Madison Square Garden, the site of the upcoming UFC 322 – Source: Unsplash
To hoist a UFC championship belt is to reach the apex of fighting. But to clutch two belts at once—each from a different, brutal weight class—transcends the sport entirely. It carves legends from mere mortals, forging the rarest fraternity in mixed martial arts: the UFC champ-champs. These are the fighters who stared down history, defied the odds, and rewrote the rules of achievement inside the Octagon.
One man, however, who won’t have the opportunity to become the fifth member of the champ-champ club is Islam Makhachev. Later this month, the Dagestani wrestling supremo will make the move from lightweight to welterweight in a bid to dethrone Jack Della Maddalena and become a two-weight world champion, albeit not simultaneously. Makhachev, the former 155-pound king, chose to vacate his lightweight title rather than risk keeping two burning candles alight at the same time.
The move is pragmatic, but it was certainly influenced by outside voices, notably UFC head honcho Dana White, who has publicly stated that he’s not looking to crown any new champ-champs any time soon. Even so, online betting sites still make Makhachev a favorite to go on and claim a title in a second division. The latest UFC betting odds make the Russian challenger a -270 frontrunner to get the victory inside Madison Square Garden, with champion JDM a live +220 underdog.
Should he dethrone Maddalena, he will join the short list of multi-division UFC champs, but not the fabled four who once wore history over both shoulders at the same moment. So, who are the four gladiators who have ruled two realms at once? Let’s find out.
Conor McGregor
November 12, 2016. The sporting world stood still as Conor McGregor, having already detonated the featherweight division with a 13-second blitz of José Aldo, faced lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez on the UFC’s maiden voyage to the Big Apple. The Notorious One, should he come out on top, would become the first fighter in history to ever reign over two divisions as champion at the same time. Madison Square Garden then provided the perfect backdrop for arguably the biggest fight in UFC history at the time.
The Irishman, seemingly unfazed by the fact that he stood on the brink of history, didn’t just win—he orchestrated a dissection. A mosaic of blinding lefts, sublime footwork, and popcorn-worthy taunts. Four knockdowns in less than ten minutes. In round two, a breathtaking four-punch barrage ended Alvarez’s reign and, in an image now immortal, McGregor stood hoisting two golden belts, grinning with the audacity that had always set him apart: “The double-champ does what the f*ck he wants!” he yelled in the aftermath.
But despite all the fanfare, McGregor never defended either of his dual spoils. By the numbers: 512 days as a “champ-champ,” zero title defenses, and both belts ultimately stripped from him, the featherweight title just two weeks after becoming lightweight king, the second a full Floyd Mayweather sidequest later.
He would later show up to his grudge match with Khabib Nurmagomedov sporting both titles as if neither had been taken from him. But the gold wasn’t all he would lose as the Russian claimed McGregor’s soul in November 2018, securing a fourth-round submission victory, and the Notorious One would never be the same again.
Daniel Cormier
If McGregor embodies disruption, Daniel Cormier represents reinvention—born of pain and perseverance. For years, everything DC achieved at light heavyweight lived in the shadow of Jon Jones, twice losing to the troubled American in heartbreaking fashion. But at 39, the former Olympian gambled everything to face Stipe Miocic, the UFC’s most successful heavyweight king.
UFC 226, July 7, 2018: reigning light heavyweight champion Cormier entered as an underdog, boxed in by doubters. Miocic pressed forward, unbowed, until Cormier’s short right hand in the clinch detonated against Stipe’s jaw, sending the champion sprawling. One shot. One seismic upset. In that instant, DC became the second simultaneous UFC champ-champ and the first to defend one title while actively reigning in another.
Cormier didn’t rest on accolades—he dispatched Derrick Lewis to defend his heavyweight title four months later, before vacating the light heavyweight strap in December 2018 after 175 days as champion. Miocic would soon have his revenge, though, beating Cormier in a rematch and then again in a trilogy, ending the second-ever champ-champ’s career in the process.
Amanda Nunes
Stat lines trace dominance, but Amanda Nunes authored devastation. The Lioness already ruled the bantamweight jungle—victories over Ronda Rousey, Miesha Tate, and Valentina Shevchenko made sure of that. But perhaps her boldest act was chasing the ghost of invincibility: Cris Cyborg, then unbeaten for 13 years, and feared throughout the MMA world.
On December 29, 2018, at UFC 232, the odds shivered with uncertainty. Cyborg swarmed. Nunes didn’t blink. Fifty-one seconds later, after a tornado of overhand rights, the unconquered had fallen. Nunes became not just the first female champ-champ, but the embodiment of UFC evolution—a fighter who obliterated generational divides.
Her simultaneous reign lasted 783 days, an unprecedented run in which she defended both belts, including a featherweight masterclass over Felicia Spencer. In an era of champions who dip in and out of glory, Nunes persevered, hunting and devouring every would-be challenger until her 2023 retirement. Eight straight title-fight wins. The only woman to defend belts in two divisions. And perhaps a 2025 comeback looming on the horizon against current bantamweight queen Kayla Harrison.
Henry Cejudo
Olympic gold medalists rarely cross over to cage fighting, and fewer still court controversy with every word and walkout. But Henry Cejudo isn’t built for norms—he’s built for moments that rewrite narratives. After toppling Demetrious Johnson, a champion considered untouchable at flyweight, Cejudo rescued the entire division—his words, not ours.
He could have rested on that legacy, but instead, Cejudo was hungry for more. UFC 238, June 8, 2019: Marlon Moraes battered Cejudo with leg kicks; the Olympic wrestler looked finished after round one. But “Triple C” recalibrated, pouring pressure on the Brazilian with relentless clinch work and ground strikes. By round three, Moraes was broken—Cejudo, improbably, was a double champion.
His reign was a whirlwind—336 days astride two divisions, with defenses at bantamweight and a prompt, show-stealing retirement after stifling Dominick Cruz. Cejudo’s legacy is paradoxical: statistically brief, stylistically polarizing, and yet, historically vital.