Heavyweights

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 Francis Ngannou

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 DRAW 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
2002-08-28 Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira WIN Bob Sapp
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
2003-12-31 Fedor Emelianenko WIN Yugi Nagata
2004-04-25 Fedor Emelianenko WIN Mark Coleman
2004-06-20 Fedor Emelianenko WIN Kevin Randleman
2004-08-15 Fedor Emelianenko WIN Naoya Ogawa
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 18th 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
2013-02-02 Antonio Silva WIN Alistair Overeem
2013-05-25 Cain Velasquez WIN Antonio Silva
2013-10-19 Cain Velasquez WIN Junior dos Santos
2015-06-13 Fabricio Werdum WIN Cain Velasquez
2016-05-14 Stipe Miocic WIN Fabricio Werdum
2016-09-10 Stipe Miocic WIN Alistair Overeem
2017-05-14 Stipe Miocic WIN Junior dos Santos
2018-01-20 Stipe Miocic WIN Francis Ngannou
2018-07-07 Daniel Cormier WIN Stipe Miocic
2018-11-03 Daniel Cormier WIN Derrick Lewis
2019-08-17 Stipe Miocic WIN Daniel Cormier
2020-08-15 Stipe Miocic WIN Daniel Cormier
2021-03-27 Francis Ngannou WIN Stipe Miocic
2022-01-22 Francis Ngannou WIN Cyril Gane

 

Leave A Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Before asking where a specific fighter is ranked or why they aren't ranked:


- We update the rankings once per week, usually on Sunday or Monday.

- Fighters who have not fought in 450 days or more ARE NOT RANKED UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES.

- Use the "Fighter Search" option in the upper-right of the page. The fighter may be ranked in a different division.

- Most of the divisions have multiple pages beyond this one. See the clickable ranges above and below the ranking table.

Furthermore, we do not maintain the "next fight" data. This is gathered from Sherdog. Any issues regarding this data should be forwarded to them.