Let's look at all you need to know about UFC Bantamweight Division.
UFC Bantamweight Division
Bantamweight is a weight class in combat sports. In MMA, the Bantamweight Division is within 126-135 lbs (57.2-61.2 kg). The Bantamweight Division sits between the Flyweight Division (116-125 lbs) and the Featherweight Division.
Current Bantamweight Champion- 2025
The current UFC Bantamweight Champion is Merab Dvalishvili (19-4-0).
At UFC 306, Merab Dvalishvili defeated Sean O'Malley to become the new bantamweight champion. Dvalishvili was declared the victor via a unanimous decision after five rounds. He defended the title for the first time against Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC 311.
Latest Results from UFC Bantamweight
| Date | Fight | Method | Round | Result | |
| January 18, 2025 | Merab Dvalishvili (c) vs. Umar Nurmagomedov | Decision (unanimous) (48–47, 48–47, 49–46) | 5 | 5:00 | Merab Dvalishvili (c) def. Umar Nurmagomedov |
| January 18, 2025 | Payton Talbott vs. Raoni Barcelos | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–26) | 3 | 5:00 | Raoni Barcelos def. Payton Talbott |
| January 18, 2025 | Rinya Nakamura vs. Muin Gafurov | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | Muin Gafurov def. Rinya Nakamura |
| January 18, 2025 | Ricky Turcios vs. Bernardo Sopaj | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | Bernardo Sopaj def. Ricky Turcios |
UFC Bantamweight Rankings 2025
| Rank | Fighter | Record | M | Win Streak | Result | Last fight | Next fight |
| C | Merab Dvalishvili | 19–4 | 12 (1 def) | Win | UFC 311 Umar Nurmagomedov | TBD | |
| 1 | Sean O'Malley | 18–2(1 NC) | 0 | Loss | UFC 306 Merab Dvalishvili | TBD | |
| 2 | Umar Nurmagomedov | 18–1 | 0 | Loss | UFC 311 Merab Dvalishvili | TBD | |
| 3 | Petr Yan | 18–5 | 2 | Win | UFC Fight Night 248 Deiveson Figueiredo | TBD | |
| 4 | Cory Sandhagen | 17–5 | 0 | Loss | UFC on ABC 7 Umar Nurmagomedov | TBD | |
| 5 | Deiveson Figueiredo | 24–4–1 | 0 | Loss | UFC Fight Night 248 Petr Yan | TBD | |
| 6 | Marlon Vera | 23–10–1 | 0 | Loss | UFC on ABC 7 Deiveson Figueiredo | TBD | |
| 7 | Henry Cejudo | 16–4 | 0 | Loss | UFC 298 Merab Dvalishvili | UFC Fight Night 252 Song Yadong | |
| 8 | Song Yadong | 21–7–1(1 NC) | 0 | Loss | UFC 299 Petr Yan | UFC Fight Night 252 Henry Cejudo | |
| 9 | Rob Font | 21–8 | 1 | Win | UFC Fight Night 245 Kyler Phillips | UFC Fight Night 252 Dominick Cruz | |
| 10 | Mario Bautista | 15–2 | 7 | Win | UFC 307 José Aldo | TBD | |
| 11 | José Aldo | 32–9 | 0 | Loss | UFC 307 Mario Bautista | TBD | |
| 12 | Kyler Phillips | 12–3 | 0 | Loss | UFC Fight Night 245 Rob Font | TBD | |
| 13 | Aiemann Zahabi | 12–2 | 5 | Win | UFC Fight Night 246 Pedro Munhoz | TBD | |
| 14 | Marcus McGhee | 10–1 | 6 | Win | UFC 309 Jonathan Martinez | TBD | |
| 15 | Montel Jackson | 14–2 | 5 | Win | UFC on ESPN 59 Da'Mon Blackshear | TBD |
Check Out: All the Weight Classes from UFC
History of Bantamweight Class
Before the UFC-WEC merger, Dominick Cruz was the WEC Bantamweight Champion. At WEC 53, Cruz defeated Scott Jorgensen to retain the WEC Bantamweight Championship and was simultaneously awarded the inaugural UFC Bantamweight Championship.
At UFC 173, T.J. Dillashaw defeated Renan Barao to win the UFC Bantamweight Championship. At UFC Fight Night: Dillashaw vs Cruz, Dominick Cruz became the first-ever two-time Bantamweight Champion. At UFC 207, Cruz lost the title to Cody Garbrandt, who eventually lost it to Dillashaw, making the latter a two-time division champion.
Due to a failed drug test, Dillashaw vacated his title in March 2019. After winning the vacant title at UFC 238 and defending it at UFC 249, Cejudo became the fourth UFC fighter to hold titles in two different weight classes (Flyweight and Bantamweight) simultaneously and the second to defend titles in two other weight divisions.
Petr Yan defeated Jose Aldo at UFC 251 and became the current UFC Bantamweight Champion.
In his first title defense, Yan faced #1 ranked Bantamweight Aljamain Sterling at UFC 259 on March 6, 2021, and lost the title by disqualification due to an intentional illegal knee landed by him in the fourth round to Sterling.
Sterling couldn't continue the fight any further due to a concussion, and the doctor recommended stopping the fight, thus making him the new UFC Bantamweight champion. This is the first-ever title change caused by disqualification in UFC history.
Sterling then defended his belt against Petr Yan, T.J. Dillashaw, and Henry Cejudo.
Sterling's next title defense was against Sean O'Malley at UFC 292, where he lost the championship via a TKO in the second round, making O'Malley the new bantamweight champion.
O'Malley defended the title once against Marlon Vera, after which he lost the championship to Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 306 on September 14, 2024.
UFC Weight Divisions
Men
Women
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FAQs On UFC Bantamweight Division
A. The division's name is derived from bantam chickens in mixed martial arts.
A. In UFC, bantamweight is classified as between 126 to 135 lb.
A. Merab Dvalishvili is the current bantamweight champion.
A. Aljamain Sterling currently competes in the featherweight (145 lbs) division.
