Longest UFC Title Reigns in History: Top 10 Ranked
Anderson Silva holds the longest UFC title reign at 2,457 days with 10 defenses, ahead of Demetrious Johnson (2,142) and Georges St-Pierre (2,064).
Anderson Silva owns the longest UFC title reign ever: 2,457 days as undisputed middleweight champion with 10 straight defenses, from UFC 64 on October 14, 2006 to UFC 162 on July 6, 2013. Demetrious Johnson (2,142 days, a record 11 defenses) and Georges St-Pierre (2,064 days, 9 defenses) are the only other fighters to clear 2,000 days.
This list ranks the 10 longest single, continuous reigns as undisputed champion. Interim and combined reigns do not count. If you got stripped, vacated or lost, the clock stopped that day. Days are computed from the dates each title changed hands.
As of October 2026, no reign on this list is still active. Shevchenko vacated in September 2026, and Volkanovski's second reign (547 days and counting) is far from his first.
- Longest reign
- Anderson Silva, 2,457 days (2006 to 2013)
- Most consecutive defenses
- Demetrious Johnson, 11
- Longest women's reign
- Amanda Nunes, 1,981 days at bantamweight
- Longest never-lost reign
- Georges St-Pierre, 2,064 days, vacated
- Reigns over 2,000 days
- 3: Silva, Johnson, St-Pierre
- Active reigns in top 10
- None as of October 2026
01Just Missed the Cut
Kamaru Usman is number 11 at 1,267 days (March 2, 2019 to August 20, 2022, 5 defenses). Tito Ortiz is right behind at 1,260 days as light heavyweight champion from April 14, 2000 to September 26, 2003, also with 5 defenses.
Israel Adesanya went 1,133 days at middleweight (October 6, 2019 to November 12, 2022, 5 defenses). Khabib Nurmagomedov held the lightweight belt 1,077 days from April 7, 2018 until the UFC declared it vacant on March 19, 2021, with 3 defenses and zero losses.
02Daniel Cormier: 1,315 Days
Cormier won the vacant light heavyweight title at UFC 187 on May 23, 2015, choking out Anthony Johnson in the third round. He defended it three times: Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 192 (October 3, 2015), Johnson again at UFC 210 (April 8, 2017) and Volkan Oezdemir at UFC 220 (January 20, 2018).
The reign survived a knockout loss to Jones at UFC 214 on July 29, 2017, because the result became a no contest after Jones tested positive for a turinabol metabolite. Cormier added the heavyweight title by knocking out Stipe Miocic at UFC 226 on July 7, 2018, then relinquished the light heavyweight belt on December 28, 2018, the day before Jones fought for it.
03Jon Jones: 1,501 Days
Jones became the youngest champion in UFC history at UFC 128 on March 19, 2011, stopping Mauricio "Shogun" Rua in the third round. He then ran off 8 straight defenses: Quinton Jackson, Lyoto Machida, Rashad Evans, Vitor Belfort, Chael Sonnen, Alexander Gustafsson, Glover Teixeira and Daniel Cormier at UFC 182 on January 3, 2015.
The reign ended on April 28, 2015, when the UFC stripped and suspended him after his hit-and-run arrest, citing its code of conduct. His later runs are separate: the 2017 win over Cormier was overturned, his second light heavyweight reign (December 29, 2018 to August 2020) lasted 597 days with 3 defenses, and his heavyweight reign (March 4, 2023 to June 21, 2025) ran 840 days with 1 defense. Jones retired in June 2025 and has not fought since.
04Alexander Volkanovski: 1,526 Days
Volkanovski took the featherweight title from Max Holloway by unanimous decision at UFC 245 on December 14, 2019 and held it 1,526 days through 5 defenses: Holloway twice more (UFC 251 and UFC 276), Brian Ortega at UFC 266, Chan Sung Jung at UFC 273 and a third-round TKO of Yair Rodriguez at UFC 290 on July 8, 2023.
Ilia Topuria knocked him out in the second round at UFC 298 on February 17, 2024. Volkanovski regained the vacant belt against Diego Lopes at UFC 314 on April 12, 2025, beat Lopes again at UFC 325 on February 1, 2026, and defends against Movsar Evloev at UFC 333 on October 24, 2026. That second reign is 547 days old as of this writing.
05Valentina Shevchenko: 1,547 Days
Shevchenko won the vacant women's flyweight title by beating Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 231 on December 8, 2018, then put together 7 defenses: Jessica Eye (head kick KO at UFC 238), Liz Carmouche, Katlyn Chookagian, Jennifer Maia, Jessica Andrade, Lauren Murphy and Taila Santos by split decision at UFC 275 on June 12, 2022.
Alexa Grasso submitted her with a face crank at UFC 285 on March 4, 2023. Shevchenko won the belt back at UFC 306 on September 14, 2024, defended it against Manon Fiorot (UFC 315) and Zhang Weili (UFC 322, November 15, 2025), then vacated in September 2026 because of a long-term injury. Natalia Silva beat Wang Cong for the vacant title at UFC 332 on October 3, 2026.
06Amanda Nunes (Featherweight): 1,634 Days
Nunes needed 51 seconds to knock out Cris Cyborg for the featherweight title at UFC 232 on December 29, 2018. She defended it twice, against Felicia Spencer at UFC 250 on June 6, 2020 and Megan Anderson at UFC 259 on March 6, 2021, finishing Anderson with a reverse triangle armbar in the first round.
She retired in the cage after beating Irene Aldana at UFC 289 on June 10, 2023 and the title was officially vacated on June 20, 2023. Nunes announced a comeback in June 2025. Her title fight with Kayla Harrison at UFC 324 fell apart when Harrison needed neck surgery, and as of October 2026 the return is still pending.
07Jose Aldo: 1,848 Days
Aldo was handed the first UFC featherweight belt on November 20, 2010 when the WEC merged into the UFC, and he defended it 7 times: Mark Hominick, Kenny Florian, Chad Mendes (a KO at 4:59 of round one at UFC 142), Frankie Edgar, Chan Sung Jung, Ricardo Lamas and Mendes again at UFC 179 on October 25, 2014.
Conor McGregor ended the reign in 13 seconds at UFC 194 on December 12, 2015. Aldo had a second, shorter undisputed reign from November 26, 2016 to June 3, 2017. He retired after a decision loss to Aiemann Zahabi at UFC 315 on May 10, 2025.
08Amanda Nunes (Bantamweight): 1,981 Days
Nunes choked out Miesha Tate at UFC 200 on July 9, 2016 and held the bantamweight title for 1,981 days. The 5 defenses: Ronda Rousey by first-round TKO at UFC 207, Valentina Shevchenko by split decision at UFC 215, Raquel Pennington at UFC 224, a first-round head kick on Holly Holm at UFC 239 and Germaine de Randamie at UFC 245 on December 14, 2019.
Julianna Pena choked her out at UFC 269 on December 11, 2021. Nunes got the belt back at UFC 277 on July 30, 2022 and defended it once before retiring. Counting every reign, she holds the record for combined days as champion. This list counts single reigns, so she lands at 4 and 6 instead of 1.
09Georges St-Pierre: 2,064 Days
GSP avenged the Matt Serra loss with knees to the body at UFC 83 in Montreal on April 19, 2008, and that is the start date for the reign. Nine defenses followed: Jon Fitch, B.J. Penn, Thiago Alves at UFC 100, Dan Hardy, Josh Koscheck, Jake Shields, Carlos Condit, Nick Diaz and Johny Hendricks by split decision at UFC 167 on November 16, 2013.
He never lost the belt. On December 13, 2013, St-Pierre vacated the title to take time away, which freezes his count at 2,064 days. He came back once, took the middleweight title from Michael Bisping at UFC 217 in November 2017, and retired on February 21, 2019.
10Demetrious Johnson: 2,142 Days
Johnson became the first UFC flyweight champion by beating Joseph Benavidez at UFC 152 on September 22, 2012 and then defended the belt a record 11 consecutive times: John Dodson, John Moraga, Benavidez (first-round KO), Ali Bagautinov, Chris Cariaso, Kyoji Horiguchi (fifth-round armbar), Dodson again, Henry Cejudo (TKO), Tim Elliott, Wilson Reis and Ray Borg at UFC 216 on October 7, 2017.
Cejudo took the title by split decision at UFC 227 on August 4, 2018. Johnson left for ONE Championship and retired from MMA on September 6, 2024. More defenses than anyone, and the only thing keeping him off the top spot is 315 days.
11Anderson Silva: 2,457 Days
Silva took the middleweight title from Rich Franklin at UFC 64 on October 14, 2006, with a TKO at 2:59 of the first round. He held it for 2,457 days with 10 straight defenses: Nate Marquardt, Franklin again, Dan Henderson, Patrick Cote, Thales Leites, Demian Maia, Chael Sonnen (fifth-round triangle choke at UFC 117), Vitor Belfort (front kick), Yushin Okami and Sonnen again at UFC 148 on July 7, 2012.
Chris Weidman knocked him out at 1:18 of the second round at UFC 162 on July 6, 2013. The UFC released Silva in November 2020 and he moved to boxing. He went into the UFC Hall of Fame in 2023, and 13 years after the Weidman fight nobody has gotten within 300 days of his mark.
Here is my problem with the days stat: it rewards guys who fought twice a year and sat on the belt while the division rotted. Nunes gets 1,634 days at featherweight for two defenses. That is not a reign, that is a parking spot. Meanwhile Mighty Mouse defended 11 straight times against everyone the UFC could find and still gets ranked second because Silva had 315 more days on the calendar. If you ask me who was the most dominant champion, I take DJ and GSP before anyone, because they fought the best guy available every single time and never got lazy. Silva's run was special, no argument, but the Weidman fight shows what happens when you start believing your own highlight reel. Respect to all of them. Just read the defenses column before the days column.
QUESTIONS PEOPLE ASK.
Who has the longest title reign in UFC history?
Anderson Silva. He won the middleweight title from Rich Franklin at UFC 64 on October 14, 2006 and held it until Chris Weidman knocked him out at UFC 162 on July 6, 2013. That is 2,457 days as undisputed champion with 10 consecutive defenses, the longest single reign the UFC has ever had. Demetrious Johnson is second at 2,142 days.
Who has the most title defenses in UFC history?
Demetrious Johnson holds the record for consecutive defenses with 11, all at flyweight between 2012 and 2017. Jon Jones holds the record for total title defenses across all his reigns at 12, counting 8 in his first light heavyweight run, 3 in his second and 1 at heavyweight. Anderson Silva is next on the consecutive list with 10.
Does Jon Jones have the longest UFC title reign?
No. Jones' first light heavyweight reign ran 1,501 days from March 19, 2011 until April 28, 2015, when the UFC stripped him. That ranks ninth. His combined time as champion across three reigns is 2,938 days, which is second only to Amanda Nunes at 3,940 combined days, but neither of those is a single continuous reign.
Is anyone close to breaking Anderson Silva's record?
Not as of October 2026. Valentina Shevchenko vacated the flyweight title in September 2026 after a 721-day second reign. Alexander Volkanovski's second featherweight reign began April 12, 2025 and sits around 547 days. To pass Silva, a champion would need to hold one belt without interruption for about six years and nine months.
Why does Georges St-Pierre rank below Demetrious Johnson?
St-Pierre's welterweight reign lasted 2,064 days from April 19, 2008 to December 13, 2013, when he vacated the title to step away from the sport. Johnson's flyweight reign lasted 2,142 days, 78 days longer. GSP never lost the belt and defended it 9 times, but this list ranks by continuous days as champion, so Johnson stays ahead.
- List of UFC champions - Wikipedia
- Longest UFC Title Reigns: Legends Of The Octagon - UFC.com
- Anderson Silva - Wikipedia
- Demetrious Johnson - Wikipedia
- Georges St-Pierre - Wikipedia
- Jon Jones - Wikipedia
- Valentina Shevchenko Vacates UFC Belt Due to Injury - Bleacher Report
- UFC 332: Natalia Silva Claims Flyweight Gold - Cageside Press
- Alex Volkanovski Shares Retirement Plans Ahead of UFC 333 - Newsweek
- Jon Jones' UFC Comeback Could Be Closer Than Expected - LowKickMMA
Figures in this piece come from the sources above; purses, deals and net worth totals are estimates unless a commission or the fighter disclosed them. Spotted an error? Send a correction.
