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[Adambomb]

This should be a fun discussion. Who is the greatest UFC champion in the promotion’s history?

This isn’t just a question of who’s the “best”, but rather who accomplished the most as a champion? To clarify, we know Rampage would beat Frank Shamrock, but Shamrock’s title reign was much more illustrious (4 successful title defenses to 1). Another way of asking it would be, which fighter accomplished the most during his time with the UFC?

Note: I’m only counting interim titles if they were never “unified” with the original belt. Until a fighter retires or officially leaves the promotion he’s still the real champion.

Here are the resumes of the most decorated fighters in UFC History:

Frank Shamrock
1. Defeated Kevin Jackson to become the 1st UFC Light-Heavyweight Champion
• def. Igor Zinoviev on March 13, 1998 in New Orleans, Louisiana, US (UFC 16)
• def. Jeremy Horn on May 15, 1998 in Mobile, Alabama, US (UFC 17)
• def. John Lober on October 16, 1998 in São Paulo, Brazil (UFC Brazil)
• def. Tito Ortiz on September 24, 1999 in Lake Charles, Louisiana, US (UFC 22)
Vacated Light-Heavyweight Title

Tito Ortiz
1. Defeated Wanderlei Silva to win the vacant UFC Light-Heavyweight Championship at UFC 25.
• def. Yuki Kondo on December 16, 2000 in Tokyo, Japan (UFC 29)
• def. Evan Tanner on February 23, 2001 in Atlantic City, New Jersey, US (UFC 30)
• def. Elvis Sinosic on June 29, 2001 in East Rutherford, New Jersey, US (UFC 32)
• def. Vladimir Matyushenko on September 28, 2001 in Las Vegas, Nevada, US (UFC 33)
• def. Ken Shamrock on November 22, 2002 in Las Vegas, Nevada, US (UFC 40)
Lost title to Randy Couture at UFC 44.

Randy Couture
1. Defeated Maurice Smith to become UFC Heavyweight Champion at UFC Japan.
Vacated Title due to contract dispute.
2. Defeated Kevin Randleman to become UFC Heavyweight Champion for the 2nd time at UFC 28.
• def. Pedro Rizzo on May 4, 2001 in Atlantic City, New Jersey, US (UFC 31)
• def. Pedro Rizzo on November 2, 2001 in Las Vegas, Nevada, US (UFC 34)
Lost title to Josh Barnett at UFC 36.
3. Defeated Tito Ortiz to win the UFC Light-Heavyweight Title at UFC 44.
Lost title to Vito Belfort at UFC 46.
4. Defeated Vitor Belfort to win the UFC Light-Heavyweight Title for the 2nd time at UFC 49.
Lost title to Chuck Liddell at UFC 52.
5. Defeated Tim Sylvia at UFC 68 to become the UFC Heavyweight Champion for the 3rd time.
• def. Gabriel Gonzaga on August 25, 2007 in Las Vegas, Nevada, US (UFC 74)
Lost title to Brock Lesnar at UFC 91.

Chuck Liddell
1. Defeated Randy Couture at UFC 52 to become the UFC Light-Heavyweight Champion.
• def. Jeremy Horn on August 20, 2005 in Las Vegas, Nevada, US (UFC 54)
• def. Randy Couture on February 4, 2006 in Las Vegas, Nevada, US (UFC 57)
• def. Renato Sobral on August 26, 2006 in Las Vegas, Nevada, US (UFC 62)
• def. Tito Ortiz on December 30, 2006 in Las Vegas, Nevada, US (UFC 66)
Lost title to Rampage Jackson at UFC 71.

Matt Hughes
1. Defeated Carlos Newton at UFC 31 to become the UFC Welterweight Champion.
• def. Hayato Sakurai on March 22, 2002 in Las Vegas, Nevada, US (UFC 36)
• def. Carlos Newton on July 13, 2002 in London, England (UFC 38)
• def. Gil Castillo on November 22, 2002 in Las Vegas, Nevada, US (UFC 40)
• def. Sean Sherk on April 25, 2003 in Miami, Florida, US (UFC 42)
• def. Frank Trigg on November 21, 2003 in Uncasville, Connecticut, US (UFC 45)
Lost title to BJ Penn at UFC 46.
2. Defeated Georges St. Pierre at UFC 50 to win the vacant UFC Welterweight Title for a 2nd time.
• def. Frank Trigg on April 16, 2005 in Las Vegas, Nevada, US (UFC 52)
• def. B.J. Penn on September 23, 2006 in Anaheim, California, US (UFC 63)
Lost Title to George St. Pierre at UFC 65.
Note: During his 2nd reign Matt Hughes also had a non-title win over Royce Gracie.

BJ Penn
1. Defeated Matt Hughes at UFC 46 to win the UFC Welterweight Title.
Vacated title.
2. Defeated Joe Stevenson to win the vacant UFC Lightweight Title at UFC 80.
• def. Sean Sherk on May 24, 2008 in Las Vegas, Nevada, US (UFC 84)
• def. Kenny Florian on August 8, 2009 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US (UFC 101)
• def. Diego Sanchez on December 12, 2009 in Memphis, Tennessee, US (UFC 107)

Georges St. Pierre
1. Defeated Matt Hughes at UFC 65 to become the UFC Welterweight Champion.
Lost title to Matt Serra at UFC 69.
2. Defeated Matt Serra at UFC 79 to become the UFC Welterweight Champion for the 2nd time.
• def. Jon Fitch on August 9, 2008 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, US (UFC 87)
• def. B.J. Penn on January 31, 2009 in Las Vegas, Nevada, US (UFC 94)
• def. Thiago Alves on July 11, 2009 in Las Vegas, Nevada, US (UFC 100)

Anderson Silva
1. Defeated Rich Franklin at UFC 64 to become the UFC Middleweight Champion
• def. Nate Marquardt on July 7, 2007 in Sacramento, California, US (UFC 73)
• def. Rich Franklin on October 20, 2007 in Cincinnati, Ohio, US (UFC 77)
• def. Dan Henderson on March 1, 2008 in Columbus, Ohio, US (UFC 82)
• def. Patrick Côté on October 25, 2008 in Rosemont, Illinois, US (UFC 90)
• def. Thales Leites on April 18, 2009 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, (UFC 97)
Note: During his reign Anderson also has non-title wins over Travis Lutter, James Irvin, & Forrest Griffin

So there you have it. Which fighter has been the greatest UFC champion?

[ckauffman28]

silva or hughes, going with silva because he still isnt done yet

[Xanatos]

As of right now, it would be a toss up between Matt Hughes and Randy Couture. Both fought some real tough competition and kept their belts for a long time. Also this was in a rebirth and growth period of the UFC and these two champions helped usher in some new fans.

A lot of people will say Anderson Silva, but I just don't see it yet. His wins over Franklin and Nate were impressive, but the Dan Henderson fight he was losing, and the Leites and Cote fights were boring as hell.

GSP is mentioneable because not only did he hold the title twice, but all his championship fights thus far have been against top tier opponents, he hasn't fought anyone easy. (yet, hardy cough) wins over Matt Hughes, BJ Penn, Fitch, Alves, and of course Serra are extremely impressive.

[Thor's Hammer]

I think Matt Hughes wins this easily. I also think Anderson Silva is the only person that can take this away from Hughes right now.

Is that 7 defenses from Hughes? That's impressive.

[Adambomb]

Originally Posted by Xanatos

As of right now, it would be a toss up between Matt Hughes and Randy Couture. Both fought some real tough competition and kept their belts for a long time. Also this was in a rebirth and growth period of the UFC and these two champions helped usher in some new fans.

A lot of people will say Anderson Silva, but I just don't see it yet. His wins over Franklin and Nate were impressive, but the Dan Henderson fight he was losing, and the Leites and Cote fights were boring as hell.

GSP is mentioneable because not only did he hold the title twice, but all his championship fights thus far have been against top tier opponents, he hasn't fought anyone easy. (yet, hardy cough) wins over Matt Hughes, BJ Penn, Fitch, Alves, and of course Serra are extremely impressive.

You don't think Couture's inability to defend the title once he wins it doesn't detract from his greatness? Randy has had an amazing career, but he's never truly been dominant.

The thing about Anderson is that even though he "only" has 5 title defenses (which ties the record for a UFC title reign) his wins over Forrest, Irvin, and Lutter all came when he was champion. So if you think about it, Anderson has walked into the octagon and left victoriously with the title around his waist 9 times. That's incredible.

EDIT: Just realized that through that logic Hughes walked out victorious with the belt 10 times and Randy did 8 times.

[Xanatos]

Originally Posted by Adambomb

You don't think Couture's inability to defend the title once he wins it doesn't detract from his greatness? Randy has had an amazing career, but he's never truly been dominant.

The thing about Anderson is that even though he "only" has 5 title defenses (which ties the record for a UFC title reign) his wins over Forrest, Irvin, and Lutter all came when he was champion. So if you think about it, Anderson has walked into the octagon and left victoriously with the title around his waist 9 times. That's incredible.

EDIT: Just realized that through that logic Hughes walked out victorious with the belt 10 times and Randy did 8 times.

if we're looking at strictly numbers, then there's no reason to have this thread in the first place


As for Couture, I think it's very notable to be able to say you stayed relevent as UFC champion or contender over the span of 10 years. Most champions work their way up to the belt, win it, have a defense or two, lose it, and fade away. to lose your title, fight your way back, win it again, rinse and repeat over ten years, and be 15 years older then some of the people you're beating is incredible.

[Ramma]

I think it is hard to argue that anyone has been a better champion than Hughes or Anderson. Very dominant champions for long periods of time. I think GSP is another guy who has been one of the greatest champions we've ever seen.

If anybody, GSP has had one gimme in his career (which he would lose of course) with the UFC. His debut was against Karo and he fought tough fights all the way to where he is now. Even Anderson and Hughes can't say that.

Randy is a great fighter, but I don't think he is a great champion. He usually wins the belt and loses it soon after.


I am looking at defenses and who they beat to hold onto the title. Like Tito for example, he had many defenses, but he was not beating the guys that are around today. Same can be said for Frank Shamrock.

Hughes, Silva, and even GSP, have (were in Hughes case) been fighting the top people in their divisions.


If I had to pick one pick, it would be Anderson Silva.

[GL Jeff]

Gotta go with Hughes on this one. We won the title,and really stepped uphi game after that. And just climbed the mountain with hard work and heart. I would never put Hughes in the "naturally gifted" group of fighters,but that never stopped him. Not to mention he does hold wins over BJ Penn, and GSP. Alot of people got into MMA watching Chuck or Randy, Matt Hughes was the guy that drew me in.

[Adambomb]

Originally Posted by Xanatos

if we're looking at strictly numbers, then there's no reason to have this thread in the first place


As for Couture, I think it's very notable to be able to say you stayed relevent as UFC champion or contender over the span of 10 years. Most champions work their way up to the belt, win it, have a defense or two, lose it, and fade away. to lose your title, fight your way back, win it again, rinse and repeat over ten years, and be 15 years older then some of the people you're beating is incredible.

You just used numbers in describing how many years Couture has been relevant.

I guess the question is whether it's better to be dominant over a short period of time or constantly in the mix over a longer period of time?

Tito and Frank weren't able to stay at the top nearly as long as Randy has, but they were both more dominant champions during their reigns.

EDIT: One more thing - Hendo is a world class fighter and has been worthy of P4P consideration, Franklin was the king of the middleweight division when silva dominated him, and Forrest Griffin is a former Light-Heavyweight Champion. I'd say all those victories are just as impressive as Couture's wins over Liddell, Ortiz, Randleman, and Sylvia.

And if you only want to consider undisputed title fights, then Silva's best two wins are over Franklin and Hendo while Couture's best two wins are over Ortiz and Sylvia. I'd say that's very comparable, and Silva has been more dominant.

[moonrocker]

I vote for Hughes. Don't care too much for him, but when i think of champion, especially defending champion, he's the first guy that comes to mind. he was a terror in ww division for years. rock solid, and punished people. Close second would be couture. Great champions overcome obstacles, randy's obstacle being his age. to see a guy at his age step in and rape sylvia like he did...you gotta respect that. and he's held the title in 2 weight divisions. third...BJ penn. he seems untouchable at 155....light years ahead even. GSP....great fighter...but hasn't defended the belt enough times.....................YET :-)