UFC Lightweight | Rankings, Champion & Title History

Current Champion: Vacant

Charles Oliveira took the vacant UFC Lightweight belt at UFC 262 on Saturday May 15, 2021, when he defeated Michael Chandler by KO/TKO at 0:19 of Round 2. The title was vacated after Khabib Nurmagomedov officially retired from MMA.

Oliveira is sitting on an impressive 10 fight win streak, and now has 32 wins with a 93% finish rate, including 9 by knockout, 20 by submission, 4 by decision.

After defending the belt against Dustin Poirier at UFC 269, Oliveira was stripped of his title after missing weight for his fight against Justin Gaethje at UFC 274.

History of the UFC Heavyweight Division

The Lightweight Division has crowned some of the UFC’s most iconic champions since its launch in 2001. B.J. Penn, Frankie Edgar, Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagamedov are just a few legends to have the 155-belt strapped around their waist.

However, the early years of the division were far from the blockbuster draw of today. After inaugural champ Jens Pulver left the UFC in 2002, the division was without a champion for over 4 years. Much like the 125lb division in recent years, many questioned if the smaller fighters would ever prove a top attraction.

Fast forward to the 2010s which saw the likes of Frankie Edgar, Eddie Alvarez, and Anthony Pettis win the belt, establishing the Lightweight Division as a bonafide shark tank. The biggest draw of them all, Conor McGregor, propelled the division into further stardom with his emphatic triumph at UFC 205 in 2016.

Then came the consensus most-dominant champ, Khabib Nurmagamedov, who finished all three challengers to his throne, barely losing a round in the process. After his retirement, long-time contender Charles Oliviera won the belt at UFC 262. He will face No.1 contender and former title challenger, Dustin Poirier, at UFC 269.

The early years

In 2001, the UFC rebranded its Bantamweight Division to Lightweight, with the inaugural title bout taking place at UFC 30. Jens Pulver beat Caol Uno and defended his belt twice (including a victory over B.J. Penn), before a contract dispute led to his title being stripped.

In 2003, the UFC hosted a 4-man tournament at UFC 43 to crown a new champ. With B.J. Penn and Caol Uno fighting to a grueling five-round draw in the final, the UFC was unable to crown a new champ.

Without a champion, the UFC essentially put the championship on hold for over 3 years, until Sean Sherk beat Kenny Florian at UFC 64 in October 2006. After defending his title against Hermes Franca at UFC 73, Sherk failed a post-fight drug test and got stripped. 

Rise of the lightweights

The Lightweight Division came into its own with the rise of B.J. Penn, who defended his title three times between 2008-2010. With his ferocious style of fighting, Penn became a huge star and launched the division into the spotlight. UFC President, Dana White, has since declared that B.J. Penn “built the lightweight division.”

Penn lost his title to Frankie Edgar, who also won the immediate rematch 4 months later. Edgar defended the belt three times before he lost to Benson Henderson at UFC 144 in Japan. Henderson won their razor-tight rematch by split decision and mounted successful title defences against Nate Diaz and Gilbert Melendez.

Showtime

Anthony “Showtime” Pettis, who had already taken Henderson’s WEC belt three years prior, snatched his UFC belt too with a first-round submission at UFC 164. Pettis then submitted Gilbert Melendez in his first title defence, before losing over five rounds to a dominant Rafael dos Anjos just a few months later at UFC 185.

Dos Anjos made light work of challenger Donald Cerrone in his first defence, melting him with a body kick and punches in just over a minute. After a mouthwatering superfight with Conor McGregor fell through, dos Anjos would lose his next title defence to Eddie Alvarez by TKO in the 1st round. 

The “Champ Champ”

Alvarez’s first title defence would be a superfight against 145lb champion, Conor McGregor (8-1 in the UFC), at UFC 205. A global sensation transcending the sport, McGregor was coming off a 13-second knockout of featherweight legend José Aldo and two gruelling wars with Nate Diaz. 

The event was the UFC’s third most-bought PPV at the time, eclipsed only by Mcgregor’s two epic headliners against Nate Diaz that same year. In one of the most flawless title performances in UFC history, McGregor outclassed Alvarez and became the UFC’s first-ever ‘double champ.’ 

The Lightweight G.O.A.T

With McGregor opting to take time out of the sport and fight Floyd Mayweather, the UFC stripped him of the belt and arranged a title fight between interim champion Tony Ferguson and Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 223. After a freak injury during fight week ruled Ferguson out of the fight, the UFC called upon 145-champ Max Holloway to step in. 

However, with Holloway failing to get medical clearance, the UFC scrambled to find another replacement, eventually settling on Al Iaquinta. Nurmagomedov comfortably won the fight and began his dominant reign as champion. 

Returning from his two-year hiatus, Conor McGregor was his first challenger at UFC 229. The build-up was fraught with genuine animosity, stemming from McGregor’s infamous bus attack during UFC 223 fight week. Nurmagomedov tapped out McGregor in the 4th, then jumped the Octagon fence and launched himself at McGregor’s team, sparking a chaotic brawl.

Khabib defended the belt two more times, against interim champions Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje. He dominated both fights, submitting both challengers to cement his position as the consensus lightweight G.O.A.T. After the Gaethje fight, Nurmagomedov announced his retirement in the Octagon with a perfect 29-0 record. 

Oliviera

With the lightweight title vacated after Nurmagomedov’s retirement, UFC veteran Charles ‘Do Bronx’ Oliviera, riding an 8-fight win streak, faced off with explosive newcomer, Michael Chandler. After surviving the first round, Oliviera tagged Chandler with a perfect lead hook in the 2nd to seal the victory.

It was the culmination of over a decade of fighting in the UFC (19-6-1), which includes the all-time submission record (14). Oliviera defended his belt for the first time against Dustin Poirier at UFC 269, winning via rear-naked choke in Round 3.

The Brazilian was unfortunately stripped of the title at UFC 274 after missing weight for his matchup against Justin Gaethje. The fight nonetheless went ahead, and Oliveira needed less than a round to secure the victory via rear-naked choke.

UFC Lightweight Rankings