However, the title of Heavyweight Champion holds a particular aura in battle sports. Whether it is because of exceptional skill and stature, heavyweights are attractors for renown.
UFC Heavyweight Championship is the title for the section of heavyweight which is for fighters more than 93 kgs or 205 lbs. We will discuss the history of the UFC Heavyweight Championship and the present Heavyweight champion.
History of UFC Heavyweight Championship
On 7 February 1997 at UFC 12 by uniting the UFC Superfight Championship and UFC Tournament Championship, UFC Heavyweight Championship was brought in, Mark Coleman which was the Tournament Champion won Dan Severn, the Superfight Champion through submission to become the first UFC Heavyweight Champion. At UFC 14 by the conclusion of a fight that broke down into two overtime, Maurice Smith defeated Coleman in his first title defense.
Afterward, Smith turned the first fighter to dispute the Heavyweight title successfully at UFC 15 against Tank Abbott. In December 1997, Randy Couture defended the title next at UFC Japan.
Couture was bared of the title when he exited UFC after a contract dispute. At UFC 20, Bas Rutten won Kevin Randleman for the empty title. Rutten also emptied the title as he determined to fall to the Light Heavyweight division.
At UFC 23, Kevin Randleman defended the title in his second trial as he defeated Pete Williams. Couture won the title for the second time as he defeated Randleman through TKO in the third round at UFC 28.
Couture defended the title against Pedro Rizzo successfully before losing it to Josh Barnett via TKO. On 26 July 2002, Barnett was discovered positive for anabolic steroids in a post-fight drug test and was bared of the title.
At UFC 39, Ricco Rodriguez won Couture through submission to succeed in the title. Tim Sylvia defeated the title Rodriguez at UFC 41 via a TKO. Sylvia was bared of the title after being noted positive for Stanozolol, after his successful inaugural defense.
Frank Mir defeated Sylvia for the empty title at UFC 48. Mir was engaged in a motorcycle accident on 17 September 2004 and had injuries in his femur and knee ligaments. Andre Arlovski turned the interim Heavyweight Champion by defeating Tim Sylvia. Arlovski was later boosted as the unchallenged champion after Mir broke down to convalesce from injuries.
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Arlovski had defended against Justin Eller as the interim champion. He also defended the title against Paul Buentello before Tim Slyvia took it through a TKO at UFC 59. Sylvia turned the second fighter to win the heavyweight title twice.
Randy Couture won Sylvia in his third title defense to win the UFC Heavyweight title at UFC 68, turning the inaugural fighter to win the title thrice. Another challenge between Couture and UFC led to UFC booking another interim championship fight. At UFC 81, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira defeated Tim Slyvia through submission to turn the interim Heavyweight Champion.
Moreover, Couture came back to UFC but was defeated by Brock Lesnar at UFC 91 through TKO after a long challenge. On the other side, Frank Mir won Nogueria for the interim championship. Lesnar turned the unchallenged champion by defeating Mir by TKO at UFC 100.
Lesnar went on a spell of illness and was later diagnosed with mononucleosis and diverticulitis. Another interim champion was crowned as Shane Carwin defeated Frank Mir at UFC 111. Then, Lesnar once became the Heavyweight title by defeating Carwin at 116.
Cain Velasquez defeated Lesnar at UFC 121 with a TKO win. He lost the title to Junior Dos Santos in what was his first UFC loss. After a successful defense against Frank Mir, Dos Santos lost the title back to Velasquez.
Velasquez had fortunate defenses against Antonio Silva and Dos Santos in their trilogy fight. With Velasquez suffering from injuries, Fabricio Werdum had a fight with Mark Hunt and turned interim champion via a TKO win. By defeating Velasquez, Werdum turned the unchallenged champion.
Stipe Miocic reigned the Heavyweight scene after winning the title at UFC 198. Over the next two years, Miocic won the title against Alistair Overeem in the first round through TKO, Junior Dos Santon via TKO, and Francis Ngannou’s consentaneous conclusion. Miocic lost the title to Daniel Cormier in a surprising style with a first-round KO after a weakening eye poke from Cormier. Cormier won the title against Volkan Oezdemir at UFC 220.
At UFC 241, Miocic defeated Cormier in their rematch with a TKO in the fourth round. Miocic also won their triple fight with a consentaneous conclusion at UFC 251. After getting knocked out in the second round, Miocic dropped the title to Francis Ngannou at UFC 260. Ciryl Gane turned the interim champion by defeating Derrick Lewis at UFC 265. At UFC 270, Ngannou won the title unification bout.
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The Present UFC Heavyweight Champion
Francis Ngannou is the recent UFC Heavyweight Champion. He defended the title from Stipe Miocic via a second-round TKO win at UFC 260. He defended the title against Ciryl Gane in a title fusion round at UFC 270.
Ngannou was on a ten-fight win streak before he faced the UFC heavyweight champion, Stipe Miocic. He had wiped out his last opponents via TKO’s and submissions and he is known as “The Predator” who has one of the most annihilating knockouts in the UFC against Alistair Overeem.
As a return like that, Ngannou was succeeding in being the heavyweight champion. Although, during his title fight against Miocic, Ngannou had cocksure, and disclosed many holes in his game. It took some exertion for Ngannou to retrieve from the loss. His next fight with Derrick Lewis lacked action. He lost to ‘The Black Beast’ by a unanimous conclusion.
However, a lot of people thought Ngannou’s career has ended. He made an amazing comeback in his next fight against Curtis Blaydes, followed by his wins over UFC legend Cain Velasquez, Junior dos Santos, and Jairzinho Rozenstruik.
‘The Predator” has records of 10-2 in the UFC. Currently, Francis Ngannou is still the UFC heavyweight world champion. On January 22 the Cameroonian beat Frenchman Cyril Gane in California to defend his world title in the prestigious mixed martial arts league.
After the fight, he said, “I was the champion, I am the champion, I remain the champion. Whatever you say, at the end of the day, I’m the boss, I proved it tonight.” Moreover, his story began, with amazing odds. Ngannou forever dreamt of boxing when growing up in poverty in Cameroon.
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In 2012, he tried to pass through the Mediterranean seven times, spending two months in a prison in Spain before extending to Paris with aught. After 10 years, he stays in a villa in Los Angeles and makes up to 500,000 euros for a fight. He was born in the village of Batié, in western Cameroon, and lives in fear of his career.
