First, a run-down of the particulars:
- Due to potential metric conversion issues and weight class changes, a limit of 148 pounds is observed for this list.
- Inception of the championship occurred on 11/27/1992, the first known professional fight taking place at or below 148 pounds. There was not an ideal, early entry point for this division’s lineal championship.
- Only a period in the mid 2000s saw fighters leave the division without losing. These situations were easily resolved in quick fashion by “best available” match-ups featuring 1/2, 2/3 or 1/3 ranked fighters.
Your current lineal Featherweight champion is Alexander Volkanovski
The full history is below. Note, the colored backgrounds indicate a title change.
MMA Featherweight Lineal Championship History
| Date | Champion | Outcome | Challenger | Notes |
| 1992-11-27 | Noboru Asahi | WIN | Takashi Ishizaki | Asahi simultaneously holds two lineal titles (BW & FW). |
| 1993-06-24 | Noboru Asahi | WIN | Masato Suzuki | |
| 1993-11-25 | Noboru Asahi | WIN | Yuki Nakai | |
| 1994-05-06 | Noboru Asahi | WIN | Shinji Abe | |
| 1994-09-26 | Noboru Asahi | WIN | Nozomu Matsumoto | |
| 1994-11-07 | Noboru Asahi | WIN | Kyuhei Ueno | |
| 1995-07-29 | Noboru Asahi | WIN | Leonid Zaslavsky | |
| 1996-01-20 | Noboru Asahi | WIN | Ruud Alwart | |
| 1996-03-05 | Noboru Asahi | WIN | Leandro Lima de Azevedo | |
| 1998-01-17 | Noboru Asahi | WIN | Denis Hall | 9th consecutive defense |
| 1998-04-26 | Alexandre Franca Nogueira | WIN | Noboru Asahi | Nogueira’s pro debut! |
| 1999-03-28 | Alexandre Franca Nogueira | WIN | Masahiro Oishi | |
| 1999-09-05 | Alexandre Franca Nogueira | WIN | Noboru Asahi | |
| 1999-12-11 | Alexandre Franca Nogueira | DRAW | Uchu Tatsumi | |
| 2000-04-02 | Alexandre Franca Nogueira | WIN | Mamoru Okochi | |
| 2000-08-27 | Alexandre Franca Nogueira | WIN | Uchu Tatsumi | |
| 2000-12-17 | Alexandre Franca Nogueira | WIN | Stephen Palling | |
| 2001-05-01 | Tetsuo Katsuta | WIN | Alexandre Franca Nogueira | |
| 2001-09-02 | Alexandre Franca Nogueira | WIN | Tetsuo Katsuta | Nogueira’s 2nd reign |
| 2001-12-16 | Alexandre Franca Nogueira | WIN | Katsuya Toida | |
| 2002-07-19 | Hiroyuki Abe | WIN | Alexandre Franca Nogueira | |
| 2002-12-14 | Alexandre Franca Nogueira | WIN | Hiroyuki Abe | Nogueira’s 3rd reign |
| 2003-08-10 | Alexandre Franca Nogueira | DRAW | Stephen Palling | |
| 2003-12-14 | Alexandre Franca Nogueira | WIN | Rumina Sato | |
| 2004-12-14 | Alexandre Franca Nogueira | WIN | Hideki Kadowaki | |
| 2005-03-11 | Alexandre Franca Nogueira | WIN | Joao Roque | Nogueira leaves division. |
| 2007-02-09 | Hatsu Hioki | WIN | Mark Hominick | Vacant title. Top contenders. |
| 2007-05-18 | Antonio Carvalho | WIN | Hatsu Hioki | |
| 2007-11-08 | Hiroyuki Takaya | WIN | Antonio Carvalho | |
| 2008-02-13 | Leonard Garcia | WIN | Hiroyuki Takaya | |
| 2008-11-05 | Leonard Garcia | WIN | Jens Pulver | |
| 2009-03-01 | Mike Thomas Brown | WIN | Leonard Garcia | |
| 2009-06-07 | Mike Thomas Brown | WIN | Urijah Faber | |
| 2009-11-18 | Jose Aldo | WIN | Mike Thomas Brown | |
| 2010-04-24 | Jose Aldo | WIN | Urijah Faber | |
| 2010-09-30 | Jose Aldo | WIN | Manny Gamburyan | |
| 2011-04-30 | Jose Aldo | WIN | Mark Hominick | |
| 2011-10-08 | Jose Aldo | WIN | Kenny Florian | |
| 2012-01-04 | Jose Aldo | WIN | Chad Mendes | |
| 2013-02-02 | Jose Aldo | WIN | Frankie Edgar | |
| 2013-08-03 | Jose Aldo | WIN | Chan Sung Jung | |
| 2014-02-01 | Jose Aldo | WIN | Ricardo Lamas | |
| 2014-10-26 | Jose Aldo | WIN | Chad Mendes | |
| 2015-12-12 | Conor McGregor | WIN | Jose Aldo | McGregor vacates, moves up in weight. |
| 2016-07-09 | Jose Aldo | WIN | Frankie Edgar | Vacant title. Top contenders. |
| 2017-06-03 | Max Holloway | WIN | Jose Aldo | |
| 2017-12-02 | Max Holloway | WIN | Jose Aldo | |
| 2018-12-08 | Max Holloway | WIN | Brian Ortega | |
| 2019-07-27 | Max Holloway | WIN | Frankie Edgar | |
| 2019-12-14 | Alexander Volkanovski | WIN | Max Holloway | |
| 2020-07-11 | Alexander Volkanovski | WIN | Max Holloway | |
| 2021-07-25 | Alexander Volkanovski | WIN | Brian Ortega | |
| 2022-04-09 | Alexander Volkanovski | WIN | Chan Sung Jung | |
| 2022-07-02 | Alexander Volkanovski | WIN | Max Holloway |
14 Comments
Why isn’t Noboru Asahi’s 7/7/96 loss to Royler Gracie not considered a loss of his lineal title? I assume the Shooto belt wasn’t on the line but what constitutes a defense of a lineal title if a loss isn’t registered?
Gracie/Asahi was a 154lb fight.
What lineage leads to Corassani?
Second Holloway-Aldo fight has a coloured background when it was a successful defence.
Right you are sir. Fixed. These lineages are manually maintained, unlike most of the site, so sometimes I mess things up 🙂
Second Holloway-Aldo fight has a coloured background when it was a successful defence.
Right you are sir. Fixed. These lineages are manually maintained, unlike most of the site, so sometimes I mess things up 🙂
I don’t see how Akira is the lineal champ. Royler didn’t fight at featherweight again for 8 years or so, plus iirc Royler was north of 150 for that scrap anyways, so I guess probably a moot point since it would’ve been non-title.
I don’t see how Akira is the lineal champ. Royler didn’t fight at featherweight again for 8 years or so, plus iirc Royler was north of 150 for that scrap anyways, so I guess probably a moot point since it would’ve been non-title.
Gracie/Asahi was a 154lb fight.
Why isn’t Noboru Asahi’s 7/7/96 loss to Royler Gracie not considered a loss of his lineal title? I assume the Shooto belt wasn’t on the line but what constitutes a defense of a lineal title if a loss isn’t registered?
What lineage leads to Corassani?
Akira Corassani is the real lineal champion, if you will stick to what the essence of lineal really means.
Akira Corassani is the real lineal champion, if you will stick to what the essence of lineal really means.