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 occurred 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 Jack Della Maddalena.
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 | |
| 2012-11-17 | Georges St. Pierre | W | Carlos Condit | |
| 2013-03-16 | Georges St. Pierre | W | Nick Diaz | |
| 2013-11-17 | Georges St. Pierre | W | Johny Hendricks | St. Pierre relinquishes UFC title and goes on hiatus. |
| 2014-12-06 | Robbie Lawler | W | Johny Hendricks | Vacant title |
| 2015-07-12 | Robbie Lawler | W | Rory MacDonald | |
| 2016-01-02 | Robbie Lawler | W | Carlos Condit | |
| 2016-07-30 | Tyron Woodley | W | Robbie Lawler | |
| 2016-11-12 | Tyron Woodley | D | Stephen Thompson | |
| 2017-03-04 | Tyron Woodley | W | Stephen Thompson | |
| 2017-07-29 | Tyron Woodley | W | Demian Maia | |
| 2018-09-08 | Tyron Woodley | W | Darren Till | |
| 2019-03-02 | Kamaru Usman | W | Tyron Woodley | |
| 2019-12-14 | Kamaru Usman | W | Colby Covington | |
| 2020-07-11 | Kamaru Usman | W | Jorge Masvidal | |
| 2021-02-13 | Kamaru Usman | W | Gilbert Burns | |
| 2021-04-24 | Kamaru Usman | W | Jorge Masvidal | |
| 2021-11-06 | Kamaru Usman | W | Colby Covington | |
| 2022-08-21 | Leon Edwards | W | Kamaru Usman | |
| 2023-03-18 | Leon Edwards | W | Kamaru Usman | |
| 2023-12-16 | Leon Edwards | W | Colby Covington | |
| 2024-07-27 | Belal Muhammad | W | Leon Edwards | |
| 2025-05-10 | Jack Della Maddalena | W | Belal Muhammad |
You could make an argument for the first Lawler-Hendricks fight to be on here.
Why did they skip over the first Johnny Hendricks versus Robbie Lawler fight? This was when Hendricks won the belt after GSP had stepped away. It seems to me Hendricks was the first lineal champion after GSP took a leave of absence.