UFC Light Heavyweight

Last Modified Oct 13, 2024 11:06 GMT

The Light Heavyweight Division is a weight class in combat sports. The UFC Light Heavyweight Division limits between 186.1 lbs to 205 lbs (84 to 93 kg).


Current Light Heavyweight Champion


UFC 295: Prochazka v Pereira
UFC 295: Prochazka v Pereira


The current UFC Light Heavyweight champion is Alex Pereira. He won the title against former UFC light heavyweight champion Jiri Prochazka via a 2nd round TKO at UFC 295 on November 11, 2023.


Latest Results from UFC Light Heavyweight


Date FightMethodRound TimeResult
October 5, 2024Alex Pereira vs. Khalil Rountree Jr.TKO (punches)44:32
Alex Pereira def. Khalil Rountree


youtube-cover


UFC Light Heavyweight Rankings 2024


RankFighterRecordMWin StreakResultLast fightNext Fight
CAlex Pereira12–2 5
(3 def)
WinUFC 307 Khalil Rountree Jr.TBD
1Jiří Procházka30–5–1 0LossUFC 303 Alex PereiraTBD
2Magomed Ankalaev18–1–1
(1 NC)
1WinUFC Fight Night 234 Johnny Walker
UFC 308 Aleksandar Rakić
3Jamahal Hill12–2
(1 NC)
0LossUFC 300 Alex PereiraTBD
4Jan Błachowicz29–10–1 0LossUFC 291 Alex PereiraTBD
5Aleksandar Rakić14–4 0LossUFC 300 Jiří Procházka
UFC 308 Magomed Ankalaev
6Volkan Oezdemir20–7 2WinUFC on ABC 6 Johnny Walker
UFC Fight Night 248 Carlos Ulberg
7Nikita Krylov30–9 3WinUFC Fight Night 221 Ryan Spann
UFC 309 Azamat Murzakanov
8Khalil Rountree Jr.13–6
(1 NC)
0LossUFC 307 Alex PereiraTBD
9Johnny Walker21–9
(1 NC)
0LossUFC on ABC 6 Volkan Oezdemir
UFC 311 Bogdan Guskov
10Carlos Ulberg10–1 6WinUFC on ESPN 56 Alonzo Menifield
UFC Fight Night 248 Volkan Oezdemir
11Azamat Murzakanov14–0 14WinUFC on ABC 7 Alonzo Menifield
UFC 309 Nikita Krylov
12Anthony Smith38–20 0LossUFC 303 Roman Dolidze
UFC 310 Dominick Reyes
13Dominick Reyes13–4 1WinUFC on ESPN 57 Dustin Jacoby
UFC 310 Anthony Smith
14Bogdan Guskov16–3 2WinUFC on ESPN 55 Ryan Spann
UFC 311 Johnny Walker
15Alonzo Menifield15–5–1 0LossUFC on ABC 7 Azamat MurzakanovTBD

History of Light Heavyweight Class


The Light Heavyweight Title was known as the Middleweight Title before UFC 31 (May 4, 2001). In 2007, the Pride World Middleweight Championship was unified with the UFC Light Heavyweight Title when Quinton Jackson defeated Dan Henderson at UFC 75.


The UFC Light Heavyweight Title has been held by the likes of Frank Shamrock, Tito Ortiz, Randy Couture, Vitor Belfort, Chuck Liddell, Quinton Jackson, Forest Griffin, Rashad Evans, Lyoto Machida, and Mauricio Rua.


At UFC 128, Jon Jones won the Light Heavyweight Title for the first time in his career after defeating Mauricio Rua. Jones held the title for 1501 days and defended it eight times before being stripped of it due to a hit-and-run issue. Daniel Cormier won the vacant belt by beating Anthony Johnson at UFC 187.


Cormier, who became the second fighter in UFC history to hold titles in two weight classes simultaneously and is the first to defend them in two divisions, vacated his Light Heavyweight Championship 174 days after winning the Heavyweight title. Jon Jones won the vacant belt for the second time in his career after defeating Alexander Gustafsson. He defended it against Anthony Smith, Thiago Santos, and Dominick Reyes before vacating it to move up to the Heavyweight division.


In his first title defense as UFC champion, Glover Teixeira lost to Jiri Prochazka via rear-naked choke at UFC 275, making Jiri Prochazka the incumbent light heavyweight champion.


Jamahal Hill was crowned as the new UFC Light Heavyweight Champion after defeating Glover Teixeira at UFC 283. Hill is the first fighter in the UFC to become champion after appearing on the Dana White Contender Series.


On July 14th, Jamahal Hill shared a video on his YouTube channel stating that he would be vacating his Light Heavyweight title because of a severe Achilles tendon injury.


Jiri Prochazka and Alex Pereira squared off for the vacant light heavyweight title at the main event of UFC 295 at Madison Square Garden on November 11, 2023. Pereira became a 2-division champion after defeating Prochazka via a TKO in the closing minutes of the 2nd round.


UFC Weight Divisions


Men

  1. Heavyweight
  2. Light Heavyweight
  3. Middleweight
  4. Welterweight
  5. Lightweight
  6. Featherweight
  7. Bantamweight
  8. Flyweight


Women

  1. Featherweight
  2. Bantamweight
  3. Flyweight
  4. Strawweight


Click to learn about UFC Rankings.


FAQ's On UFC light heavyweight

Q. Who is the current UFC light heavyweight champion?

A. Alex 'Poatan' Pereira is the current UFC Light Heavyweight champion.

Q. Who is the No.1 ranked fighter in UFC light heavyweight?

A. Jiri Prochazka is the No.1 contender in the UFC light heavyweight division.

Q. What is the UFC (weight class) Weight Limit?

A. The UFC light heavyweight division weighs 186.1 lbs to 205 lbs (84 to 93 kg).

Q. Is Alex Pereira now a Light Heavyweight fighter?

A. Yes, Alex Pereira now competes in the light heavyweight division, where he is also the champion.