List of World Extreme Cagefighting champions

(Redirected from List of WEC champions)

This is a list of World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) champions at each weight class.

Former Bantamweight Champion Dominick Cruz with the WEC belt.

In December 2006 World Extreme Cagefighting was bought by Zuffa, LLC, the parent company of the UFC, to concentrate on the four smaller weight classes under the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts. Over the next two years, the WEC would phase out weight classes above 155 lbs, with most of the fighters going to the UFC. By the time of the WEC's absorption into the UFC at the end of 2010, the only remaining weight divisions were Lightweight, Featherweight and Bantamweight.

World Title histories

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Super Heavyweight Championship

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Weight limit: Unlimited
No. Name Event Date Defenses
1   Ron Waterman
def. James Nevarez
WEC 7
Lemoore, CA, USA
August 9, 2003 1. def. Ricco Rodriguez at WEC 16 on August 18, 2005 in Lemoore, CA, USA
The WEC Super Heavyweight division was abolished in December 2006 when Zuffa purchased the organization.

Heavyweight Championship

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Weight limit: 250 lb (113.4 kg)
No. Name Event Date Defenses
1   Mike Kyle
def. Jude Hargett
WEC 9
Lemoore, CA, USA
January 16, 2004
Title vacated.
2   Mike Serr
def. Rafael del Real
WEC 10
Lemoore, CA, USA
May 21, 2004
Title vacated.
3   James Irvin
def. Houssain Oushani
WEC 12
Lemoore, CA, USA
October 21, 2004 1. def. Doug Marshall at WEC 15 on May 19, 2005 in Lemoore, CA, USA
Irvin vacated the title to fight in the Light Heavyweight division.
4   Brian Olsen
def. Lavar Johnson
WEC 18
Lemoore, CA, USA
January 13, 2006 1. def. Mike Kyle at WEC 20 on May 5, 2006 in Lemoore, CA, USA
The WEC Heavyweight division was abolished in December 2006 when Zuffa purchased the organization.

Light Heavyweight Championship

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Weight limit: 200 lb (90.7 kg)
No. Name Event Date Defenses
1   Frank Shamrock
def. Bryan Pardoe
WEC 6
Lemoore, CA, USA
March 27, 2003
Shamrock vacated in August 2003 to fight for Strikeforce.
2   Richard Montoya
def. Abraham Baxter
WEC 11
Lemoore, CA, USA
August 20, 2004
3   Jason Lambert WEC 13
Lemoore, CA, USA
January 22, 2005
Lambert vacated in October 2005 to fight for the UFC.
4   Scott Smith
def. Tait Fletcher
WEC 17
Lemoore, CA, USA
October 14, 2005 1. def. Justin Levens at WEC 18 on January 13, 2006 in Lemoore, CA, USA
Smith vacated in May 2006 to participate in The Ultimate Fighter.
5   Lodune Sincaid
def. Dan Molina
WEC 20
Lemoore, CA, USA
May 5, 2006
6   Doug Marshall WEC 23
Lemoore, CA, USA
August 17, 2006 1. def. Justin McElfresh at WEC 27 on May 12, 2007 in Las Vegas, NV, USA
2. def. Ariel Gandulla at WEC 31 on December 12, 2007 in Las Vegas, NV, USA
7   Brian Stann WEC 33
Las Vegas, NV, USA
March 26, 2008
8   Steve Cantwell WEC 35
Las Vegas, NV, USA
August 3, 2008
The WEC Light Heavyweight division was absorbed into the UFC on December 3, 2008 so the WEC could further concentrate on lighter weight classes.

Middleweight Championship

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Weight limit: 185 lb (83.9 kg)
No. Name Event Date Defenses
1   Chris Leben
def. Mike Swick
WEC 9
Lemoore, CA, USA
January 16, 2004
Leben vacated to participate The Ultimate Fighter.
2   Joe Riggs
def. Rob Kimmons
WEC 15
Lemoore, CA, USA
May 19, 2005
The WEC Middleweight title was vacated in December 2006 when Zuffa purchased the organization.
3   Paulo Filho
def. Joe Doerksen
WEC 29
Las Vegas, NV, USA
August 5, 2007 1. def. Chael Sonnen at WEC 31 on December 12, 2007 in Las Vegas, NV, USA
The WEC Middleweight division was absorbed into the UFC on December 3, 2008, so the WEC could further concentrate on lighter weight classes.

Welterweight Championship

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Weight limit: 170 lb (77.1 kg)
No. Name Event Date Defenses
1   Nick Diaz
def. Joe Hurley
WEC 6
Lemoore, CA, USA
March 27, 2003
Diaz vacated the title to focus on fight for the UFC.
2   Shonie Carter
def. J.T. Taylor
WEC 8
Lemoore, CA, USA
October 17, 2003
3   Karo Parisyan WEC 10
Lemoore, CA, USA
May 21, 2004
Parisyan vacated the title to focus on fighting for the UFC.
4   Mike Pyle
def. Bret Bergmark
WEC 17
Lemoore, CA, USA
October 14, 2005

1. def. Shonie Carter at WEC 18 on Jan 13, 2006 in Lemoore, CA, USA

The WEC Welterweight title was vacated in December 2006 when Zuffa purchased the organization.
5   Carlos Condit
def. John Alessio
WEC 26
Las Vegas, NV, USA
March 24, 2007

1. def. Brock Larson at WEC 29 on Aug 5, 2007 in Las Vegas, NV, USA
2. def. Carlo Prater at WEC 32 on Feb 13, 2008 in Albuquerque, NM, USA
3. def. Hiromitsu Miura at WEC 35 on Aug 3, 2008 in Las Vegas, NV, USA

The WEC Welterweight division was absorbed into the UFC on February 3, 2009, so the WEC could further concentrate on lighter weight classes.

Lightweight Championship

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Weight limit: 155 lb (70.3 kg)
No. Name Event Date Defenses
1   Kurt Pellegrino
def. Mac Danzig
WEC 4
Uncasville, CT, USA
Aug 31, 2002
Pellegrino vacated the title to focus on fighting in other events.
2   Gilbert Melendez
def. Olaf Alfonso
WEC 10
Lemoore, CA, USA
May 21, 2004
Melendez vacated the title to focus on fighting in other events.
3   Gabe Ruediger
def. Olaf Alfonso
WEC 12
Lemoore, CA, USA
October 21, 2004

1. def. Jason Maxwell at WEC 14 on Mar 17, 2005 in Lemoore, CA, USA
2. def. Sam Wells at WEC 17 on Oct 14, 2005 in Lemoore, CA, USA

4   Hermes França WEC 19
Lemoore, CA, USA
March 17, 2006

1. def. Brandon Olsen at WEC 21 on Jun 15, 2006 in Highland, CA, USA
2. def. Nate Diaz at WEC 24 on Oct 12, 2006 in Lemoore, CA, USA

The WEC Lightweight title was vacated in December 2006 when Zuffa purchased the organization and brought França over to the UFC.
5   Rob McCullough
def. Kit Cope
WEC 25
Las Vegas, NV, USA
January 20, 2007

1. def. Richard Crunkilton at WEC 30 on Sep 5, 2007 in Las Vegas, NV, USA

6   Jamie Varner WEC 32
Albuquerque, NM, USA
February 13, 2008

1. def. Marcus Hicks at WEC 35 on Aug 3, 2008 in Las Vegas, NV, USA
2. def. Donald Cerrone at WEC 38 on Jan 25, 2009 in San Diego, CA, USA

-   Benson Henderson
def. Donald Cerrone for interim title
WEC 43
San Antonio, TX, USA
October 10, 2009
7   Benson Henderson
WEC 46
Sacramento, CA, USA
January 10, 2010

1. def. Donald Cerrone at WEC 48 in April 2010, in Sacramento, CA, USA

8   Anthony Pettis
WEC 53
Glendale, AZ, USA
December 16, 2010
The WEC Lightweight division was absorbed into the UFC on December 16, 2010, as part of the UFC-WEC merger.

Featherweight Championship

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Weight limit: 145 lb (65.8 kg)
No. Name Event Date Defenses
1   Cole Escovedo
def. Philip Perez
WEC 5
Lemoore, CA, USA
October 18, 2002

1. def. Anthony Hamlett at WEC 8 on Oct 17, 2003 in Lemoore, CA, USA

2   Urijah Faber WEC 19
Lemoore, CA, USA
March 17, 2006

1. def. Joe Pearson at WEC 25 on Jan 20, 2007 in Las Vegas, NV, USA
2. def. Dominick Cruz at WEC 26 on Mar 24, 2007 in Las Vegas, NV, USA
3. def. Chance Farrar at WEC 28 on Jun 3, 2007 in Las Vegas, NV, USA
4. def. Jeff Curran at WEC 31 on Dec 12, 2007 in Las Vegas, NV, USA
5. def. Jens Pulver at WEC 34 on Jun 1, 2008 in Sacramento, CA, USA

3   Mike Brown WEC 36
Hollywood, FL, USA
November 5, 2008

1. def. Leonard Garcia at WEC 39 on Mar 1, 2009 in Corpus Christi, TX, USA
2. def. Urijah Faber at WEC 41 on Jun 7, 2009 in Sacramento, CA, USA

4   José Aldo WEC 44
Las Vegas, NV, USA
November 18, 2009

1. def. Urijah Faber at WEC 48 on April 24, 2010 in Sacramento, CA, USA
2. def. Manny Gamburyan at WEC 51 on Sep 30, 2010 in Broomfield, CO, USA

The WEC Featherweight division was absorbed into the UFC on September 30, 2010, as part of the UFC-WEC merger. José Aldo was awarded the inaugural UFC Featherweight Championship on November 20, 2010.[1]

Bantamweight Championship

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Weight limit: 135 lb (61.2 kg)
No. Name Event Date Defenses
1   Eddie Wineland
def. Antonio Banuelos
WEC 20
Lemoore, CA, USA
May 5, 2006
2   Chase Beebe WEC 26
Las Vegas, NV, USA
March 24, 2007

1. def. Rani Yahya at WEC 30 on Sep 5, 2007 in Las Vegas, NV, USA

3   Miguel Torres WEC 32
Albuquerque, NM, USA
February 13, 2008

1. def. Yoshiro Maeda at WEC 34 on Jun 1, 2008 in Sacramento, CA, USA
2. def. Manny Tapia at WEC 37 on Dec 3, 2008 in Las Vegas, NV, USA
3. def. Takeya Mizugaki at WEC 40 on April 5, 2009 in Chicago, IL, USA

4   Brian Bowles WEC 42
Las Vegas, NV, USA
August 9, 2009
5   Dominick Cruz WEC 47
Columbus, OH, USA
March 6, 2010

1. def. Joseph Benavidez at WEC 50 on Aug 18, 2010 in Las Vegas, NV, USA
2. def. Scott Jorgensen at WEC 53 on Dec 16, 2010 in Glendale, AZ, USA

The WEC Bantamweight division was absorbed into the UFC on December 16, 2010, as part of the UFC-WEC merger. Dominick Cruz won the inaugural UFC Bantamweight Championship when he defeated Scott Jorgensen at WEC 53.[2]

North American Title histories

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North American Heavyweight Championship

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Weight limit: 265 lb (120.2 kg)
No. Name Event Date Defenses
1   Doug Marshall
def. Anthony Arria
WEC 10
Lemoore, CA, USA
May 21, 2004 1. def. Carlos Garcia at WEC 12 on October 21, 2004 in Lemoore, CA, USA

North American Middleweight Championship

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Weight limit: 185 lb (83.9 kg)
No. Name Event Date Defenses
1   Mark Weir
def. Will Bradford
WEC 12
Lemoore, CA, USA
October 21, 2004
2   Alex Serdyukov
WEC 14
Lemoore, CA, USA
March 17, 2005 1. def. Victor Parfenov at WEC 16 on August 18, 2005 in Lemoore, CA, USA

North American Lightweight Championship

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Weight limit: 155 lb (70.3 kg)
No. Name Event Date Defenses
1   Poppies Martinez
def. Gabriel Cruz
WEC 10
Lemoore, CA, USA
May 21, 2004

Native American Title histories

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Native American Super Heavyweight Championship

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Weight limit: Unlimited
No. Name Event Date Defenses
1   Dan Christison
def. Andre Roberts
WEC 13
Lemoore, CA, USA
January 22, 2005

Native American Lightweight Championship

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Weight limit: 155 lb (70.3 kg)
No. Name Event Date Defenses
1   Cole Escovedo
def. Poppies Martinez
WEC 15
Lemoore, CA, USA
May 19, 2005

Tournament winners

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Event Date Division Winner Runner-up
WEC 13 January 22, 2005 Heavyweight   Brandon Vera   Mike Whitehead
WEC 17 October 14, 2005 Light Heavyweight   Scott Smith   Tait Fletcher

Records

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Most wins in title bouts

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Victories Champion Division V D NC L
6   Urijah Faber Featherweight 6 0 0 3
4   Miguel Torres Bantamweight 4 0 0 1
  Carlos Condit Welterweight 4 0 0 0
3   Doug Marshall Heavyweight
Light Heavyweight
0
3
0
0
0
0
1
1
  Gabe Ruediger Lightweight 3 0 0 1
  Mike Brown Featherweight 3 0 0 1
  Jamie Varner Lightweight 3 0 0 1
  Benson Henderson Lightweight 3 0 0 1
  Dominick Cruz Featherweight
Bantamweight
0
3
0
0
0
0
1
0
  Hermes França Lightweight 3 0 0 0
  José Aldo Featherweight 3 0 0 0

Most consecutive title defenses

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Defenses Champion Division Period
5   Urijah Faber Featherweight March 17, 2006 – November 5, 2008
3   Carlos Condit Welterweight March 24, 2007 – December 3, 2008
  Miguel Torres Bantamweight February 13, 2008 – August 9, 2009
2   Gabe Ruediger Lightweight October 21, 2004 – March 17, 2006
  Hermes França Lightweight March 17, 2006 – December 2006
  Doug Marshall Light Heavyweight August 17, 2006 – March 26, 2008
  Jamie Varner Lightweight February 13, 2008 – January 10, 2010
  Mike Brown Featherweight November 5, 2008 – August 9, 2009
  José Aldo Featherweight November 18, 2009 – September 30, 2010
  Dominick Cruz Bantamweight March 6, 2010 – December 16, 2010

Champions by nationality

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The division champions includes only linear champions. Interim champions who have never become linear champions will be listed as interim champions. Fighters with multiple title reigns in a specific division will also be counted once. Runners-up are not included in tournaments champions.

Country Division
champions
Interim
champions
Tournaments
champions
Total
  United States 30 - 2 32
  Brazil 3 - - 3
  Armenia 1 - - 1

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "New UFC Champion Jose Aldo officially awarded title belt". mmajunkie.com. November 20, 2010. Archived from the original on October 23, 2012.
  2. ^ "WEC 53: Dominick Cruz, Scott Jorgensen Fight To Be First UFC Bantamweight Champion". sbnation.com. December 14, 2010.
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  NODES
Note 1