Category Archives: Fighter Highlights

Champ Champ Status

Mar 11, 2024
oleg

These days, it’s not enough to hold a title in a major MMA organization.  Why not two? Hell, Anatoly Malykhin is currently simultaneously holding the middleweight, light-heavyweight, and heavyweight titles at ONE Championship. And so every new major title holder seems to ignore the realities of defending their freshly won divisional title, preferring to immediately chase the ‘champ-champ’ status.

This craze began with Conor McGregor becoming the first UFC champion to hold title belts in two divisions at the same time.  There have been others before him, though none simultaneous. In this article, we will look back at every fighter who has held more than one divisional title (whether simultaneous or one at at time) in the UFC history, in chronological order. Interim titles count; tournament titles do not.

* indicates titles held simultaneously

 Randy Couture

Date Event Opponent Weight Class Defenses
December 21, 1997 UFC 15.5 – Ultimate Japan 1 Maurice Smith Heavyweight None (Vacated)
June 6, 2003 (Interim) UFC 43 – Meltdown Chuck Liddell Light-Heavyweight 1 (Unification)

Randy ‘The Natural’ Couture was a pioneer of MMA in many ways.  One of the first well-rounded fighters who sucessfully utilized more than one discipline, Couture was also the first fighter in the UFC to win multiple titles. The Natural made his UFC debut in 1997, winning the UFC 13 Heavyweight Tournament. He then defeated young ‘Phenom’ Vitor Belfort in a title eliminator, before capturing the UFC heavyweight title with a decision win over Maurice Smith. Couture never did defend that belt, vacating it amidst a contract dispute with UFC, which saw Randy going to fight over in Japan for a period of his career. Upon returning to UFC in 2000, Couture immediately won back the heavyweight title and defended it twice.

After dropping two fights at heavyweight, the aging Couture decided to try his luck at 205 lbs. Making his light-heavyweight debut at UFC 43, Couture stopped Chuck Liddell in the third round for the Interim title (the real title having been held by Tito Ortiz at the time), becoming the first man in UFC history to win title belts in two different divisions. Couture unified the belts in a routing of Ortiz, but then dropped it in a rematch with Vitor Belfort, due to a cut on the eyelid of Couture caused by the very first strike thrown by Belfort. After winning the title back from Belfort, Couture lost his next two battles to Chuck Liddell and retired from the sport.

Couture’s retirement didn’t last long: a year later, he returned to the heavyweight division, shocking the world with a dominant decision win over a much larger man in Tim Sylvia. Randy defended the heavyweight title once, before losing it to Brock Lesnar.  He didn’t fight for another title after.

Read More…

Legends of the Octagon: Khabib Nurmagomedov

Mar 8, 2024
Fairfax

Khabib Nurmagomedov was a well-rounded Mixed Martial Arts fighter who has made his name as the greatest lightweight in MMA  and one of the most dominant UFC champions of all time.  His background in the Russian martial art of sambo made him one hell of a grappler! Basically, once you are on the Octagon floor with Khabib, you are sure to lose. The highlight of Khabib’s career is capturing the UFC lightweight championship belt and defending it four times.  His most viewed UFC fight was against Conor McGregor. Actually, UFC 229 was the most viewed fight on Pay-Per-View in UFC history, as there were over 2,400,000 viewers. Likely Khabib’s most challenging opponent was Dustin Poirier. Nurmagomedov retired as the lightweight champion.  His overall MMA record is unblemished at 29-0, and he is the only UFC champion who retired undefeated.

Read More…

Legends of the Octagon: Francis Ngannou

Feb 26, 2024
Fairfax

Born in 1986, Francis Ngannou grew up impoverished in Cameroon.  At the age of ten, he began working in the sand mines. He did this type of work until he was 17. In search for a better quality of life, Ngannou moved to France at 26, with dreams of becoming a professional boxer.

While in France, Ngannou met coach Didier Carmont.  Due to the potential that Carmont had anticipated, he allowed Francis to train at no cost in his gym. While training in boxing, he was introduced to MMA coach Fernand Lopez; thus beginning a career in MMA.

Read More…

Legends of the Octagon: Anderson Silva

Feb 26, 2024
Fairfax

In the opinion of many fans, Anderson Silva is the greatest MMA fighter of all time. Whether you agree or not, he is certainly a legend of the Octagon. From a young age, he was a prodigy in martial arts. Here are some fun facts you may not know about ‘The Spider’:

Read More…

Top 5 Record-Breaking Win Streaks in UFC History

Feb 20, 2024
Fairfax

The UFC has seen some truly incredible fighters over its storied 31-year history, but only the best of the best have been able to see periods of sustained dominance over an entire weight class. While there is plenty of nuance that goes into a long win streak in the UFC, namely the quality of opponents, at some point a run of victories becomes so long that we as viewers have no choice but to appreciate greatness. The UFC, with its 625 million fans, is a top-viewed combat sport. This popularity has brought in online sports betting brands, giving fans a fun way to be part of the action.

A quick note before we get started, six fighters are technically tied for 4th place. Demetrious Johnson, Max Holloway, Islam Makhachev, Georges St. Pierre, Jon Jones, and Khabib Nurmagomedov all have recorded 13 fight win-streaks. Still, we’ve decided to highlight just the below that we think come with important caveats that put them above the rest.

Read More…

Bookmaker’s Favourite In UFC 299: O’Malley Vs. Vera Fight

Feb 20, 2024
Fairfax

The MMA calendar for 2024 is already jam-packed full of exciting events in the coming months. One of the most anticipated right now is the O’Malley vs Vera, that is scheduled for the 9th of March 2024.  who is everything you need to know about the events, and who is the bookie’s favourite to win.

Read More…

What’s next for Sean Strickland after losing to Du Plessis?

Feb 12, 2024
Fairfax

A fighter millions of UFC fans adore due to his comical value and frankness on a range of subjects, coupled with his all-action fighting style, Sean Strickland’s momentum at the top of the middleweight tree took a massive hit after his somewhat controversial loss to Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 297. A devastating split-decision defeat in his first title defence, Strickland will undoubtedly take a short break away from the sport as he prepares for his next bout.

The fight with Du Plessis would certainly have taken a lot out of Strickland. The South African is a formidable opponent who handled Strickland pushing the pace throughout the contest, coming out on top in a back-and-forth feast that provided plenty of entertainment for fans. In fact, the fight is arguably the best battle we’ve seen in 2024 so far, with both fighters contributing to a brutal slugfest that MMA connoisseurs enjoyed.

Of course, Strickland’s diehard fans who enjoy his hilarious takes on podcasts and his usually fiery press conferences would’ve been shocked to see their man lose, particularly as many would’ve backed him in the betting stakes and shared their respective theories on why the former champion would have too much for Du Plessis. Strickland failed to deliver, though, and after just four months after it began, his period of dominance has already come to an end.

Read More…

What Happened to Manny Pacquiao? A Look at the Legend’s Present and Future

Feb 10, 2024
Fairfax

He danced in the ring like a butterfly and stung like a bee, his lightning-fast fists captivating audiences worldwide and etching his name into boxing history. Manny Pacquiao, the eight-division world champion and global icon, transcended the sport, becoming a national hero in his native Philippines and an inspiration to millions. But with his gloves seemingly hung up, boxing fans are left wondering: what happened to Manny Pacquiao?

Read More…

UFC champion Dricus Du Plessis mocks Drake for his failed bid at UFC 297

Feb 2, 2024
Fairfax

Despite his athletic accomplishments, Du Plessis has been gaining attention lately, not only for his fights in the octagon but also for his witty comments on social media. Recently, he expressed his outrage over popular rapper Drake losing a bet on his fight.

On his Twitter page, Du Plessis wrote that Drake lost the bet on his fight, and Dricus will now “fry” him like he “fried” Strickland in the octagon. The post immediately went viral and sparked tons of comments and reactions from fans of both athletes.

The story began when Drake made a huge bet of $700,000 on fighter Sean Strickland to defeat Du Plessis. This joking tradition has become well known among fans: every time Drake bets on a fighter, that athlete is virtually guaranteed to lose. Immediately after Drake makes a bet and it becomes public knowledge, many people also start betting on another fighter. There is also an inexplicable increase in casino activity in Canadian dollars if twinspinCA statistics are to be believed. Recall that Drake is a native of Canada. Many of his fellow citizens may decide to bet or spin slots in a similar fashion to their fellow countrymen.

Read More…

Conor McGregor Confirms UFC Return: Summer Clash With Michael Chandler Scheduled

Jan 30, 2024
Fairfax

Conor McGregor has confirmed his intention to make a return to the UFC by fighting Michael Chandler on June 29th in Las Vegas. The date of the fight and, indeed, the fight itself have not been confirmed by the UFC publicly, so who knows if this is indeed how the Dubliner will return to the octagon.

Clearly, whenever McGregor fights, there is a groundswell of immense interest, which is mirrored by the level of betting that occurs. That means those who want to wager will need to find the best brands and providers for their bets.

This service outlines the best MMA sportsbook options, and that’s key, given that many sportsbooks are not best suited to the niche. So, take a look and select the operator that will help you maximize any potential payout.

Read More…