UFC Light Heavyweight | Rankings, Champion & Title History

Current Champion: Jiri Prochazka

Jiri Prochazka won the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship at UFC 275 in Singapore on June 12th, 2022, defeating incumbent champion Glover Teixeira via rear-naked choke in the 5th round.

The epic back-and-forth bout is considered one of the best UFC Light Heavyweight title fights in history, with both men nearly finding the finish throughout the fight. Prochazka was down on the judges’ scorecards before pulling off a submission with just 30 seconds to go.

Former Champion: Glover Teixeira

Glover Teixeira sealed his place in UFC history by winning the Light Heavyweight Championship at the grand old age of 42. The Brazilian defeated Jan Blachowicz by submission in the second round of their title fight at UFC 267.

History of the UFC Light Heavyweight Division

The UFC Light Heavyweight Division (205 lbs) has been one of the most explosive in UFC history. Many of the organization’s biggest names, such as Chuck Liddell, Jon Jones, Frank Shamrock and Tito Ortiz, have reigned as Light Heavyweight champion. 

The division was known as the Middleweight Division until UFC 31 when it adopted its current name. The first-ever Light Heavyweight champion was martial arts legend Frank Shamrock, who upset the odds with a 16-second armbar win against Kevin Jackson to claim the inaugural belt.

Future champions to dominate the division would include Tito Ortiz and Chuck Liddell, before the rise of prodigy Jon Jones, the UFC’s youngest-ever champion. Jones went on an unstoppable run of 8 title defenses, defeating legends like Lyoto Machida, Vitor Belfort and Shogun Rua. Jones’ legal troubles outside the Octagon would lead to multiple suspensions over his career.

Daniel Cormier would reign as champion from 2015 to 2018, despite a defeat to Jon Jones at UFC 214 which was overturned after Jones failed a drug test. Jones would later return from his ban and win the vacant belt against old rival Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 232.

The current champion is Jiri Prochazka, who defeated Glover Teixeira at UFC 275 to become the first Czech UFC champion.

The early days

The UFC light heavyweight division was officially inaugurated at UFC 31, having previously been called the middleweight division. The very first champion, Frank Shamrock, was one of the biggest early stars in the UFC. Shamrock won the inaugural title with a stunning 16-second armbar against Kevin Jackson at UFC Japan.

Shamrock defended his title a total of four times, including a notable grudge match victory against Tito Ortiz at UFC 22. He and Ortiz had clashed before the fight and Shamrock entered as the underdog. In a vicious display of ground and pound, Shamrock finished Ortiz in Round 4 in one of the most exciting UFC fights of the era.

After Shamrock retired from the UFC, Tito Ortiz beat Wanderlei Silva at UFC 25 to claim the vacant title. Ortiz would end up surpassing Shamrock’s reign with a total of five title defenses. His final defense would be against Frank’s adopted brother Ken Shamrock at UFC 40, with Ortiz winning via TKO.

Rise to stardom

With champion Tito Ortiz on the sidelines for a year, UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture knocked out Chuck Liddell to claim the interim belt at UFC 43. The unification bout would take place at UFC 44, with Randy Couture utilizing indomitable ground control to win by unanimous decision.

Couture failed to defend his title at the first attempt after running into Brazilian knockout artist Vitor Belfort at UFC 46. Belfort clipped Couture within a minute, causing a nasty cut around the eye to force a doctor’s stoppage. 

However, the two fighters would rematch later in the year at UFC 49, with Couture dismissing the legitimacy of Vitor’s earlier victory. Randy Couture, at 41 years of age, dominated Belfort on the ground to earn his own doctor’s stoppage at the end of Round 3.

Chuck ‘The Iceman’ Liddell

Couture’s triumph would again be short-lived, with his next title defense a much-anticipated rematch against Chuck Liddell at UFC 52. Liddell knocked Couture out in the first round to claim the belt and go on an impressive run of four consecutive title defenses. 

Chuck Liddell grew into one of the biggest stars in the UFC and propelled the promotion to the next level. Notable victories in Liddell’s run included knockout triumphs over former champions Couture and Ortiz. 

Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson became the next champion with a first-round knockout victory at UFC 71 to dethrone Liddell. Jackson defended the belt once against Dan Henderson before losing a unanimous decision to Forrest Griffin. 

The belt would change hands twice more over the next year, with Rashad Evans knocking Forrest Griffin out at UFC 92 before being knocked out by karate black belt Lyoto ‘The Dragon’ Machida at UFC 98.

The Jon Jones era begins

Machida (15-0) entered his first title defense against Shogun Rua at UFC 104 as a heavy -500 favorite. The fight ended with a narrow 48-47 victory for Machida, despite most fans and pundits taking Shogun as the clear winner. The UFC granted Shogun another shot at the belt which he duly took, knocking Machida out in the first round at UFC 113. 

During this period, a rising prospect by the name of Jon Jones was making waves in the division. At the age of 24, Jones had the chance to become the youngest champion in UFC history at UFC 128. In a spectacular display, Jones dominated Shogun and began a new era in the Light Heavyweight division.

Over Jones’ eight successful title defenses, he saw off a long list of former UFC champions including Quinton Jackson, Lyoto Machida, Rashad Evans and Vitor Belfort. His dominant performances during this run cemented Jones’ name in the conversation for UFC Greatest of All Time. 

The Cormier-Jones Rivalry

Unfortunately for Jones, personal problems would plague him outside of the Octagon throughout his career. His eighth and final title defense in his first reign was against Olympic wrestler Daniel Cormier (15-0). The hostile build-up to the fight included a mass on-stage brawl during media day, initiating one of Light Heavyweight’s most enduring rivalries.

Jones dominated Cormier at UFC 182 to retain the belt. However, just a few months later he was stripped by the UFC after his involvement in a hit-and-run incident. Cormier stepped up to face Jones’ next opponent, Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson, for the vacant belt at UFC 187.

Cormier used his wrestling to negate Johnson’s one-punch KO power and win by choke in Round 3. Cormier’s next defense was against former challenger Alexander Gustafsson, who had given Jones serious problems in their title fight at UFC 165. Over an exhilarating five-round war, Cormier edged a split-decision victory.

After serving his suspension, Jon Jones was set to return with a title fight against Cormier at UFC 197. However, Cormier dropped out injured, with Jones defeating replacement Ovince Saint Preux for an interim belt. 

Jones and Cormier were finally set to meet again at UFC 200. However, in the middle of fight week, it was announced that Jones had failed a USADA test and the fight was scrapped. Jones was handed a one-year suspension from the sport, while Cormier earned a unanimous decision victory over stand-in Anderson Silva in a non-title bout. 

Cormier holds onto the belt

After consecutive knockout wins over Jimi Manuwa, Ryan Bader and Glover Texeira, fearsome knockout artist Anthony Johnson got another shot at the belt at UFC 210. Cormier executed a similar gameplan to their first fight and secured an even-quicker submission victory in Round 2.

With Jones available after serving his one-year suspension, his rematch with Cormier would finally take place at UFC 214. Jones landed a ferocious high kick in Round 3 which spelled the end for Cormier. 

However, controversy would continue to marr the rivalry, with Jones yet again failing a drug test. He was stripped of the title and Cormier was reinstated as champion, earning his third successful title defense against Volkan Oezdemir at UFC 220.

Jones finally returns

Daniel Cormier vacated the Light Heavyweight belt after a Heavyweight superfight against Stipe Miocic, where he succeeded in becoming a simultaneous two-weight champion. The stage was set for Jon Jones, completing his 15-month suspension, to return. He would fight for the vacant title against old foe Alexander Gustaffson at UFC 232.

Jones made light work of Gustaffson, finishing him in the third via ground-and-pound. This began Jones’ second reign as light heavyweight champion, which saw him add three more title defences to his record. 

After dominating Anthony Smith at UFC 235, Jones defended the belt twice more with narrow victories over Thiago Santos and Dominick Reyes. The fight with Reyes was particularly close, with 14 out of 21 major media outlets scoring it in favor of Reyes.

The modern era

After a dispute over pay with the UFC, Jones vacated the belt and indicated he was keen to move up to Heavyweight. Former challenger Dominick Reyes faced Polish veteran Jan Blachowicz for the vacant title at UFC 253. With his famous “Polish power”, Blachowicz knocked Reyes out in Round 2 to become the 15th UFC Light Heavyweight champion.

Against the odds, Blachowicz defended the strap against Middleweight champion Israel Adesanya, who came up a weight class for the superfight at UFC 259. In his next title defense, Blachowicz would face veteran Glover Texeira at UFC 268.

Texeira dominated the fight from the first bell, eventually submitting Blachowicz by rear-naked choke in the second round. With his triumph, Teixeira became the second-oldest UFC champion in history at the age of 42.

Glover Teixeira faced Jiri Prochazka in his first title defense at UFC 275. This five-round war was an instant classic, with Prochazka snatching the belt from the jaws of defeat with only 30 seconds left on the clock.

UFC Light Heavyweight Rankings