Lightweight UFC history could be made this weekend at UFC 311.
Islam Makhachev makes his fourth lightweight title defense against Arman Tsarukyan. The lightweight title defense record is tied between Makhachev, Khabib Nurmagomedov, BJ Penn and Benson Henderson; Five if you count Frankie Edgar's draw against Gray Maynard.
Each of these champions has had three defenses, and Makhachev can enter a league of his own with four wins with a win at UFC 311. As we prepare for the monumental California card, featuring a bantamweight title fight between Merab Dvalishvili and Umar Nurmagomedov, as in addition to the long-awaited fights with Jiri Prochazka and Payton Talbott, it is interesting to look back at the undisputed lightweight of the UFC champions.
To be pedantic, the first UFC championship started with Royce Gracie in 1993, and the title remains in the hands of Francis Ngannou in the PFL. To simplify things, we'll start with the inaugural lightweight title, which started with Jens Pulver at UFC 30 in 2001.
Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
UFC lightweight champions ranked
1. B.J. Penn
Penn was a pioneer of the sport and a risk taker, even if his career has been marred by defeats. He is tied for the most title defenses, with three against then-top competition in Sean Sherk, Kenny Florian and Diego Sanchez. Midway through his reign, he fought for Georges St-Pierre's welterweight belt.
Penn should not be painted in the twilight of his career; 'The Prodigy' is partly responsible for building the lightweight division into what it is today.
2. Khabib Nurmagomedov
There is little to say about Khabib Nurmagomedov. 'The Eagle' retired too early, but remained undefeated in 29 professional fights. Nurmagomedov's closest fight was Gleison Tibau.
Otherwise, he steamrolled through UFC competition, collecting three lightweight title defenses against premier Conor McGregor, Justin Gaethje and Dustin Poirier – a real killer row.
3. Islam Makhachev
Islam Makhachev is as close as it gets to becoming the lightweight GOAT. With one more defense at UFC 311, he will set a new record, and every fight after that will define the legacy.
That said, he'll need to break that record to solidify his spot, as his lightweight reign consists of defending against featherweight great Alexander Volkanovski (twice), an aging Poirier and a top prospect Charles Oliveira.
4. Frankie Edgar
Frankie Edgar was a small lightweight, but he still made it work. Edgar won the lightweight belt from BJ Penn, defending it twice against Penn in a rematch, and against Gray Maynard (three times with the Maynard draw). 'The Answer' fought tooth and nail to retain the title, but ultimately dropped it to Benson Henderson and lost a tough rematch.
5. Charles Oliveira
The revival of Charles Oliveira's career was legendary. 'Do Bronx' capped an astonishing eight-fight winning streak with a knockout over Michael Chandler to take the title. He technically only defended it once since losing it at the scales against Justin Gaethje.
Each of Oliveira's title defenses has been electric, with swings in momentum.
6. Jens Pulver
Jens Pulver is the inaugural lightweight champion and has technically never lost the title since he vacated it after defending it twice to pursue opportunities in other promotions. The level of competition was lower in his day, but that doesn't change the fact that he was a pioneer in the entire division.
7 Anthony Pettis
Anthony Pettis became the poster boy of the UFC mainly because of his flashy style. He defeated Benson Henderson to become champion and defended his title against Gilbert Melendez, a very dangerous challenge at the time. Pettis brought a lot of attention to the sport.
8. Benson Henderson
Benson Henderson was virtually unstoppable in his WEC and early UFC days, where his only kryptonite was Pettis. 'Hendo' is the fourth champion with three defenses, but as king of split decisions, not all of them were the best performances.
9. Raphael dos Anjos
Rafael dos Anjos won the title in 2015 and continues to do so. His reign was short-lived, dropping the belt to Eddie Alvarez within seven months.
10. Conor McGregor
While McGregor may be the most prominent fighter on the list, he won the title from Alvarez and held it hostage for nearly two years as he pursued dual champion status. McGregor has also never defended the belt.
11.Eddie Alvarez
Incredibly, Eddie Alvarez knocked out RDA to claim the title, but he had an even shorter title reign, dropping the fight to McGregor just four months later.
12. Sean Sherk
Sean Sherk is incredibly underrated, but his lightweight title reign consisted of beating Kenny Florian for the title, and then being stripped of the title for performance-enhancing drugs.
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