List of UFC Welterweight Champions & Championship History

UFC Welterweight Championship is the title for the UFC men’s division which ranges from 156 pounds to 170 pounds or from 70.4 kgs to 77.1 kgs. Check below for the complete list of UFC Welterweight Champions, current Welterweight Champion, and title history.

Current Champion

Leon Edwards is the current UFC Welterweight Champion after beating Kamaru Usman at UFC 278 via knockout. This is his first reign as the champion.

Title Reigns

13. Leon Edwards

Title Won Date: Aug 20, 2022
Defenses: 1
Reigns Day: 604+ Day
Event: UFC 278
Notes: Beat Kamaru Usman in their second bout to win the title.

12. Kamaru Usman

Title Won Date: Mar 2, 2019
Defenses: 1. Colby Covington at UFC 245 (Dec 14, 2019), 2. Jorge Masvidal at UFC 251 (Jul 12, 2020), 3. Gilbert Burns at UFC 258 (Feb 13, 2021), 4. Jorge Masvidal at UFC 261 (Apr 24, 2021), 5. Colby Covington at UFC 268 (Nov 6, 2021)
Reigns Day: 1267 Day
Event: UFC 235
Notes: Beat Tyron Woodley to become Welterweight Champion. Second longest title reign in welterweight history.

Interim – Colby Covington

Title Won Date: Jun 9, 2018
Defenses: –
Reigns Day: –
Event: UFC 225
Notes: Became the interim champion by beating Rafael Dos Anjos at UFC 225. Was later stripped off the title due to a nasal surgery.

11. Tyron Woodley

Title Won Date: Jul 30, 2016
Defenses: 1. Stephen Thompson at UFC 205 (Nov 12, 2016) 2. Stephen Thompson at UFC 209 (Mar 4, 2017), 3. Demian Maia at UFC 214 (Jul 29, 2017), 4. Darren Till at UFC 228 (Sep 8, 2018)
Reigns Day: 945 Days
Event: UFC 201
Notes: Beat Robbie Lawler to win the Welterweight title at UFC 201. Third longest welterweight title reign in terms of days.

10. Robbie Lawler

Title Won Date: Dec 6, 2014
Defenses: 1. Rory MacDonald at UFC 189 (Jul 11, 2015), 2. Carlos Condit at UFC 195 (Jan 2, 2016)
Reigns Day: 602 Days
Event: UFC 181
Notes: Beat Johhny Hendricks in a title rematch to win the title.

9. Johhny Hendricks

Title Won Date: Mar 15, 2014
Defenses: 0
Reigns Day: 266 Days
Event: UFC 171
Notes: Won the vacant title by beating Lawler at UFC 171

Interim- Carlos Condit

Title Won Date: Feb 4, 2012
Defenses: –
Reigns Day: 266 Days
Event: UFC 143
Notes: Beat Nick Diaz to become interim champion after St-Pierre sustained a knee injury. Lost to St-Pierre at UFC 154 in title unification bout.

8. Georges St-Pierre

Title Won Date: Apr 19, 2008
Defenses: 1. Jon Fitch at UFC 87 (Aug 9, 2008), 2. B.J. Penn at UFC 94 (Jan 31, 2009) 3. Thiago Alves at UFC 100 (Jul 11, 2009), 4. Dan Hardy at UFC 111 (Mar 27, 2010), 5. Josh Koscheck at UFC 124 (Dec 11, 2010), 6. Jake Shields at UFC 129 (Apr 30, 2011), 7. Carlos Condit at UFC 154 (Nov 17, 2012), 8. Nick Diaz at UFC 158 (Mar 16, 2013), 9. Johny Hendricks at UFC 167 (Nov 16, 2013)
Reigns Day: 2064 Days
Event: UFC 83
Notes
- Unified the titles by beating Serra in a rematch
- Longest reign and most defenses for the welterweight title
- Vacated the title on December 13, 2013, when decided to take a break

Interim – Georges St-Pierre

Title Won Date: Dec 29, 2007
Defenses: –
Reigns Day: –
Event: UFC 79
Notes: Beat Matt Hughes to become an interim champion when Serra was injured and could not defend the title at UFC 79.

7. Matt Serra

Title Won Date: Apr 7, 2007
Defenses: 0
Reigns Day: 378 Days
Event: UFC 69
Notes: Beat St-Pierre to win the title despite being 11-1 underdog.

6. Georges St-Pierre

Title Won Date: Nov 18, 2006
Defenses: 0
Reigns Day: 140 Days
Event: UFC 65
Notes: Beat Hughes in a rematch to become Welterweight Champion for the first time.

5. Matt Hughes

Title Won Date: Oct 22, 2004
Defenses: 1. Frank Trigg at UFC 52 (Apr 16, 2005), 2. B.J. Penn at UFC 63 (Sep 23, 2006)
Reigns Day: 757 Days
Event: UFC 50
Notes: Won vacant title by beating George St-Pierre

4. B.J. Penn

Title Won Date: Jan 31, 2004
Defenses: 0
Reigns Day: 107 Days
Event: UFC 46
Notes: Beat Hughes to win the title at UFC 46, was stripped as the champion when he left UFC on May 17, 2004

3. Matt Hughes

Title Won Date: Nov 2, 2001
Defenses: 1. Hayato Sakurai at UFC 36 (Mar 22, 2002), 2. Carlos Newton at UFC 38 (Jul 13, 2002), 3. Gil Castillo at UFC 40 (Nov 22, 2002), 4. Sean Sherk at UFC 42 (Apr 25, 2003), 5. Frank Trigg at UFC 45 (Nov 21, 2003)
Reigns Day: 820 Days
Event: UFC 34
Notes: Beat Newton at UFC 34 to win the title.

2. Carlos Newton

Title Won Date: May 4, 2001
Defenses: 0
Reigns Day: 183 Days
Event: UFC 31
Notes: First title change as Newton beat Miletich at UFC 31.

1. Pat Miletich

Title Won Date: Oct 16, 1998
Defenses: 1. Jorge Patino at UFC 18 (Jan 8, 1999), 2. André Pederneiras at UFC 21 (Jul 16, 1999), 3. John Alessio at UFC 26 (Jun 9, 2000), 4. Kenichi Yamamoto at UFC 29 (Dec 16, 2000)
Reigns Day: 931 Days
Event: UFC Brazil
Notes: First champion, was called Lightweight Champion upon introduction of the title.

Title History & Notes

The title was first introduced on October 16, 1998, and was called Lightweight Championship at first. Pat Miletich was the first UFC Welterweight Champion after he bet Mikey Burnett at UFC Brazil event on that day.
The title was renamed to UFC Welterweight Championship on May 4, 2001, after the rejig of weight classes as per SACB. Carlos Newton dethroned Pat Miletich on the same day to become the second champion.
BJ Penn, the fourth welterweight champion, was stripped of the title on May 17, 2004, after he left UFC.
Matt Hughes defeated Georges St-Pierre to win the vacant title at UFC 50 on October 22, 2004. Georges St-Pierre beat Hughes in a rematch at UFC 65 to win the title in his first reign.
At UFC 79, Matt Serra pulled out of his title defense against Matt Hughes. St-Pierre replaced Serra and defeated Hughes in a trilogy fight to win the interim Welterweight title. Later, St-Pierre beat Serra at UFC 83 on April 19, 2008, to unify the title.
Georges St-Pierre’s second title reign lasted for 2064 days(2204 days when adding interim title). This is the longest reign for Welterweight title in terms of days and title defenses. St-Pierre also made records for most fights & most wins in Welterweight title fights and most consecutive wins in UFC at the time. During this reign, St-Pierre beat the likes of BJ Penn, Thiago Alves, Nick Diaz while also unifying the title against Carlos Condit at UFC 154.
After deciding to take a break from MMA, Georges St-Pierre vacated the title on December 13, 2013.
Johnny Hendricks defeated Robbie Lawler to win the vacant title at UFC 171. Lawler beat Hendricks in a rematch at UFC 181 to win the title.
Tyron Woodley won the title from Lawler at UFC 201. Colby Covington won the interim title at UFC 225 by beating Rafael Dos Anjos. Covington was stripped off the interim title after a nasal surgery deemed him unable to face Woodley in the title unification bout on Septermber 8, 2018, at UFC 228.
Kamaru Usman defeated Woodley at UFC 235 on March 2, 2019, a reign that turned out to be second longest in welterweight division.