Ranking the UFC's double champions: Who is the greatest two-division champ in octagon history?

Winning a UFC title usually stands as the pinnacle of any fighter’s career, and so it makes sense that anyone who manages to become a titleholder in two weight classes is considered a legend.

There have been nine different double champions in UFC history, with five of them being simultaneous double champions – but who stands out as the greatest?

As with any debate like this, each fighter has their own merits and black marks against them, making it very difficult to call.

Here, then, are the UFC’s nine double champions, ranked from worst to best.

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#9. Alex Pereira – UFC middleweight and light heavyweight champion

Of all of the UFC’s double champions, it’s safe to say that it took Alex Pereira the least time to reach the top. ‘Poatan’ claimed the middleweight title in just his fourth bout in the octagon, and won the light heavyweight crown just three fights later.

The brief nature of his overall career, though, as well as the fact that his title reign at 205 pounds is still new, means that for now at least, he ranks at the bottom of this list.

It’s arguable that the Brazilian only received his middleweight title shot due to his longtime rivalry with then-champion Israel Adesanya. Usually, three wins wouldn’t be enough to net a fighter that kind of opportunity.

As ‘Poatan’ already held two wins over ‘The Last Stylebender’ in kickboxing, though, he was pushed up the ladder and stunned everyone by taking out Adesanya to claim the title via knockout.

After losing it right back to his rival in his first defense, the hulking Brazilian decided to move up to light heavyweight.

A tight win over former 205-pound titleholder Jan Blachowicz was admittedly impressive, but it was still surprising to see him granted a shot at the vacant light heavyweight title off the back of it.

Like he did at 185 pounds, though, Pereira made good on his opportunity and knocked out Jiri Prochazka to claim the gold. He will now defend it against former champ Jamahal Hill in the headliner of UFC 300.

If he can hold onto his title, he could definitely climb up this list, but for now, it’s slightly too early to really judge his merits as a double champion.

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#8. Conor McGregor – UFC featherweight and lightweight champion

While he wasn’t the first fighter to win two UFC titles in different weight classes, Irish superstar Conor McGregor was the first to hold two titles simultaneously.

That feat is still impossible to play down and makes him part of octagon history. However, what he did after those two title wins means that it’s hard to rank him any higher than this in the overall pantheon of double champs.

McGregor’s first title win was genuinely earth-shattering. After climbing into featherweight contention with wins over the likes of Dustin Poirier and Chad Mendes, he stunned everyone by knocking out longtime titleholder Jose Aldo in just 13 seconds, handing him his first loss in over a decade.

‘The Notorious’ looked set for a dominant title reign, but instead, his position as the promotion’s biggest star and drawing card meant that he was instantly granted a shot at the lightweight title, before he’d even made a single defense.

A pair of fights with Nate Diaz delayed that challenge, but once he eventually faced Eddie Alvarez, he put on a career-best performance to destroy him and claim his second title.

However, once again, ‘The Notorious’ did not make a single defense. Instead, he put his octagon career on hold to pursue a boxing match with Floyd Mayweather, and eventually ended up vacating both of his crowns.

While McGregor definitely made history by becoming the UFC’s first simultaneous double champion, the fact that he never made any defenses – and didn’t really earn his shot at lightweight gold – puts a dampener on his achievement overall.

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#7. B.J. Penn – UFC lightweight and welterweight champion

Had the judges seen his lightweight title bout with Caol Uno at UFC 41 slightly differently, B.J. Penn could well have become the promotion’s first-ever double champion.

Unfortunately for ‘The Prodigy’, the judges instead declared his fight with Uno a draw, which led the Hawaiian to abandon his quest for glory at 155 pounds.

Instead, he moved up to welterweight, and despite very few observers giving him a chance, Penn upset dominant champ Matt Hughes to claim gold for the first time in his career.

A contract dispute meant that the Hawaiian left the UFC before he could defend his crown, though, and when he returned two years later, he failed to regain it.

A move back to 155 pounds was more successful, though, and when he destroyed Joe Stevenson for the vacant lightweight crown, Penn became the promotion’s second two-division champ.

This time, a dominant title reign did follow, with ‘The Prodigy’ making three successful defenses, although an attempt at becoming a simultaneous double champion failed when he lost to Georges St-Pierre.

Had Penn stuck around to attempt to defend his welterweight title in 2004, he could’ve been ranked higher here. As it is, though, like with his career in general, he’s a case of “what if?” more than anything else.

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#6. Jon Jones – UFC light heavyweight and heavyweight champion

Widely considered one of the greatest fighters of all time thanks to his imperious record as well as his lengthy runs as the UFC light heavyweight champion, Jon Jones became a two-division titleholder last year.

After expressing interest in a move to heavyweight for what felt like years, ‘Bones’ finally stepped up in weight in March 2023 and instantly claimed the vacant title there by choking out top contender Ciryl Gane.

Following this win, many fans were quick to proclaim him the UFC’s GOAT, largely because – odd disqualification against Matt Hamill aside – he’s never truly been beaten inside the octagon.

So why isn’t Jones at the top of this list? Essentially, it’s for a couple of reasons.

Firstly, despite winning heavyweight gold in his first bout in the division, he didn’t defeat the incumbent champion, as Francis Ngannou had already departed the promotion for the PFL.

Secondly, since winning the title, Jones has not defended it and seems to be attempting to avoid a bout with current interim titleholder Tom Aspinall. Instead, he is pursuing a fight with Stipe Miocic, who has not fought since 2021.

Add in the various controversies surrounding positive drug tests that marred his three reigns as light heavyweight champion, and it’s hard to justify calling Jones the promotion’s greatest double champ, even if his overall record is untouchable.

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#5. Georges St-Pierre – UFC welterweight and middleweight champion

Thanks to his epic reign as welterweight champion, which lasted from 2008 to 2013 and saw him defeat nine top-ranked contenders, Georges St-Pierre is recognized by many as the greatest fighter in UFC history.

It’s absolutely impossible to play down the achievements of ‘GSP’ at 170 pounds. Not only did he basically dominate every foe he faced during his title reign, but he never took on a weak opponent during the entirety of his career.

Perhaps even more importantly, the Canadian never lost his welterweight crown in the octagon, instead vacating it after his ninth successful defense, citing exhaustion.

Had his run as middleweight kingpin been anything like his run at the top of the 170-pound division, then ‘GSP’ would undoubtedly top this list.

Unfortunately, there’s an argument that his time at 185 pounds was little more than a gimmick.

Firstly, after spending four years away from the octagon, he was allowed to jump the queue in a division he’d never fought in, going directly into a title shot against then-champ Michael Bisping.

Secondly, while he defeated Bisping impressively to become a double champion, St-Pierre then vacated his title before even attempting to defend it and headed right back into retirement.

Essentially, the Canadian’s brief run as middleweight champ is little more than a footnote in the division’s history. Therefore, while he remains an all-time great, in terms of the UFC’s double champions, he doesn’t quite stack up.

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#4. Daniel Cormier – UFC light heavyweight and heavyweight champion

After losing his opportunity at the light heavyweight title against Jon Jones in 2015, it felt like Daniel Cormier was destined to be one of the UFC’s great runners-up.

However, a little over three years later, ‘DC’ claimed heavyweight gold and became the UFC’s second simultaneous double champion, writing himself into the history books in the process.

In doing so, he achieved something that Jones was never able to do, and stepped out of his great rival’s shadow in the process.

It’s fair to say that Cormier’s light-heavyweight title win wasn’t the best, as he only claimed the title by beating Anthony Johnson when Jones was stripped.

Still, ‘DC’ made two successful defenses, beating Alexander Gustafsson and Johnson again. And while he lost his crown to Jones in a rematch, he was given it right back when ‘Bones’ tested positive for steroids.

Another successful defense followed before Cormier made his move to heavyweight, where he stunned Stipe Miocic to claim his second title. Unlike most double champs, he then managed to defend his second title successfully, tapping out Derrick Lewis four months later.

Sure, ‘DC’ then lost his crown back to Miocic, but at that stage, his legend had been cemented. While his single title reigns can’t match the reigns of St-Pierre or Jones, the fact that he defended both of his titles successfully gives him a higher spot in this list than both.

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#3. Henry Cejudo – UFC flyweight and bantamweight champion

While there’s a fair argument to suggest that Henry Cejudo wasted many of his prime years following an ill-advised quasi-retirement in 2020, it’s hard to argue with his accomplishments inside the octagon.

Not only did he become the UFC’s fourth simultaneous double champion when he claimed the bantamweight title in 2019 to go along with his flyweight crown, but unlike most of the fighters on this list, he was able to deliver successful defenses of both.

‘Triple C’ first claimed gold as a 125-pounder in the summer of 2018, stunning fans by unseating longtime champion Demetrious Johnson.

The idea of the 2008 Olympic gold medalist moving up to 135 pounds wasn’t really mentioned at that stage. Instead, the reigning bantamweight champion – T.J. Dillashaw – came to him, looking to become a simultaneous double champ in his own right.

Unfortunately for Dillashaw, Cejudo destroyed him in the opening seconds of their fight to retain his title. And when Dillashaw was then forced to vacate after a positive drug test, it suddenly made sense for ‘Triple C’ to pursue history instead.

Sure enough, in a thrilling fight, he dispatched top contender Marlon Moraes to win his second title, which he then defended successfully against the legendary Dominick Cruz.

The Olympian then chose to step away and retire, albeit only for three years. His choice, though, meant that he had to give up both of his titles.

The fact that he never lost either in the octagon stands in his favour, but overall, he remains a story of lost potential. Had he stuck around, he could’ve become the greatest ever.

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#2. Amanda Nunes – UFC bantamweight and featherweight champion

The only simultaneous double champion in UFC history to defend both of their titles without simply giving one up is Amanda Nunes.

‘The Lioness’, who retired last year, held both the bantamweight and featherweight titles from 2018 through to 2021, and defended both of them regularly without taking any stretches of time off.

Realistically, the only knock on her legacy is that neither of the divisions she competed in were that stacked with talent, particularly the featherweight division.

However, in terms of her accomplishments, the Brazilian is basically second-to-none. Arriving in the UFC in 2013, she took a few years to reach the top, but eventually toppled Miesha Tate to claim the bantamweight crown in 2016.

From there, she defended against the likes of Ronda Rousey and Holly Holm before shocking the world by knocking out Cris Cyborg to claim the title at 145 pounds too.

The following years were her most dominant, as she reeled off multiple title defenses, and after losing the bantamweight title in an upset to Julianna Pena, quickly regained it.

In the end, Nunes finished her career with tens wins over former or current UFC champions, something largely unheard of. Had she competed in deeper divisions, she would undoubtedly be top of this list.

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#1. Randy Couture – UFC light heavyweight and heavyweight champion

While Randy Couture was not a simultaneous double champion, and did not boast the greatest record when he retired in 2011 (19-11), it’s hard not to call ‘The Natural’ the most accomplished double titleholder in UFC history.

That’s because no other fighter can really match his record of five title reigns across two divisions, three of which actually ended in controversial circumstances.

Already an older athlete when he arrived in the promotion in 1997 at the age of 33, Couture first claimed the heavyweight title by outpointing Maurice Smith. The bout was just his fourth in MMA, but his mix of Olympic wrestling and solid boxing made him incredibly tricky to stop.

‘The Natural’ gave up his title due to a contract dispute, but returned in 2000 to regain it from Kevin Randleman before defending it successfully twice.

When he then lost it to Josh Barnett – who later tested positive for steroids – and failed to regain it against Ricco Rodriguez, it looked like his time was up.

Remarkably, though, Couture dropped to 205 pounds and at the age of 40, somehow managed to whitewash the UFC’s top two light heavyweights in Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz to claim the title there. That achievement made him the promotion’s first double champ.

‘The Natural’ did not have a lengthy reign with the title, losing it to Vitor Belfort before regaining it right back, only to then drop it to Liddell in a rematch.

After losing to Liddell in their trilogy bout, Couture then retired, but stunned fans once again a year later. This time he returned – at the age of 43 nonetheless – to take the heavyweight title from Tim Sylvia, beginning his third reign on top.

This reign ended in 2008 with a loss to Brock Lesnar, but by that point Couture was 45 and had spent a year away from the octagon due to another contract dispute.

Had ‘The Natural’ not stepped away twice, then his accomplishments may have been even more impressive. As it is, though, five separate title reigns across two divisions with a total of three successful defenses is still almost untouchable.

Couture might not be the UFC’s greatest champion all told, but in terms of the fighters who became double champions, it’s hard to argue with him as the most successful.