Top 5 UFC champions who won their titles while undefeated feat. Khabib Nurmagomedov and Israel Adesanya

This weekend at UFC 312, Tatiana Suarez will attempt to become strawweight champion while also keeping her undefeated record. If she does so, she'll be the 13th undefeated champion in the promotion's modern era.

Previously, 12 UFC champions won their titles while remaining undefeated, and naturally, most of them now class as legends of the octagon.

Whether Suarez can follow in the footsteps of the best of them, of course, remains to be seen, as she has to win the title first.

For now, though, here are the top five UFC champions who won their titles while still undefeated.

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#5. Ilia Topuria - UFC featherweight champion

The most recent fighter to claim UFC gold while also maintaining an undefeated record is reigning featherweight kingpin Ilia Topuria.

Born in Germany but representing both Georgia and Spain, 'El Matador' debuted in the octagon back in October 2020 at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite bringing in an 8-0 record, Topuria didn't have much fanfare until he destroyed his first four opponents in a row, finishing three of them by knockout.

A win over Bryce Mitchell at the end of 2022 moved him into contention at 145 pounds, and a victory over Josh Emmett in 2023 then saw him positioned for a title shot.

Nobody expected what happened next, though. Topuria downed longtime champion Alexander Volkanovski last February, knocking him out and becoming the first man to ever beat the Aussie at 145 pounds.

That win made 'El Matador' the champion, and he has since defeated legendary former champ Max Holloway in his first defense, cementing his spot.

Topuria's next fight is not yet confirmed but for now, at least, he remains the UFC's only unbeaten champ.

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#4. Joanna Jedrzejczyk - former UFC strawweight champion

If Tatiana Suarez can beat Weili Zhang for the 115-pound title at UFC 312, she'll become the second undefeated fighter in octagon history to claim strawweight gold.

The fighter whose footsteps the TUF 23 champion could follow in will be Joanna Jedrzejczyk.

Ironically enough, Jedrzeczyk was one of the coaches on that season of TUF, although Suarez represented the team coached by her rival Claudia Gadelha.

At that stage, of course, Jedrzejczyk was already well into her second year as champion. The Polish kickboxer claimed the title from inaugural champ Carla Esparza in early 2015, blitzing her with strikes to score a TKO stoppage. The win took her record to 9-0.

Jedrzejczyk ended up producing five successful title defenses - still a UFC strawweight record - before she finally lost her unbeaten record at the hands of Rose Namajunas.

The Polish star never regained her title after that, but still produced some legendary bouts against the likes of Valentina Shevchenko, Michelle Waterson, and Zhang - the champion who will attempt to fend off Suarez this weekend.

Jedrzejczyk retired in 2022 and was deservedly inducted into the UFC's Hall of Fame in 2024. She remains recognixed as one of the greatest female fighters of all time, with her lengthy unbeaten run playing a big part in that.

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#3. Chris Weidman - former UFC middleweight champion

It's arguable that the most memorable UFC title win by an unbeaten fighter came in 2013, when Chris Weidman finally dethroned legendary middleweight kingpin Anderson Silva.

Just 9-0 at the time and considered a blue chip prospect, 'The All-American' had been tipped for greatness since his late-notice octagon debut.

However, few people expected him to beat Silva. 'The Spider' had ran roughshod over the entire 185-pound division since 2006 and had beaten 16 different opponents. In fact, he'd put together more successful title defenses (10) than Weidman had professional fights.

Still, 'The All-American' was undeterred, and after Silva found himself grounded in the first round, he got a little desperate.

The Brazilian attempted to draw Weidman into a firefight by dropping his hands but underestimated the challenger's reach, ate a clean left hook, and was knocked unconscious.

The finish remains one of the most memorable ever seen, and wrote Weidman into the UFC history books.

Although his reign didn't last as long as Silva's, with his unbeaten record stopped at 13 in late 2015, the way in which he won his title was truly legendary. Now retired, it seems likely that this feat alone will land 'The All-American' in the Hall of Fame at some point in the future.

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#2. Israel Adesanya - former UFC middleweight champion

Few fighters in UFC history have seen such a quick rise to the top as former middleweight champion Israel Adesanya did.

'The Last Stylebender' debuted in the octagon in February 2018, sporting a record of 11-0. Less than two years later, not only had he improved that record to 18-0, but he'd also become the undisputed middleweight champion. In doing so, he became the first undefeated man to hold that crown since Chris Weidman six years prior.

Adesanya wasn't the most well-known fighter upon his debut, but it didn't take him long to get noticed. After breezing past Rob Wilkinson, he quickly climbed the ladder, with his win over Derek Brunson - his fourth in the octagon - shooting him up into the upper echelon of the rankings.

2019, meanwhile, saw him dispatch Anderson Silva before defeating Kelvin Gastelum in a war to claim the interim middleweight title.

Despite this, many fans thought champ Robert Whittaker would be a step too far for 'The Last Stylebender', who was, in many ways, still inexperienced.

However, Adesanya proved his doubters wrong, sniping 'The Reaper' with surprising ease to claim the title and extend his record to 18-0.

While Adesanya only remained unbeaten for just over a year - falling to light-heavyweight kingpin Jan Blachowicz in a failed attempt to become a double champion - nobody defeated him at 185 pounds until late 2022.

'The Last Stylebender' is currently on a skid, losing his last three fights, but he remains a legend of the octagon. The way that he climbed to the top while undefeated played a large part in that.

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#1. Khabib Nurmagomedov - former UFC lightweight champion

While a total of 12 undefeated fighters have claimed UFC titles in the promotion's modern era, all but one of them ended up losing both their crown and their unbeaten record eventually.

The lone exception to that, of course, is legendary former lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Not only did 'The Eagle' manage to stay undefeated on his way up the ladder, nobody was able to beat him once he ascended to the top. And unlike all of his contemporaries, he walked away from the game before that could change.

The Dagestani debuted in the octagon in 2012 and already boasted an impressive record at that point, with 16 wins and zero losses to his name.

It didn't take him too long to extend that record, too. Whether the UFC put him up against fellow grapplers like Rafael dos Anjos or strikers like Michael Johnson and Edson Barboza, it just didn't matter. Khabib just kept on winning.

By 2018, it was clear that 'The Eagle' was probably the best fighter in the world at 155 pounds, even if his title win came in underwhelming fashion. He defeated late replacement Al Iaquinta to claim the title vacated by Conor McGregor in April that year.

Thankfully, it didn't take Khabib too long to both cement himself as champion and end his rivalry with 'The Notorious'. In the biggest fight in UFC history, 'The Eagle' dominated McGregor en route to a fourth round submission win.

Remarkably, the Dagestani would only fight twice more, finishing top contenders Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje impressively before hanging up his gloves in late 2020.

While many people - Dana White included - considered his decision to retire premature, the fact that Khabib walked away with a 29-0 record having reached the very top remains an incredible feat.

If Tatiana Suarez can come close to matching this, then she will become a legend, too.