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First, a run-down of the particulars:
- Inception of the championship occured on 10/14/1993, the first match-up between 1-0 fighters that took place within this division.
- Vacancies after inactivity periods were fulfilled by the next “top contender” match. Absence of such, was not a problem at Heavyweight.
Your current lineal Heavyweight champion is Alistair Overeem
The full history is below. Note, the colored backgrounds indicate a title change.
MMA Heavyweight Lineal Championship History
| Date | Champion | Outcome | Challenger | Notes |
| 1993-10-14 | Ken Shamrock | WIN | Kazuo Takahashi | |
| 1993-11-08 | Ken Shamrock | WIN | Takaku Fuke | |
| 1993-11-12 | Ken Shamrock | WIN | Patrick Smith | |
| 1993-11-12 | Royce Gracie | WIN | Ken Shamrock | |
| 1993-11-12 | Royce Gracie | WIN | Gerard Gordeau | |
| 1994-03-11 | Royce Gracie | WIN | Minoki Ichihara | |
| 1994-03-11 | Royce Gracie | WIN | Jason DeLucia | |
| 1994-03-11 | Royce Gracie | WIN | Remco Pardoel | |
| 1994-03-11 | Royce Gracie | WIN | Patrick Smith | |
| 1994-09-09 | Royce Gracie | WIN | Kimo Leopoldo | |
| 1994-12-16 | Royce Gracie | WIN | Ron van Clief | |
| 1994-12-16 | Royce Gracie | WIN | Keith Hackney | |
| 1994-12-16 | Royce Gracie | WIN | Dan Severn | |
| 1995-04-07 | Royce Gracie | DRAW | Ken Shamrock | Gracie went inactive |
| 1996-05-16 | Bas Rutten | WIN | Frank Shamrock | Vacant title. Top contenders. |
| 1996-06-25 | Bas Rutten | WIN | Jason DeLucia | |
| 1996-09-07 | Bas Rutten | WIN | Masakatsu Funaki | |
| 1996-10-08 | Bas Rutten | WIN | Manabu Yamada | |
| 1997-03-22 | Bas Rutten | WIN | Osami Shibuya | |
| 1997-04-27 | Bas Rutten | WIN | Kiuma Kunioku | |
| 1997-06-30 | Bas Rutten | WIN | Takaku Fuke | |
| 1997-09-06 | Bas Rutten | WIN | Osami Shibuya | |
| 1997-12-20 | Bas Rutten | WIN | Keiichiro Yamamiya | |
| 1998-09-14 | Bas Rutten | WIN | Kengo Watanabe | |
| 1999-01-08 | Bas Rutten | WIN | Tsuyoshi Kosaka | |
| 1999-05-07 | Bas Rutten | WIN | Kevin Randleman | Rutten went inactive |
| 2001-09-24 | Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira | WIN | Mark Coleman | Vacant title. Top contenders. |
| 2001-11-03 | Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira | WIN | Heath Herring | |
| 2002-02-24 | Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira | WIN | Enson Inoue | |
| 2002-08-08 | Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira | WIN | Sanae Kikuta | |
| 2002-11-24 | Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira | WIN | Semmy Schilt | |
| 2002-12-23 | Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira | WIN | Dan Henderson | |
| 2003-03-16 | Fedor Emelianenko | WIN | Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira | |
| 2003-04-05 | Fedor Emelianenko | WIN | Egidijus Valavicius | |
| 2003-06-08 | Fedor Emelianenko | WIN | Kazuyuki Fujita | |
| 2003-08-10 | Fedor Emelianenko | WIN | Gary Goodridge | |
| 2004-08-15 | Fedor Emelianenko | NC | Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira | |
| 2004-12-31 | Fedor Emelianenko | WIN | Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira | |
| 2005-04-03 | Fedor Emelianenko | WIN | Tsuyoshi Kosaka | |
| 2005-08-28 | Fedor Emelianenko | WIN | Mirko Filipovic | |
| 2005-12-31 | Fedor Emelianenko | WIN | Zuluzinho | |
| 2006-10-21 | Fedor Emelianenko | WIN | Mark Coleman | |
| 2006-12-31 | Fedor Emelianenko | WIN | Mark Hunt | |
| 2007-04-14 | Fedor Emelianenko | WIN | Matt Lindland | |
| 2007-12-31 | Fedor Emelianenko | WIN | Hong Man Choi | |
| 2008-07-19 | Fedor Emelianenko | WIN | Tim Sylvia | |
| 2009-01-24 | Fedor Emelianenko | WIN | Andrei Arlovski | |
| 2009-11-07 | Fedor Emelianenko | WIN | Brett Rogers | 14th defense |
| 2010-06-26 | Fabricio Werdum | WIN | Fedor Emelianenko | |
| 2011-06-18 | Alistair Overeem | WIN | Fabricio Werdum | |
| 2011-12-30 | Alistair Overeem | WIN | Brock Lesnar |
Easy. Our system had both Nog and Coleman in the Top 3 — a qualifying fight. Couture and Randleman weren’t even in the Top 3. There was no preferred path…. We strictly used the legit path.
Enjoyed reading. I’m wondering why you picked Nog vs Coleman to follow Bas Rutten’s reign. Granted it is a legit title-contender fight, but Couture vs Randleman was also legit and came first (and there was an actual title on the line). I agree some things are subjective, but it sort of looks like legit fights were overlooked to obtain the prefered path (Fedor). Shouldn’t need to go over two years without a lineal champ.
Nice! You had done graphs comparing age with win loss ratio a few months back. Any chance you could put those up in a section that people can view?
It is arguable as to whether these divsional lineages should have been started as early as possible, or in conjunction with a mega fight. In this case though, I think you have to start it with either Royce or Ken.
Interesting. Most linear histories I see start off the heavyweight title after Mark Coleman beats Dan Severn.