Have there been any concurrent double division champions in the UFC apart from Conor McGregor?

Have there been any concurrent double division champions in the UFC apart from Conor McGregor?

Conor McGregor holds up the featherweight and lightweight championship belts [Image Source - The Guardian]

Being a champion in the UFC is a crowning glory every single MMA fighter steps out to achieve – that being said, the sport is cruel, and with over 700 fighters signed to the promotion, only a few can actually achieve this feat.

Add another category on top of that –  that of ‘champ-champ’, or a fighter who reigns atop two divisions simultaneously. This moniker was coined by icon Conor McGregor, after he was able to actualize the dream of becoming champion across two divisions. Having already been the featherweight champion (with a stunning KO of Jose Aldo), Conor McGregor knocked out Eddie Alvarez to wrest away the lightweight belt as well.

YouTube video

The question to be asked, then, is this – has there been any other fighter in UFC history to have replicated this feat? This answer is yes, but the list is extremely thin. Featuring on this list, alongside Conor McGregor are Amanda Nunes, Daniel Cormier and Henry Cejudo, limiting this super elusive list to only four fighters.

FS Video

Coming to Amanda Nunes, the fighter unanimously judges to be the greatest female fighter to ever enter the octagon; her reign was kicked off by a KO finish of the then bantamweight champion Miesha Tate at UFC 200, following which she embarked on a long win streak.

In 2018, she chose to fight against featherweight Cris Cyborg and beat her to become the featherweight champion as well. A brief obstacle in her crash course – she stunningly lost the bantamweight title to Julianna Pena last year, before reclaiming it again a few months back.

Related- “She is not the double champ!” – Fight fans react to Amanda Nunes reclaiming double champ status after terrific win at UFC 277

How did Daniel Cormier and Henry Cejudo earn their right to be called double-champion?

Daniel Cormier (L) and Henry Cejudo (R) [Image Source - InterMat Wrestling (L) and Yahoo Sports (R)]
Daniel Cormier (L) and Henry Cejudo (R) are two of the four double division champions in UFC history [Image Source – InterMat Wrestling (L) and Yahoo Sports (R)]

Coming to Daniel Cormier, his story has been written by fans and analysts alike on multiple occasions. Being part of the same era as Jon Jones, Cormier’s shot at the title came in 2015, when he defeated Anthony Johnson for the vacant title in 2015, before going on to win the heavyweight title against Stipe Miocic, knocking him out in 2018.

Arriving at the final fighter in this list, Henry Cejudo’s unprecedented stint in the flyweight and bantamweight divisions remains lore for the history books. Having been bested by Demetrious Johnson prior to their rematch, “Triple C” came back with vengeance to defeat, and ultimately push “Mighty Mouse” out of the promotion. When bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw himself tried to push his way into becoming a double champion, Cejudo stood firm at the door, preventing his opponent from earning this status. After Dillashaw had vacated his title due to his doping ban, Cejudo defeated Marlon Moraes to become the bantamweight champion as well.

Also Read- “Taught him some etiquette,” Aljamain Sterling dishes on what Raul Rosas Jr did to get on his bad side years ago

The list of double champions is restricted to just four people, with only one current double champion in Nunes. In the future, however, this list could grow more expansive with the likes of Alex Pereira, Khamzat Chimaev, Alexander Volkanovski and Islam Makhachev continuously stamping their authority.

Also Read- “Influenced by what the crowd was into,” John McCarthy told his son that he messed up the decision of Paddy Pimblett vs Jared Gordon…