2024-09-26

UFC Champions with the Most Title Defences

True UFC champions don’t just win a title once. They successfully defend their belts again and again. The greatest fight their way to the top and stay there, ensuring no-one comes close to the titles they worked so hard to claim.

Only three fighters in UFC history have managed more than nine successful title defences.

It’s not easy. Age and the physical demands of training and fighting in the Octagon take its toll on all bodies. That’s what makes our list of the five fighters with the most title defences so impressive.

The best develop over their careers and become smart at what they do. As Conor McGregor once said: “It's good to make your brain work more than your body.”

Below, we look at those with the most title defences in UFC history. We’re only taking into account successful defences, so let’s forget about the defeats and look at the victories!

UFC Champions With Most Title Defences

Reigning champions almost always have better UFC odds when they step into the Octagon to fight for their belt’s safe return. Here are the top five defending champions to date:

Jon Jones – 11 title defences

Some argue Jon Jones has 13 title defences but, strictly speaking, it’s only 11. Jones won his first title at UFC 128 in March 2011, beating Mauricio Rua to claim the Light Heavyweight Championship. What followed were eight straight title defences, culminating in a victory over Daniel Cormier in January 2015. Three months later the UFC stripped Jones of his belt following his arrest in New Mexico on a hit-and-run charge.

Jones won the belt back in April the following year with a unanimous decision victory over Ovince Saint Preux, only to be stripped of the title again – this time for testing positive for clomiphene and letrozole. Only after a second fight with Cormier and another drugs controversy did Jones return with a clean slate.

He regained the Light Heavyweight title with victory over Alexander Gustafsson and defended the belt three more times before vacating in order to go for the Heavyweight Championship. He won that too, beating Ciryl Gane in just over two minutes at UFC 285.

Jones was one of the most feared fighters between 2011 and 2015. One of his best defences was stopping Lyoto Machida at UFC 140 with a choke after two rounds. Jones was still young then and Machida was a former Light Heavyweight champ.

Longest Streak: 8 title defences

Best Title Defence: Beating Lyoto Machida at UFC 140

Demetrious Johnson – 11 title defences

Demetrious Johnson's last UFC fight came in 2018 when he lost his Flyweight Championship title to Henry Cejudo on a split decision. He headed to Japan after that, ending a seven-year UFC career in which he did practically everything in the sport.

Johnson actually lost his first UFC title fight – in the Bantamweight division in 2011 – before winning the inaugural Flyweight Championship against Joseph Benavidez in 2012.

From there he defended his title against the likes of John Dodson, Ali Bagautinov, Chris Cariaso and Benavidez once more. He beat Cejudo at UFC 197 to end the Californian's unbeaten record.

Dodson even came back for a second helping and lost. Johnson went 11 wins on the bounce, setting the record for the most title defences UFC has ever witnessed in succession.

Johnson exited UFC with a defeat but his legacy remains intact. He was one of the fastest strikers on the planet, balanced with a strong wrestling base that meant he could overcome any challenger.

Longest Streak: 11 title defences

Best Title Defence: Beating Henry Cejudo at UFC 197

Anderson Silva – 10 title defences

Silva's record book has been blotted somewhat by the final nine fights of his career, where he won just one contest. In the 2000s, though, he was a UFC pioneer and made defending championships look easy.

Silva won the Middleweight Championship with a first-round KO of Rich Franklin in October 2006. Within a year he'd defended his belt twice and arguably should have had a third defence to his name, but Travis Lutter – whom he defeated with submission – missed the weight.

What Silva did better than most was flit between weights and still win fights. He twice stepped up to Light Heavyweight while he was Middleweight champion, beating his opponents – James Irvin and Forrest Griffin – before moving back to his more familiar weight.

The Brazilian made 10 straight successful defences of his belt until he was knocked out by Chris Weidman at UFC 162. He earned a rematch six months later and lost again.

The standout moment of his career came at UFC 117 in 2010 when Chael Sonnen had The Spider on the mat. Silva looked down and out until he produced a stunning triangle armbar to win the contest.

Longest Streak: 10 title defences

Best Title Defence: Beating Chael Sonnen at UFC 117

Georges St-Pierre – 9 title defences

Georges St-Pierre got his hands on the Welterweight Championship for the first time back in 2006. He had the belt for less than six months before Matt Serra knocked him out. St-Pierre wasn't done there, though. He fought back and secured a rematch with Serra, where he secured a second-round TKO at UFC 83 to reclaim the title.

The Canadian never looked back. He went on a nine-fight winning streak, defending his belt against the likes of Thiago Alves, Dan Hardy, BJ Penn and Nick Diaz.

Eight of the nine title defences were secured on points after five rounds. GSP became notoriously hard to beat. He was never one to strike out needlessly but he certainly dominated his opponents.

Longest Streak: 9 title defences

Best Title Defence: Beating BJ Penn at UFC 94

Amanda Nunes – 8 title defences

Amanda Nunes retired in 2013 after defending a UFC championship for the eighth time – a record among female fighters. Nunes won her first UFC belt – the Bantamweight title – in 2016 with a rear-naked choke of Miesha Tate.

She defended the title three times, which included inflicting defeat on Ronda Rousey in her last career fight.

Nunes stepped up to featherweight in 2018, beat Cris Cyborg within a minute to clinch the title, and then dropped back to her more familiar Bantamweight. From there she beat Holly Holm, Germaine de Randamie, Felicia Spencer and Megan Anderson with a mix of submissions, TKOs and points wins.

It was therefore a shock when Julianna Pena beat Nunes with a rear-naked choke in 2021 to snatch the title from the Brazilian. Nunes earned and won her rematch on points.

By that stage Nunes was looking at retirement. In June 2023 she defended her title one last time against Aldana before walking away from UFC for good.

Longest Streak: 4 title defences

Best Title Defence: Beating Ronda Rousey at UFC 207

Longest UFC Title Reigns In Days

Demetrious Johnson and Jon Jones may have won the most title defences in the history of the UFC but neither of them come close to Anderson Silva when it comes to the longevity of their reigns.

Silva was the UFC's Middleweight Champion for 2,457 days. From 14 October 2006 right through to 6 July 2013, Silva reigned supreme.

Here are the longest title reigns in UFC history: