Current Champion: Israel Adesanya
Israel Adesanya won the UFC Middleweight Championship at UFC 243 on October 6, 2019. Opening as a +160 underdog, Adesanya flipped the odds closing as a -140 to -110 favorite. Adesanya defeated the former champion, Robert Whittaker, by KO at 3:33 in round 2. With the win, Adesanya also unified the interim Middleweight title he won when he defeated Kelvin Gastelum back at UFC 236.
Israel’s first title defense was against Yoel Romero. Adesanya opened as a -185 favorite and closed as a heavy -310 to – 250 favorite by fight time. The fight itself was rather anticlimactic, but nevertheless, Adesanya won by unanimous decision.
Adesanya’s second title defense was against middleweight contender Paulo Costa at UFC 253. He opened at a modest -140 favorite and closed between -200 and -180. “The Last Stylebender” outclassed his opponent with a beautiful display of elite striking and feinting. Izzy finished Costa by TKO at 3:59 of the second round.
Israel took a quick trip up to Light Heavyweight to challenge Jan Blachowicz for the 205 lbs title at UFC 259. He opened up as a -250 favorite and closed in a range of -285 to -225. Adesanya came up short and lost the fight by unanimous decision, taking his first loss in professional MMA.
Adesanya defended his Middleweight title for a third time against Marvin Vettori at UFC 263. He opened as a -235 favorite and closed in the -280 to – 215 range. Israel dominated the fight at distance and cruised to a unanimous decision victory.
The champion earned his fourth title defense against old rival Robert Whittaker. Their rematch was more competitive this time around, with Adesanya edging the fight by decision.
Adesanya will defend his belt against #2 ranked contender Jared Cannonier at UFC 276.
A Short History of the UFC Middleweight Division
The UFC Middleweight Division was introduced to the UFC in 2001, with the first 185 lb fight taking place at UFC 33. At the same event, the division crowned its first champion, Dave Menne.
One notable champion early in the division’s history was Rich Franklin, who won the belt at UFC 53 in June 2005. Franklin defended the title twice before running into one of, if not the most, dominant champions the UFC has ever seen – Anderson Silva.
Silva won the title at UFC 64, crushing Franklin in the first round with a series of brutal knees. He went on to defend the title 10 times over the next seven years, reigning as Middleweight champion for 2,457 days.
In a shock for the ages, Silva was clipped and knocked out by Chris Weidman whilst showboating during their fight at UFC 162. In their immediate rematch, disaster would strike again for Silva when his leg broke after Weidman checked a kick.
After two more successful defences, Weidman lost the title to former Strikeforce Middleweight champion, Luke Rockhold. British veteran Michael Bisping, stepping up on short notice, provided one of the biggest title shocks in UFC history when he knocked Rockhold out in Round 1 to win the belt.
Since then, Georges St. Pierre and Robert Whittaker have held the belt before the current champion, Israel Adesanya, began his flawless reign by knocking out Whittaker at UFC 243. In his fourth title defence, Adesanya will rematch Whittaker at UFC 271.
Complete History of the UFC Middleweight Division
The early Middleweight division
The UFC Middleweight Division came about in 2001 after the UFC realigned its weight classes in line with the New York State Athletic Control Board guidelines. The first champion was Dave Menne, who beat fellow Middleweight Gil Castillo over five rounds at UFC 33.
Dave Menne was finished in his first defence against Brazilian Murilo Bustamante, who went on to defend the title once before leaving the UFC to join Pride. The title would remain vacant for over two years, before Evan Tanner knocked out David Terrell at UFC 51 in February 2005.
Tanner ran into Rich Franklin next at UFC 53. Franklin dominated the fight and finished Tanner in Round 4 to become the fourth UFC Middleweight champion. Franklin defended his belt twice with victories over Nate Quarry and David Loiseau. His third title defence would be against a much-heralded Brazilian striker making just his second appearance in the UFC – Anderson Silva.
The Anderson Silva era
While highly regarded in martial arts circles, Anderson Silva entered the UFC as a relatively unknown fighter to U.S audiences. He delivered emphatically in his debut against Chris Leben in June 2006, finishing him via knees in under a minute. After running a public poll, the UFC granted Silva a title shot against Rich Franklin next.
At UFC 64, Silva decimated Franklin with knees and strikes, ending the fight in less than three minutes of Round 1. Thus began the longest championship reign in UFC history which would last for 2,457 days.
Silva faced and defeated every middleweight the UFC threw at him, beating legends including Dan Henderson, Chael Sonnen and Vitor Belfort. Including his first two UFC fights, Silva went on an 8-fight finish streak which included knockouts of Nate Marquardt, Rich Franklin (twice) and Patrick Cote.
In one of the UFC’s most epic comebacks, Silva found himself dominated on the ground by Chael Sonnen at UFC 117. Entering into Round 5, Silva was down 40-36, 40-35 and 40-34 on the judges’ scorecards. With less than two minutes of the fight to go, Silva pulled off a triangle armbar submission off his back to seal his seventh title defence.
Anderson Silva’s next defence was against fellow Brazilian Vitor Belfort, which saw a highlight-reel knockout for the ages. Out of nowhere, Silva launched a front kick down the middle which knocked Belfort out cold. He defended his belt two more times, with second-round knockouts of Yushin Okami and Chael Sonnen. After his tenth successful title defence, Silva had amassed a career record of 33-4 (16-0 in the UFC, 12-0 at MW).
An epic upset
Up-and-coming wrestler Chris Weidman (9-0) was on a fight-five winning streak coming into his title bout with Anderson Silva at UFC 162. During a moment of showboating from Silva, Weidman landed a clean hook on the chin and finished the fight with strikes. Silva’s record-breaking title reign had come to an end.
The UFC understandably arranged an immediate rematch between Weidman and Silva for UFC 168. In one of the most shocking moments in UFC history, Anderson Silva broke his leg after Weidman checked a kick, ending the fight in the second round.
Chris Weidman went on to defend the belt against greats Lyoto Machida and Vitor Belfort before running into former Strikeforce Middleweight champion, Luke Rockhold. After dominating the third round, Rockhold TKO’d Weidman in the fourth to claim the title at UFC 194.
The belt changes hands
Rockhold and Weidman were set for an immediate rematch at UFC 199, before injury forced Weidman out of the fight. UFC veteran Michael Bisping stepped up on 17 days’ notice, eager to avenge his loss to Rockhold just 18 months prior. Bisping (+500) clipped Rockhold’s chin in the first round to realize one of the UFC’s most inspiring underdog stories.
Bisping defended his belt against old rival Dan Henderson before a returning Georges St. Pierre moved up to middleweight to challenge for the title. St. Pierre dominated Bisping and secured the rear-naked choke victory in Round 3, joining the elite club of two-weight UFC champions.
St. Pierre was unable to defend the belt due to injury and vacated the title just 33 days after his triumph. Interim champion Robert Whittaker, who had beaten Yoel Romero for the interim belt, was promoted to undisputed champion on December 7th, 2017.
The Stylebender arrives
Robert Whittaker’s first scheduled defence was a rematch against Yoel Romero. However, Romero weighed in at 185.2 lbs, making it a non-title fight. Whittaker edged the contest over five rounds and was set to defend the belt against Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 234. However, an abdominal hernia and collapsed bowel during fight week forced the fight off.
Instead, the UFC would run another interim title fight, this time between Gastelum and rising contender Israel Adesanya (16-0, 5-0 UFC) at UFC 236. Adesanya, coming off a victory over Anderson Silva just two months prior, got the better of Gastelum over the five-round war and claimed the interim belt.
A title unification bout was set up between Adesanya and Whittaker in Melbourne at UFC 243. Adesanya outstruck his opponent, stunning him at the bell in Round 1 and finishing the fight in the second. With the victory, Adesanya secured the championship belt and began his dominant reign as Middleweight champion.
Further defences against Yoel Romero, Paulo Costa, Marvin Vettori and Robert Whittaker have cemented Adesanya’s position as the best Middleweight on the planet. His last defense came against Robert Whittaker in a rematch at UFC 271.
UFC Middleweight Rankings
Fighter | Pro Record | Last 5 | Next fight | |
---|---|---|---|---|
C | Israel "The Last Stylebender" Adesanya | 23-2 |
|
-
|
1 | Robert "The Reaper" Whittaker | 24-6 |
|
-
|
2 | Jared "Killa Gorilla" Cannonier | 16-6 |
|
-
|
3 | Marvin "The Italian Dream" Vettori | 18-5-1 |
|
Roman Dolidze (2023-03-18)
|
4 | Derek Brunson | 23-8 |
|
Dricus Du Plessis (2023-03-04)
|
4 | Sean "Tarzan" Strickland | 26-5 |
|
-
|
4 | Paulo "The Eraser" Costa | 14-2 |
|
-
|
7 | Jack "The Joker" Hermansson | 23-8 |
|
-
|
8 | Darren "The Gorilla" Till | 18-5-1 |
|
-
|
9 | Uriah "Prime Time" Hall | 17-11 |
|
-
|
10 | Kelvin Gastelum | 17-8-1 NC |
|
Chris Curtis (2023-04-08)
|
11 | Nassourdine "Russian Sniper" Imavov | 12-4 |
|
-
|
12 | Brad Tavares | 19-7 |
|
-
|
13 | André "Sergipano" Muniz | 23-4 |
|
Brendan Allen (2023-02-25)
|
14 | Chris "All American" Weidman | 15-6 |
|
-
|
15 | Edmen "The Golden Boy" Shahbazyan | 12-3 |
|
-
|