Top 5 UFC Champions with most title defenses in a single reign -

UFC is one of the most violent combat sports around the world. The toughest part of this sport is to become a champion, and there are some fighters who not only won the championship but defended it on multiple occasions as well. Let’s discuss the top 5 UFC champions with the most title defenses.

Throughout the years, UFC promotion has seen some of the reigning and undisputed champions in the different divisions who single-handedly ruled and cleared out the entire division. Some of them retired on the top without losing their title, while some of them lost their title after defending it a number of times.

We’re honoring the legacies of these UFC champions with most title defenses. For making this list, we’ve only considered the longest individual reigns.

UFC champions with the most title defenses in a row

5. Jose Aldo and Valentina Shevchenko (7 times)

Jose Aldo is one of the greatest featherweight fighters UFC has ever produced. He had a dominant reign in the WEC before entering the UFC. Jose Aldo defended his UFC featherweight title 7 times against some of the greatest names of UFC. The most notable names of his title defenses include Chad Mendes, Frankie Edgar, The Korean Zombie, and many others. Aldo finally lost his title against Conor McGregor at UFC 194.

On the other hand, Valentina Shevchenko also had a dominant title reign. Most fans expected Amanda Nunes to have a long reign of multiple title defenses. However, the article only looks at a single division. Valentina also defended her title seven times. It is the most consecutive title defenses in a single championship reign in the women’s category. Her notable wins came against Liz Carmouche, Jennifer Maia, Lauren Murphy, Jessica Andrade, and Taila Santos. Eventually, she lost the title to Alexa Grasso at UFC 285 in a shocking submission loss.

4. Jon Jones (8 Times)

Jon Jones is one of the most dominant UFC champions ever. He reigned as the king of the UFC light heavyweight division from 2011 -2020. Jones became the youngest UFC champion at the age of 23 by defeating Mauricio Rua at UFC 128.

After that, he showed complete dominance in the light heavyweight division and defended his title 8 times. Jones defeated Daniel Cormier at UFC 182 for his 8th title defense, but after this, due to involvement in a hit-and-run case, he was stripped of his UFC title.

Jones regained the undisputed title at UFC 214, knocking out Daniel Cormier. In this fight, he tested positive for using PEDs, and his title was stripped once again. After that, he finally won the title against Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 232 and defended it thrice before vacating it in 2020.

As we are considering only individual reigns, that’s why Jon Jones is ranked number 4 on our list of UFC champions with most title defenses.

3. Georges St Pierre (9 Times)

Georges St-Pierre reigned as a force of destruction in the welterweight division. St-Pierre won the UFC welterweight title for the first time at UFC 65 against Matt Hughes. But he lost his title in his next fight against Matt Serra.

After that, he won the interim title again by defeating Hughes at UFC 79, and later on, he unified his title by defeating Matt Serra at UFC 83. Georges St-Pierre defended his title 9 times after this win and set the record for most consecutive wins in the welterweight division.

After defeating Johny Hendricks at UFC 167, he finally vacated his title and retired without losing it. St Pierre returned to UFC almost after four years and challenged Michael Bisping for his middleweight title. He also defeated Bisping and announced his retirement after winning this title.

2. Anderson Silva (10 Times)

Anderson Silva is one of the finest UFC champions and true pioneers of the sport that helped UFC reach the heights it is now. Silva is not only one of the greatest UFC champions but also a multiple record holder in the promotion.

‘The Spider’ won the UFC middleweight championship by defeating Rich Franklin by a first-round KO at UFC 64. After this win, he defended his title 10 times against some of the biggest names, such as Dan Henderson, Chael Sonnen, Demian Maia, Vitor Belfort, and many others.

Silva finally lost his title against Chris Weidman at UFC 162, and in a rematch against Weidman at UFC 168, he suffered a devastating leg injury. Since then, Silva fell out of his prime and retired from MMA after losing against Jared Cannonier.

1. Demetrious Johnson (11 Times)

Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson is one of UFC’s most dominant champions. He kept the title wrapped around his waist for a long time. Johnson started his career in the bantamweight division, but once UFC announced the addition of the flyweight division, he ruled it like no one else.

Mighty Mouse defeated Joseph Benavidez at UFC 152 to win the inaugural UFC Flyweight championship, and what he did after that is a legacy that is still unmatched by anyone. Johnson defended his title 11 straight times after that against some of the biggest challenges in the division.

With his win against Ray Borg at UFC 216, he broke the record for a most consecutive title defense in UFC. But in his next fight against Henry Cejudo at UFC 227, he lost the title by a controversial split decision.

No other champion in UFC has ever achieved what Demetrious Johnson did. This makes him rule the number 1 position in our list of UFC champions with most title defenses.

List of Top 10 UFC champions with most title defenses in a row

Name	Successful Title Defenses
1. Demetrious Johnson	11 Times
2. Anderson Silva	10 Times
3. Georges St Pierre	9 Times
4. Jon Jones	8 Times
T5. Jose Aldo	7 Times
T5. Valentina Shevchenko	7 Times
7. Ronda Rousey	6 Times
T8. Amanda Nunes	5 Times
T8. Israel Adesanya	5 Times
T8. Alexander Volkanovksi	5 Times
T8. Joanna Jędrzejczyk	5 Times