What Is the Bantamweight Division in the UFC?
Learn about the UFC bantamweight division, a weight class for fighters weighing 135 pounds or less, known for its fast-paced and technical MMA bouts featuring top athletes in both men's and women's divisions.
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There are 12 different weight divisions in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, 8 male weight classes and 4 female divisions.
In this guide, we will be focusing on the UFC's bantamweight division…
The UFC bantamweight division refers to a weight class for fighters. The bantamweight division is for male fighters who weigh 135 pounds or less, and for female fighters, it's the same weight limit. Bantamweight sits between flyweight and featherweight.
The UFC has separate bantamweight divisions for men and women, where fighters in this class compete against each other under the Unified Rules of MMA.
The bantamweight division is known for its fast-paced and highly technical fights, as fighters in this category tend to be agile, quick and possess a mixture of striking and grappling skills. Fights are usually high output bouts and have plenty of several flashy moments in the fight.
Current Male Bantamweight UFC Champion and Past Champions
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The current UFC bantamweight champion is Sean O'Malley, who won the title on August 19, 2023, by defeating Aljamain Sterling at UFC 292. O'Malley is known for his excellent striking skills with his flashy techniques and has quickly become a prominent figure in the MMA world.
At UFC 299, O'Malley defeated Chito Vera to claim his first defence of his bantamweight title. “Suga” dominated Vera and claimed a unanimous decision victory over the Ecuadorian.
O'Malley is set to defend his bantamweight championship later this year, at UFC 306, against Georgian fighter Merab Dvalishvili.
Past Male UFC Bantamweight Champions And Best Bantamweight Fighters Ever
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Aljamain Sterling became the first ever fighter of Jamaican heritage to win UFC gold when he defeated Petr Yan back in 2021. He eventually lost the title to the current champ O'Malley.
Before Sterling, Petr Yan was dominating the bantamweight division and he won the vacant title in 2020 against the greatest featherweight of all time Jose Aldo. The following fight he lost the title to Sterling after illegally kneeing the Jamaican American fighter.
Another past champion was Henry Cejudo. “Triple C”, known for his epic fight IQ, claimed the vacant bantamweight title after moving up from the flyweight division. Cejudo beat everybody in the UFC flyweight division, including winning the belt from arguably the best flyweight ever Demetrious Johnson.
After a successful defence of his belt this prompted a move up to bantamweight to face Marlon Moraes for the vacant title, and he knocked the Brazilian out. He successfully defended the bantamweight title against Dominick Cruz in 2020 before temporarily retiring and vacating the belt. Since then, the American has fought twice, a split decision defeat against Aljamain Sterling for the bantamweight strap and a unanimous decision defeat to Merab Dvalishvili.
The first ever UFC bantamweight champion, after merging with the WEC in 2010, was Dominick Cruz. Cruz would defend his bantamweight belt twice: against Demetrious Johnson and Urijah Faber, but “The Dominator” would retire in 2011 due to recurring injuries.
He later returned to action in 2014 and within 2 years he was fighting for the bantamweight title again, defeating TJ Dillashaw and then later successfully defending the belt against Urijah Faber once more. In December 2016 he lost his title to Cody Garbrandt.
Dominick Cruz is still officially on the UFC roster despite not competing since August 2022. Nowadays he is more of a commentator and analyst of the sport.
Female UFC Bantamweight Division
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Amanda Nunes is one of the most accomplished fighters in UFC history, particularly known for her dominance in the women’s bantamweight division. The Brazilian mixed martial artist became the first woman in UFC history to hold titles in two different weight classes simultaneously - bantamweight (135 lbs) and featherweight (145 lbs).
Nunes first won the UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship on July 9, 2016, by defeating Miesha Tate via submission. She then went on to defend the bantamweight title multiple times against top fighters, including Ronda Rousey, Valentina Shevchenko, and Holly Holm.
But before the greatness of “The Lioness” came about, there was already a huge name on the women's roster, Ronda Rousey. The UFC female bantamweight division was established in 2012, with Ronda Rousey as its first champion. Rousey's success helped popularise women’s MMA, and since then, the division has featured many high-profile fighters.
Jake Staniland is a sports writer who excels in covering a wide range of sports: football, combat sports and the NFL - All three subjects are his lifelong passions.
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