as an exciting fighter to watch, but her berserker style seemed to cause her to run out of steam often. The idea of her being a champion didn’t seem realistic.
Nunes proved that incorrect in the summer of 2016. After putting together a run of three wins in a row, she received a shot at bantamweight champ Miesha Tate, and destroyed her to claim the title.
It was her first defense, though, over legendary former champ Ronda Rousey, that made everyone sit up and take notice.
Many fans expected ‘Rowdy’ to dump Nunes on her head and armbar her as she’d done to so many others. Instead, ‘The Lioness’ dispatched her with a vicious combination in just 48 seconds.
A further two defenses followed before she was matched in what looked like another impossible fight, against Cris Cyborg, not only the UFC featherweight champ, but arguably the most feared female fighter ever.
Incredibly, though, Nunes once again stepped up her game. She produced a stunning first round knockout, becoming a double champion and a genuine superstar in one fell swoop.
THE BADDEST WOMAN ON THE PLANET!!!
@Amanda_Leoa #UFC232 https://t.co/miyNd7xBwb
In the five years that have followed, ‘The Lioness’ has defended both of her titles successfully and has avenged her lone loss, to Julianna Pena, reclaiming her bantamweight crown in the process.
With wins over seven former UFC champions, Nunes’ record is basically untouchable. It’s arguable she’s the most decorated double champion ever.
#2. Daniel Cormier – UFC heavyweight and light-heavyweight champion
While it’s arguable that he spent most of his career with the UFC in the shadow of his great rival Jon Jones, losing to him twice, it’s hard not to view Daniel Cormier as an all-time great in his own right.
Part of the reason for ‘DC’ being rated so highly in MMA’s pantheon is the fact that he stands as not only a fighter who won titles in different weight classes, but as one of the UFC’s rare simultaneous double champions.
Cormier actually won his first title outside the octagon, claiming StrikeForce’s heavyweight title by beating Josh Barnett in 2012.
When he arrived in the big time, though, he set his sights on Jones’ 205lbs crown. While he failed to unseat ‘Bones’, he was able to capitalise on his rival’s out-of-competition issues.
Jones was forced to vacate his title in 2015, and Cormier was quick to claim the belt, choking out top contender Anthony Johnson to become a first-time UFC champion.
While Jones seemed to have put an end to Cormier’s title reign two years later, the belt ended up returning to ‘DC’ when ‘Bones’ failed a drug test.
If ‘DC’ suddenly felt like less of a champion, though, that all changed in 2018. In a champion vs. champion bout, he dethroned heavyweight kingpin Stipe Miocic to become a simultaneous double champion, achieving true greatness in his own right.
DANIEL CORMIER IS THE NEW HW CHAMPION! #UFC226 https://t.co/zXBkQm2IVQ
Cormier fought just twice more, losing his title to Miocic and failing to regain it in a trilogy bout, but by that point, it honestly didn’t matter. He’d achieved more than most fighters could ever hope to achieve, and remains a true legend.
#1. Conor McGregor – UFC featherweight and lightweight champion
While recent years haven’t exactly been kind to his legacy, and it’s hard to see what the future holds for him, Conor McGregor’s accomplishments will always make him a legend.
After all, while he wasn’t the first fighter to win titles in different UFC weight classes, he was the first to become a simultaneous double champion, claiming both the featherweight and lightweight crowns.
‘The Notorious’ first claimed gold at 145lbs in 2015 in what is still remembered as one of the most stunning moments in octagon history.
Jose Aldo hadn’t lost a fight in a decade until he came up against the brash Irishman, who had already dispatched five other foes before him.
Incredibly, though, it took McGregor just 13 seconds to knock him out with a perfectly-timed left hand counter, shocking the world and taking away his title.
Conor McGregor vs Jose Aldo at UFC 194 on December 12, 2015 in Las Vegas, NV. #DWCOTD https://t.co/1h4KEjafRs
‘The Notorious’ needed less than a year to follow that by claiming his second title, making history inside New York’s famous Madison Square Garden.
After splitting a pair of fights with Nate Diaz, McGregor squared off with lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez, and once again left fans in awe by sniping him in two rounds, writing himself into UFC history.
McGregor never defended either one of his titles, instead vacating them to pursue a boxing match with Floyd Mayweather, but by that point, his legacy was largely intact.
Even if he doesn’t win another fight in the octagon, the Irishman will always be known as the UFC’s first simultaneous two-division champion – making him a bonafide legend.