First, a run-down of the particulars:
- A minimum weight of 138 pounds is observed for this list.
- The inception of the title occurred at the final match of an “LLPW” MMA open weight 8-woman tournament in 1995. Note: There was a smaller 4-woman “White Dragon” tournament in 1993 where the lineage could have been started, but could not confirm if this was indeed above 138 pounds.
- Inactivity has plagued this division’s history. Were we to implement stricter penalties, one could argue that Goundarenko would’ve lost the title due to inactivity and Kandori’s reign would’ve been skipped, as would part of Coenen’s and as a result, Toughill and Yabushita would’ve never held the title.
- Recordkeeping and regulations (weight classes) were notoriously bad for Women’s MMA. As a result, we may update this list if new info presents itself.
Your current lineal Featherweight+ champion is Amanda Nunes
The full history is below. Note, the colored backgrounds indicate a title change.
MMA Women’s Featherweight+ Lineal Championship History
Date | Champion | Outcome | Challenger | Notes |
1995-07-18 | Svetlana Goundarenko | WIN | Shinobu Kandori | Due to Goundarenko’s inactivity after this fight, the path forward is questionable. See notes above for more commentary. |
1998-10-10 | Shinobu Kandori | WIN | Svetlana Goundarenko | |
2000-11-22 | Shinobu Kandori | WIN | Yumiko Hotta | Kandori retires. |
2002-01-13 | Marloes Coenen | WIN | Megumi Yabushita | Vacant title. Top contenders. |
2002-04-14 | Marloes Coenen | WIN | Miwako Ishihara | |
2004-12-19 | Marloes Coenen | WIN | Yoko Takahashi | |
2004-12-19 | Erin Toughill | WIN | Marloes Coenen | |
2004-12-19 | Megumi Yabushita | WIN | Yong Joo Lee | |
2005-07-09 | Megumi Yabushita | WIN | Yong Joo Lee | No division info available. |
2006-02-15 | Amanda Buckner | WIN | Megumi Yabushita | Buckner moves down to lower weights after this fight. |
2009-08-15 | Cristiane Justino | WIN | Gina Carano | Vacant title. Top contenders. |
2010-01-30 | Cristiane Justino | WIN | Marloes Coenen | |
2010-06-26 | Cristiane Justino | WIN | Jan Finney | |
2011-12-17 | Cristiane Justino | NC | Hiroko Yamanaka | |
2013-04-05 | Cristiane Justino | WIN | Fiona Muxlow | |
2013-07-13 | Cristiane Justino | WIN | Marloes Coenen | |
2015-02-27 | Cristiane Justino | WIN | Charmaine Tweet | |
2015-07-09 | Cristiane Justino | WIN | Faith McMah | |
2016-01-16 | Cristiane Justino | WIN | Daria Ibragimova | |
2016-05-14 | Cristiane Justino | WIN | Leslie Smith | |
2016-09-24 | Cristiane Justino | WIN | Lina Lansberg | |
2017-07-29 | Cristiane Justino | WIN | Tonya Evinger | |
2017-12-30 | Cristiane Justino | WIN | Holly Holm | |
2018-03-03 | Cristiane Justino | WIN | Yana Kunitskaya | |
2018-12-29 | Amanda Nunes | WIN | Cristiane Justino | |
2020-06-06 | Amanda Nunes | WIN | Felicia Spencer | |
2021-03-06 | Amanda Nunes | WIN | Megan Anderson |