10 Best Light-Heavyweight Champions In The History Of UFC

The Light-Heavyweight division in the UFC is one of the most popular weight classes. This division has been dominated by several impressive fighters like Frank Shamrock, Tito Ortiz, Randy Couture and many more. The 2010s was a different decade as Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier had long runs of titles. This is arguably one of the best divisions in the promotion, so let’s have a look at some of the greatest champions ever witnessed by MMA fans. 

10. Vitor Belfort

Vitor Belfort was a light-heavyweight for over a decade. He became a champion by technical knockout. At UFC 46, Belfort defeated Randy Couture 46 seconds into the bout via doctor’s stoppage, cutting Couture on the elbow after a missed punch. “The Phenom ” lost the title later that year to Couture in the same way because he was defeated by a technical knockout (doctor’s stoppage). Although his title reign was not good, he was still a prolific fighter for over a decade. During his time at 205-pounds, Vitor defeated fighters like Couture, Wanderlei Silva, Marvin Eastman and Anthony Johnson.

9. Lyoto Machida 

Lyoto Machida’s rise to the title shot was amazing, as he won six fights in the promotion to earn it. Machida fought Rashid Evans at UFC 98 for the light-heavyweight title and won the match via knockout. It seemed that he was going to become a major champion, but after controversially winning his first bout against Shogun Rua, he lost the title to him in a rematch at UFC 113. After this loss, “The Dragon” bounced up and knocked down Ryan Bader. Machida dropped to 185 after a loss to Phil Davis in 2013.  

8. Jan Blachowicz

Jan Blachowicz had an impressive rise in the division and he became the light-heavyweight champion for one year before losing it to Glover Teixeira. He entered the UFC as the KSW Light-Heavyweight champion. After defeating Ilir Latifi in his first fight, Jan lost four of his next five fights, but he bounced back and won nine of his next ten bouts. Blachowicz defeated Dominick Reyes at UFC 253 to win the title and then defended it against Israel Adesanya at UFC 259. 

7. Shogun Rua

Shogun Rua’s light-heavyweight run is very impressive because he was already past his peak physically by the time he arrived in the UFC. After getting multiple surgeries during his time in PRIDE, Rua entered the UFC in 2007 and lost to Forrest Griffin in his debut match. After the loss against Griffin, the Brazilian bounced back with consecutive wins over Mark Coleman and Chuck Liddell. He ultimately won the light-heavyweight title from Lyoto Machida at UFC 113. Rua was then overpowered by Jon Jones and lost the title. 

6. Quinton Jackson

Jackson entered the UFC in 2007 and just after winning one fight, he got the title shot. He defeated Chuck Lidell for the light-heavyweight title. However, he lost the title to Forrest Griffin the following year. But “Rampage” is still one of the most accomplished 205-pound fighters of all time. He was one of the most dominant fighters for years and also one of the most popular during his time in the promotion. 

5. Tito Ortiz

Tito Ortiz has had a phenomenal UFC career. In 1999, he lost his first title shot against Frank Shamrock at UFC 22, but after Frank vacated the title, Ortiz had a long title run of his own. “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” defended the title five times with wins over fighters like Wanderlei Silva, Evan Tanner and Ken Shamrock. He eventually lost the title to Randy Couture. He is still one of the greatest light-heavyweights the UFC has ever had. 

4. Randy Couture

Randy Couture is not only one of the most skilled fighters of all time but also one of the best light-heavyweight fighters of all time. Couture won the light-heavyweight title on two separate occasions, defeating Tito Ortiz and Vitor Belfort as his championship opponents. He has  victories over fighters like Chuck Liddell, Brandon Vera, Rim Sylvia and the aforementioned Ortiz and Belfort. 

3. Daniel Cormier

Daniel Cormier’s time at 205 pounds was short, but it was incredible. He lost only once during that time, and that was against Jon Jones. Aside from that bout, Cormier won all the other bouts during his time in the weight class. DC defeated fighters like Dan Henderson, Anthony Johnson, Alexander Gustafsson and Volkan Oezdemir. 

2. Chuck Liddell

Chuck Lidell held the light-heavyweight title from 2005 to 2007 and became one of the greatest MMA fighters in the promotion. During this time, he defeated Randy Couture, Tito Ortiz and Renato Sobral. Apart from the victories in his title reign, “The Iceman” also defeated big names like Vitor Belfort, Kevin Randleman and Wanderlei Silva. 

1. Jon Jones

Jon Jones is an extraordinary fighter and his dominance in the light-heavyweight division is on another level. Jones has only lost one fight in this weight class and that too was via disqualification. He remains undefeated in the weight class since 2010, with wins in 14 title matches, which is a UFC record. “Bones” has wins over Daniel Cormier, Shogun Rua, Vitor Belfort, Lyoto Machida and more. He is already called the G.O.A.T. of the light-heavyweight division. 

Also Read: 10 Best Featherweight Fighters In The History of UFC