The 5 best title reigns in UFC history

#5: Matt Hughes – UFC Welterweight title – 11/02/2001 to 01/31/2004

Matt Hughes once represented the gold standard for UFC champions

Like Tito Ortiz, at one stage in the UFC’s development, the gold standard for any UFC champion to aim towards was Welterweight kingpin Matt Hughes. The powerful wrestler from Hillsboro, Illinois first won his title in controversial fashion – he slammed Carlos Newton unconscious while passing out due to a triangle choke, and as he woke up first, he was declared the victor.

There was nothing controversial about his reign from there, though – just a path of destruction cut through the world’s best 170lbers at the time. Hughes made a total of 5 successful title defences in just over two years as champion, defeating Hayato Sakurai, Newton in a rematch, Gil Castillo, Sean Sherk, and Frank Trigg.

The most impressive things about Hughes’s reign were his willingness to take on all comers – Sakurai and Trigg, for instance, were making their UFC debuts entering from rival promotions – and the strength of his schedule compared to later champions; 2002 alone saw him make 3 defenses, a phenomenal accomplishment.

Hughes’s reputation as the greatest Welterweight of all time might’ve been surpassed a little later, but his title reign still stands as one of the all-time greats in MMA history.