How many times has the UFC light heavyweight title changed hands since Jon Jones? A deep dive into the 205-pound curse
The UFC light heavyweight division has struggled to find stability ever since Jon Jones vacated his title. Considered by many as the greatest ever to do it, Jones' reign as the light heavyweight champion is arguably one of the most dominant reigns the sport has ever seen.
Jones' last fight in the light heavyweight division was at UFC 232 against Dominick Reyes. While he managed to defend the title, 'Bones' decided to vacate it later in 2020 as he prepared for his move up to the heavyweight division.
Since Jones walked away from the light heavyweight division, the promotion has seen the title change hands five times and has additionally been vacating twice during the period of just over three years.
Firstly, Jan Blachowicz won the vacant UFC light heavyweight championship after defeating Dominick Reyes at UFC 253. After defending the title against Israel Adesanya, Blachowicz lost the title to Glover Teixeira at UFC 267 in October 2021.
Teixeira lost the title in his first defense against Jiri Prochazka at UFC 275. Later, in 2022, Prochazka was forced to vacate the title after sustaining a shoulder injury.
The vacant title was later won by Jamahal Hill in January 2023 against Teixeira. However, his reign was short-lived as well, as he suffered an Achilles tendon rupture and was forced to vacate his title. Later, the vacant title was won by Alex Pereira, who beat Prochazka at UFC 295.
Who is fighting Alex Pereira for the UFC light heavyweight title next?
Alex Pereira is set to defend his UFC light heavyweight title against former champion Jamahal Hill next. As revealed by Dana White, the championship bout will headline the promotion's highly anticipated UFC 300 card.
There was a lot of eagerness surrounding the announcement as White had made it known that he would announce the main event of UFC 300 following the completion of UFC 298. He did so via a video posted on social media shortly after this past weekend's event was over. He said:
“I’m going to announce the main event of UFC 300 right now. It will feature Alex Pereira defending his light heavyweight title against Jamahal Hill."
Catch Dana White's UFC 300 announcement in the clip below: