First, a run-down of the particulars:
- Due to potential metric conversion issues and weight class changes, a limit of 172 pounds is observed for this list.
- Inception of the championship occured on 1/13/1990, the first fight between two top fighters that resulted in a clear #1.
- Sporadic periods of inactivity were observed throughout the first half of the lineage. Clear “top contender” matches took place to determine the next champion.
Your current lineal Welterweight champion is Georges St. Pierre
The full history is below. Note, the colored backgrounds indicate a title change.
MMA Welterweight Lineal Championship History
| Date | Champion | Outcome | Challenger | Notes |
| 1990-01-13 | Yasuto Sekishima | W | Yoshimasa Ishikawa | The first top-contender match-up. |
| 1990-03-17 | Yasuto Sekishima | D | Kenji Kawaguchi | |
| 1990-05-12 | Yasuto Sekishima | W | Yoshimasa Ishikawa | |
| 1990-07-07 | Yasuto Sekishima | W | Naoki Sakurada | |
| 1990-11-28 | Yasuto Sekishima | D | Naoki Sakurada | |
| 1991-01-13 | Yasuto Sekishima | W | Manabu Yamada | |
| 1991-03-29 | Yasuto Sekishima | W | Takashi Tojo | |
| 1991-08-03 | Yoshimasa Ishikawa | W | Yasuto Sekishima | Ishikawa leaves division. |
| 1991-10-17 | Naoki Sakurada | W | Yasuto Sekishima | Vacant title. |
| 1991-12-23 | Naoki Sakurada | W | Kazuhiro Kusayanagi | |
| 1992-05-29 | Yuichi Watanabe | W | Naoki Sakurada | Watanabe retires. |
| 1992-09-25 | Naoki Sakurada | W | Kazuhiro Kusayanagi | Vacant title. |
| 1994-07-29 | Naoki Sakurada | D | Yasushi Warita | |
| 1995-01-21 | Naoki Sakurada | W | Maurice Roumimper | Sakurada leaves division. |
| 2001-11-02 | Matt Hughes | W | Carlos Newton | Vacant title. |
| 2002-03-22 | Matt Hughes | W | Hayato Sakurai | |
| 2002-07-13 | Matt Hughes | W | Carlos Newton | |
| 2002-11-22 | Matt Hughes | W | Gil Castillo | |
| 2003-04-25 | Matt Hughes | W | Sean Sherk | |
| 2003-11-21 | Matt Hughes | W | Frank Trigg | |
| 2004-01-31 | B.J. Penn | W | Matt Hughes | |
| 2004-05-22 | B.J. Penn | W | Duane Ludwig | |
| 2006-03-04 | Georges St. Pierre | W | B.J. Penn | |
| 2006-11-18 | Georges St. Pierre | W | Matt Hughes | |
| 2007-04-07 | Matt Serra | W | Georges St. Pierre | |
| 2008-04-19 | Georges St. Pierre | W | Matt Serra | |
| 2008-08-09 | Georges St. Pierre | W | Jon Fitch | |
| 2009-01-31 | Georges St. Pierre | W | B.J. Penn | |
| 2009-07-11 | Georges St. Pierre | W | Thiago Alves | |
| 2010-03-27 | Georges St. Pierre | W | Dan Hardy | |
| 2010-12-11 | Georges St. Pierre | W | Josh Koscheck | |
| 2011-04-30 | Georges St. Pierre | W | Jake Shields |