UFC Middleweight Champions: Complete Title History
UFC middleweight champions, all 15 title-fight winners, and the last 10 title bouts. AgentMMA data covers 42 championship fights through 2026.
Quick answer
As of October 22, 2026, 15 fighters have won at least one UFC Middleweight title fight in AgentMMA's database. Those wins came across 42 undisputed or interim championship bouts. Sean Strickland is the current champion in AgentMMA's UFC Middleweight rankings. Anderson Silva leads the division with 11 title-fight wins.
Data snapshot: AgentMMA analysis of 42 UFC Middleweight title fights, including interim bouts, from 1994-03-11 to 2026-10-17 (computed 2026-10-22).
UFC Middleweight champions: every title-fight winner
| Fighter | First title-fight win | Title | Beat | Title-fight wins | Title-fight record | Last title fight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dave Menne | 2001-09-28 | undisputed | Gil Castillo | 1 | 1-1-0 | 2002-01-11 |
| Murilo Bustamante | 2002-01-11 | undisputed | Dave Menne | 2 | 2-0-0 | 2002-05-10 |
| Evan Tanner | 2005-02-05 | undisputed | David Terrell | 1 | 1-1-0 | 2005-06-04 |
| Rich Franklin | 2005-06-04 | undisputed | Evan Tanner | 3 | 3-2-0 | 2007-10-20 |
| Anderson Silva | 2006-10-14 | undisputed | Rich Franklin | 11 | 11-2-0 | 2013-12-28 |
| Chris Weidman | 2013-07-06 | undisputed | Anderson Silva | 4 | 4-1-0 | 2015-12-12 |
| Luke Rockhold | 2015-12-12 | undisputed | Chris Weidman | 1 | 1-1-0 | 2016-06-04 |
| Michael Bisping | 2016-06-04 | undisputed | Luke Rockhold | 2 | 2-1-0 | 2017-11-04 |
| Robert Whittaker | 2017-07-08 | interim | Yoel Romero | 1 | 1-2-0 | 2022-02-12 |
| Georges St-Pierre | 2017-11-04 | undisputed | Michael Bisping | 1 | 1-0-0 | 2017-11-04 |
| Israel Adesanya | 2019-04-13 | interim | Kelvin Gastelum | 8 | 8-3-0 | 2024-08-17 |
| Alex Pereira | 2022-11-12 | undisputed | Israel Adesanya | 1 | 1-1-0 | 2023-04-08 |
| Sean Strickland | 2023-09-09 | undisputed | Israel Adesanya | 2 | 2-2-0 | 2026-05-09 |
| Dricus Du Plessis | 2024-01-20 | undisputed | Sean Strickland | 3 | 3-1-0 | 2025-08-16 |
| Khamzat Chimaev | 2025-08-16 | undisputed | Dricus Du Plessis | 1 | 1-1-0 | 2026-05-09 |
A fighter enters this table on the date of his first win in a UFC Middleweight title fight. A second reign doesn't create another row. The record covers middleweight title fights only, so it isn't the fighter's full UFC or professional record.
What were the last 10 UFC Middleweight title fights?
| Date | Event | Result | Method | Round | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-05-09 | UFC 328 | Sean Strickland def. Khamzat Chimaev | Decision | 5 | undisputed |
| 2025-08-16 | UFC 319 | Khamzat Chimaev def. Dricus Du Plessis | Decision | 5 | undisputed |
| 2025-02-08 | UFC 312 | Dricus Du Plessis def. Sean Strickland | Decision | 5 | undisputed |
| 2024-08-17 | UFC 305 | Dricus Du Plessis def. Israel Adesanya | Submission | 4 | undisputed |
| 2024-01-20 | UFC 297 | Dricus Du Plessis def. Sean Strickland | Decision | 5 | undisputed |
| 2023-09-09 | UFC 293 | Sean Strickland def. Israel Adesanya | Decision | 5 | undisputed |
| 2023-04-08 | UFC 287 | Israel Adesanya def. Alex Pereira | KO/TKO | 2 | undisputed |
| 2022-11-12 | UFC 281 | Alex Pereira def. Israel Adesanya | KO/TKO | 5 | undisputed |
| 2022-07-02 | UFC 276 | Israel Adesanya def. Jared Cannonier | Decision | 5 | undisputed |
| 2022-02-12 | UFC 271 | Israel Adesanya def. Robert Whittaker | Decision | 5 | undisputed |
These 10 bouts run from February 2022 through May 2026, and each was for the undisputed title. The belt changed hands several times. Strickland's May 2026 split decision over Chimaev made him a two-time champion.
How this list is counted
AgentMMA starts with every UFC championship bout recorded in its Middleweight division. Undisputed and interim fights both count. A fighter needs one title-fight win to enter the first table; there is no other minimum.
The order follows each fighter's first title-fight win, not total wins or reign length. The win-loss-draw line covers only UFC Middleweight championship bouts. A normal UFC bout, another division, or another promotion doesn't affect it.
Vacancies, strippings and promotions happen outside a bout. They can't create a row in a fight-results table. The UFC's lineage records supply that administrative history.
Murilo Bustamante was stripped after leaving the UFC for PRIDE in 2002. Georges St-Pierre vacated in December 2017 because of illness, and interim champion Robert Whittaker was promoted. Neither act was a new fight.
That explains why another site may show 17 championship reigns while this table has 15 winners. Israel Adesanya and Sean Strickland each began a second reign. Whittaker's promotion also belongs in a lineage, but it doesn't add a title-fight win.
Notable names on the list
Anderson Silva set the middleweight mark
Silva went 11-2-0 in UFC Middleweight title fights, the best win total in AgentMMA's study. The UFC Record Book also credits him with 11 title-fight wins. That total consists of his first title win and 10 successful defenses.
His reign lasted almost seven years and sat inside a 16-fight UFC winning streak. His UFC career ended in 2020, and the promotion inducted him into its Hall of Fame in 2023.
Israel Adesanya built the second-highest total
Adesanya first won the interim belt against Kelvin Gastelum in 2019. He finished with an 8-3-0 middleweight title-fight record through August 2024. Only Silva has more wins in this division's championship bouts.
His two reigns still produce one row because this list counts distinct winners. The UFC's October 2026 rankings still place him inside the Middleweight top 10.
Sean Strickland returned to the top
Strickland first took the belt from Adesanya at UFC 293. He then lost two title fights before beating Chimaev at UFC 328 on May 9, 2026. The UFC's official result records a split decision.
That win made Strickland a two-time champion and moved his title-fight record to 2-2-0. AgentMMA's UFC Middleweight rankings hold the live answer when the champion changes.
Chimaev and Du Plessis remain close
Chimaev beat Du Plessis for the belt in August 2025, then lost it to Strickland. Du Plessis owns a 3-1-0 title-fight record; Chimaev stands at 1-1-0. The UFC rankings list them first and second among the current contenders.
Neither has another title bout in this data snapshot. Their profile links hold each fighter's latest record and next fight.
St-Pierre and Whittaker show the lineage gap
St-Pierre beat Michael Bisping in his only UFC Middleweight title fight. He vacated one month later and retired from MMA in 2019. Whittaker had already won the interim belt, so the UFC promoted him without another bout.
Both facts matter to title history. Only their actual championship fights affect AgentMMA's bout table.
Related AgentMMA pages
- UFC Flyweight title history
- UFC Bantamweight title history
- UFC Featherweight title history
- Most UFC title-fight wins
- Youngest and oldest UFC champions
How solid is this data?
The population is 42 UFC Middleweight title fights from 1994-03-11 through 2026-10-17. It contains undisputed and interim bouts and produces 15 different title-fight winners. AgentMMA computed the study on 2026-10-22 from its UFC bout database.
Only UFC bouts count. Fights elsewhere can change a fighter's professional record, but they never change a UFC figure here. Results follow UFC Stats as stored by AgentMMA, and an overturned result counts as a no-contest.
Administrative decisions need a separate source because they don't appear as bouts. We use the UFC's official lineage for vacancies, strippings and promotions. The UFC Record Book may also show all-division totals, while this page filters Middleweight title fights.
The current champion can change at the next event. Check the UFC Middleweight rankings for the live answer. This maintained page refreshes when a new result changes either table.
FAQ
Who are all the UFC Middleweight champions?
AgentMMA finds 15 fighters with at least one UFC Middleweight title-fight win. The table begins with Dave Menne and currently ends with Khamzat Chimaev.
Who is the current UFC Middleweight champion?
Sean Strickland is champion as of October 22, 2026. He regained the belt from Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 328 by split decision.
Who has the most UFC Middleweight title-fight wins?
Anderson Silva leads with 11 wins. Israel Adesanya follows with 8, while Chris Weidman has 4.
How many UFC Middleweight title fights have there been?
AgentMMA's database contains 42 undisputed or interim Middleweight championship bouts through October 17, 2026.
Does this UFC Middleweight title history include interim champions?
Yes. Robert Whittaker and Israel Adesanya first enter the list through interim-title wins. Their later promotions or unifications don't create extra winner rows.
Why does this list differ from a list of title reigns?
This page lists distinct title-fight winners. A reign list repeats two-time champions and includes promotions that happened without a fight.
Sources & further reading
The data and published sources behind this article.
- UFC Record Book: career and middleweight title-fight win leaders (statleaders.ufc.com)
- UFC: Middleweight title lineage (www.ufc.com)
- UFC 328 results: Strickland vs Chimaev (www.ufc.com)
- UFC rankings (www.ufc.com)
- UFC Hall of Fame: Anderson Silva (www.ufc.com)
- UFC: Georges St-Pierre retirement (www.ufc.com)
- UFC: Murilo Bustamante title stripping (www.ufc.com)
Put the data to work
Compare any two fighters head-to-head, or see what our AI predicts for upcoming UFC fights.
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