List of Professional Fighters League champions
Professional Fighters League ("PFL"; formerly the World Series of Fighting, or "WSOF") is an American mixed martial arts promotion company, and the following is a history of its superfight champions in each weight class. This list also includes championship histories for their international partners PFL Europe, WSOF: Canada and WSOF Global.
PFL
Men's Super Fights Championship History
Super Fights Heavyweight Championship
206 to 265 lbs (93 to 120 kg)
No. | Name | Event | Date | Reign | Defenses |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Cameroon Francis Ngannou def. Renan Ferreira |
PFL Super Fights: Battle of the Giants Riyadh, Saudi Arabia |
Oct 19, 2024 | 84 days (incumbent) |
Women's Super Fights Championship History
Super Fights Women's Featherweight Championship
135 to 145 lbs (61 to 66 kg)
No. | Name | Event | Date | Reign | Defenses |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Brazil Cris Cyborg def. Larissa Pacheco |
PFL Super Fights: Battle of the Giants Riyadh, Saudi Arabia |
Oct 19, 2024 | 84 days (incumbent) |
Tournament winners
Europe Tournament winners
Event | Date | Division | Winner | Runner-up |
---|---|---|---|---|
PFL Europe 4 (2023) | Dec 8, 2023 | Light Heavyweight | Slovenia Jakob Nedoh | England Simeón Powell |
Lightweight | Poland Jakub Kaszuba | Republic of Ireland John Mitchell | ||
Bantamweight | Tajikistan Khurshed Kakhorov | South Africa Frans Mlambo | ||
Women's Flyweight | England Dakota Ditcheva | Italy Valentina Scatizzi | ||
PFL Europe 4 (2024) | Dec 14, 2024 | Welterweight | File:Flag placeholder.svg | File:Flag placeholder.svg |
Lightweight | File:Flag placeholder.svg | File:Flag placeholder.svg | ||
Bantamweight | File:Flag placeholder.svg | File:Flag placeholder.svg | ||
Women's Flyweight | File:Flag placeholder.svg | File:Flag placeholder.svg |
MENA Tournament winners
Event | Date | Division | Winner | Runner-up |
---|---|---|---|---|
PFL 10 (2024) | November 29, 2024 | Welterweight | Egypt Omar El Dafrawy | Kuwait Mohammad Alaqraa |
Lightweight | Iran Mohsen Mohammadseifi | Lebanon Georges Eid | ||
Featherweight | Saudi Arabia Abdullah Al-Qahtani | Morocco Maraoune Bellagouit | ||
Bantamweight | Iraq Ali Taleb | Morocco Rachid El Hazoume |
WSOF
Men's Championship History (defunct)
- All WSOF Championships were retired and vacated on June 7, 2018, when the PFL league format began at PFL 1. The PFL crowns seasonal champions as an alternative to recognizing a single lineal champion.
Heavyweight Championship
- 206 to 265 lbs (93 to 120 kg)
No. | Name | Event | Date | Reign | Defenses |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Greece Smealinho Rama def. Derrick Mehmen |
WSOF 14 Edmonton, AB, Canada |
Oct 11, 2014 | 237 days | |
2 | Bulgaria Blagoy Ivanov | WSOF 21 Edmonton, AB, Canada |
Jun 5, 2015 | 3508 days |
1. def. Derrick Mehmen at WSOF 24 on Oct 17, 2015 |
Ivanov vacated title on April 25, 2018, after becoming free agent and signing with the UFC. |
Light Heavyweight Championship
- 186 to 205 lbs (84 to 93 kg)
No. | Name | Event | Date | Reign | Defenses |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | United States David Branch def. Teddy Holder |
WSOF 23 Phoenix, AZ, U.S. |
Sep 18, 2015 | 507 days |
1. def. Vinny Magalhães at WSOF 33 on Oct 7, 2016 |
Branch vacated title on February 6, 2017, after becoming free agent and signing with the UFC. |
Middleweight Championship
- 171 to 185 lbs (77 to 84 kg)
No. | Name | Event | Date | Reign | Defenses |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | United States David Branch def. Jesse Taylor |
WSOF 10 Las Vegas, NV, U.S. |
June 21, 2014 | 961 days |
1. def. Yushin Okami at WSOF 15 on Nov 15, 2014 |
Branch vacated title on February 6, 2017, after becoming free agent and signing with the UFC. |
Welterweight Championship
- 156 to 170 lbs (70 to 77 kg)
No. | Name | Event | Date | Reign | Defenses |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | United States Steve Carl def. Josh Burkman |
WSOF 6 Coral Gables, FL, U.S. |
Oct 26, 2013 | 154 days | |
2 | Brazil Rousimar Palhares | WSOF 9 Las Vegas, NV, U.S. |
Mar 29, 2014 | 492 days |
1. def. Jon Fitch at WSOF 16 on Dec 13, 2014 |
Palhares was stripped of the title on August 3, 2015. | |||||
3 | United States Jon Fitch def. João Zeferino |
WSOF 30 Las Vegas, NV, U.S. |
Apr 2, 2016 | 698 days |
1. def. Jake Shields at WSOF 34 on Dec 31, 2016 |
Fitch vacated title on March 1, 2018, after signing with Bellator. |
Lightweight Championship
- 146 to 155 lbs (66 to 70 kg)
No. | Name | Event | Date | Reign | Defenses |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | United States Justin Gaethje def. Richard Patishnock |
WSOF 8 Hollywood, FL, U.S. |
Jan 18, 2014 | 1196 days |
1. def. Nick Newell at WSOF 11 on July 5, 2014 |
Gaethje vacated title on April 27, 2017, after signing with the UFC. |
Featherweight Championship
- 136 to 145 lbs (61 to 66 kg)
No. | Name | Event | Date | Reign | Defenses |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Russia Georgi Karakhanyan def. Lance Palmer |
WSOF 7 Vancouver, BC, Canada |
Dec 7, 2013 | 196 days | |
2 | United States Ricky Glenn | WSOF 10 Las Vegas, NV, U.S. |
Jun 21, 2014 | 176 days | |
3 | United States Lance Palmer | WSOF 16 Sacramento, CA, U.S. |
Dec 13, 2014 | 371 days |
1. def. Chris Horodecki at WSOF 21 on June 5, 2015 |
4 | Brazil Alexandre Almeida | WSOF 26 Las Vegas, NV, U.S. |
Dec 18, 2015 | 226 days | |
5 | United States Lance Palmer (2) | WSOF 32 Everett, WA, U.S. |
Jul 30, 2016 | 231 days (602 days) |
|
6 | United States Andre Harrison | WSOF 35 Verona, NY, U.S. |
Mar 18, 2017 | 446 days |
1. def. Steven Rodriguez at PFL Everett on Jul 29, 2017 |
The WSOF Featherweight championship was retired on June 7, 2018 when the PFL league format began at PFL 1.[1][2] |
Bantamweight Championship
- 126 to 135 lbs (57 to 61 kg)
No. | Name | Event | Date | Reign | Defenses |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Brazil Marlon Moraes def. Josh Rettinghouse |
WSOF 9 Las Vegas, NV, USA |
March 29, 2014 | 1,011 days |
1. def. Josh Hill at WSOF 18 on Feb 12, 2015 |
Moraes vacated title on January 3, 2017, after becoming a free agent and signing with the UFC. | |||||
2 | Russia Bekbulat Magomedov def. Donavon Frelow |
WSOF 35 Verona, NY, USA |
March 18, 2017 | 446 days | |
The WSOF Bantamweight championship was retired on June 7, 2018 when the PFL league format began at PFL 1.[1][2] |
Flyweight Championship
- 116 to 125 lbs (53 to 57 kg)
No. | Name | Event | Date | Reign | Defenses |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Russia Magomed Bibulatov def. Donavon Frelow |
WSOF 24 Mashantucket, CT, USA |
October 17, 2015 | 446 days | |
Bibulatov vacated title on January 5, 2017, after joining the UFC. |
Women's Championship History (defunct)
- All WSOF Championships were retired and vacated on June 7, 2018 when the PFL league format began at PFL 1. The PFL crowns seasonal champions as an alternative to recognizing a single lineal champion.
Women's Strawweight Championship
- 106 to 115 lb (48 to 52 kg)
No. | Name | Event | Date | Reign | Defenses |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Mexico Jessica Aguilar def. Alida Gray |
WSOF 8 Hollywood, FL, USA |
January 18, 2014 | 484 days |
1. def. Emi Fujino at WSOF 10 on June 21, 2014 |
Aguilar vacated title on May 18, 2015, after joining the UFC. |
International Championship History (defunct)
- All WSOF International Championships were retired and vacated on June 7, 2018 when the PFL league format began at PFL 1. The PFL crowns seasonal champions as an alternative to recognizing a single lineal champion.
Canadian Welterweight Championship
- 156 to 170 lbs (70 to 77 kg)
No. | Name | Event | Date | Reign | Defenses |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Canada Ryan Ford def. Joel Powell |
WSOF Canada 1 Edmonton, AB, Canada |
February 21, 2014 | 472 days | |
Ford vacated title on June 8, 2015, after retiring from the sport of MMA. |
Global Heavyweight Championship
- 206 to 265 lbs (93 to 120 kg)
No. | Name | Event | Date | Reign | Defenses |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Russia Evgeny Erokhin def. Brandon Cash |
WSOF Global Championship 2: Japan Tokyo, Japan |
February 7, 2016 | 851 days | 1. def. Richard Odoms at WSOF Global Championship 3: Philippines |
All WSOF International championships were retired and vacated on June 7, 2018 when the PFL league format began at PFL 1.[1][2] |
Global Flyweight Championship
- 125 lbs (57 kg)
No. | Name | Event | Date | Reign | Defenses |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Japan Yusaku Nakamura def. Lawrence Diguilio |
Deep Cage Impact 2016: DEEP vs. WSOF-GC Tokyo, Japan |
December 17, 2016 | 537 days | |
All WSOF International championships were retired and vacated on June 7, 2018 when the PFL league format began at PFL 1.[1][2] |
Tournament winners
Event(s) | Division | Champion | Runner-up | Final |
---|---|---|---|---|
WSOF 5, WSOF 7 e WSOF 10 | Middleweight | United States David Branch | United States Jesse Taylor | June 21, 2014 |
WSOF 20 e WSOF 23 | Light Heavyweight | United States David Branch | United States Teddy Holder | September 18, 2015 |
WSOF 25 | Lightweight | United States Brian Foster | Brazil João Zeferino | November 20, 2015 |
Records
Most wins in title bouts
The following includes all fighters with three or more championship and/or interim championship title fights. Fighters with the same number of title wins are arranged in order of most title bouts. Tournament championships are not included.
Title wins |
Champion |
Weight class |
W | D | NC | L |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
6 | United States Justin Gaethje | Lightweight | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Brazil Marlon Moraes | Bantamweight | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
United States David Branch | Light Heavyweight Middleweight |
2 4 |
0 0 |
0 0 |
0 0 | |
5 | Bulgaria Blagoy Ivanov | Heavyweight | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
3 | United States Lance Palmer | Featherweight | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
Mexico Jessica Aguilar | Women's Strawweight | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Brazil Rousimar Palhares | Welterweight | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Most consecutive title defenses
The following includes all WSOF champions who were able to consecutively defend their title two times or more. Fighters with the same number of title defenses are listed chronologically.
Defenses | Champion | Weight class | Span |
---|---|---|---|
5 | United States Justin Gaethje | Lightweight | January 18, 2014 - April 27, 2017 |
Brazil Marlon Moraes | Bantamweight | March 29, 2014 - January 3, 2017 | |
4 | Bulgaria Blagoy Ivanov | Heavyweight | June 5, 2015 - April 25, 2018 |
3 | United States David Branch | Middleweight | June 21, 2014 - February 6, 2017 |
2 | Mexico Jessica Aguilar | Women's Strawweight | January 18, 2014 - May 18, 2015 |
Brazil Rousimar Palhares | Welterweight | March 29, 2014 - August 4, 2015 |
Multi-division champions
Interim title |
Fighters who have won championships in multiple weight classes.[3] Tournament champions are not included.
No. | Champion | Division | Won | Lost | Defenses | Reign | Total Reign |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | United States David Branch | Light Heavyweight | September 18, 2015 (WSOF 23) |
February 6, 2017 (Vacated) |
1 | 507 days | 1468 days |
Middleweight | June 21, 2014 (WSOF 10) |
February 6, 2017 (Vacated) |
3 | 961 days |
Simultaneous two division champions
This table, different from the previous one, only counts the periods in which the fighter loaded the titles simultaneously and the defenses in that period of time.
No. | Champion | Division | Span | Defenses | Simultaneous Reign |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | United States David Branch | Light Heavyweight | September 18, 2015 – February 6, 2017 | 1 | 507 days |
Middleweight | 2 |
Champions by nationality
Fighters with multiple title reigns in a specific division will be counted once in the Division champions. Interim champions who have never become linear champions will be listed as interim champions.
Country | Tournament champions |
Division champions |
International champions |
Total |
---|---|---|---|---|
File:Flag of the United States (23px).png United States | 8 | 8 | - | 16 |
File:Flag of Russia.svg Russia | 7 | 3 | 1 | 10 |
File:Flag of Brazil.svg Brazil | 6 | 3 | - | 9 |
File:Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Canada | 1 | - | 1 | 1 |
File:Flag of Argentina.svg Argentina | 1 | - | - | 1 |
File:Flag of Bulgaria.svg Bulgaria | - | 1 | - | 1 |
File:Flag of Greece.svg Greece | - | 1 | - | 1 |
File:Flag of Mexico.svg Mexico | - | 1 | - | 1 |
File:Flag of Japan.svg Japan | - | - | 1 | 1 |
See also
- List of PFL events
- List of current mixed martial arts champions
- List of Bellator MMA champions
- List of EliteXC champions
- List of Invicta FC champions
- List of ONE Championship champions
- List of Strikeforce champions
- List of UFC champions
- List of WEC champions
- Mixed martial arts weight classes
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Staff (2018-08-31). "Playoff matchups set for PFL's first season of $1 million winners". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2018-08-31.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "Fight Card - PFL 11". PFL.
- ↑ "MMA All-time Record Holders". sportsillustrated. Archived from the original on May 17, 2012.