MMA
The Youngest Champions in UFC History: Who Are They?
At just 23 years old, Jon Jones became the youngest UFC champion in history when he claimed the light heavyweight title in 2011, setting the standard for future stars. Other young champions followed, including José Aldo, who dominated the featherweight division at 24, and Vitor Belfort, whose explosive style earned him the light heavyweight crown.
Jones kicks Vitor Belfort//Getty Images
Throughout its history, the Ultimate Fighting Championship has seen many talented fighters become champions, some of whom were experienced campaigners, while others rose to fame and glory very early on in their careers and lives.
In this article, we will go through some of the youngest champions in UFC history, and what followed their crowning moment.
5. Frank Shamrock (UFC Light-heavyweight Champion) - 25 years, 78 days
Many of the newer MMA fans may have never heard of Frank Shamrock. He was an MMA fighter before it became mainstream, and he was very much a pioneer of the modern sport.
Shamrock became the first-ever UFC light-heavyweight champion, which is now the middleweight division, after defeating Kevin Jackson, via armbar, back in 1997 at UFC Japan. What followed this victory was four straight stoppage victories to defend his UFC title as he established himself as one of the first dominant champions in the company's history.
In his final fight in the UFC, he defeated Tito Ortiz by forcing him to submit after landing several brutal hammerfists and elbows to the temple. After the fight, Shamrock vacated his title as he went into semi-retirement.
Jon Jones has the most wins in UFC light-heavyweight history with 20. Also, he has the most total fight time in UFC title fights (4 hours, 41 minutes and 51 seconds).
4. Vitor Belfort (UFC Light-heavyweight Champion) - 24 years, 313 days
Vitor Belfort//Getty Images
After securing a 12-second knockout in his pro MMA debut, Vitor Belfort was handed his UFC debut in his second-ever MMA bout at just 19 years of age. “The Phenom” ended up winning the UFC 12 heavyweight tournament with his two fights totaling two minutes.
The Brazilian then faced Tank Abbott, but he finished him in less than a minute. So, the UFC put the youngster in with UFC legend Randy Couture for a title eliminator, where Belfort came up short.
After a few years of bouncing between the heavyweight and light-heavyweight division, Belfort settled nicely in the light-heavyweight division and eventually worked his way back to a title shot, facing Couture again. This time, Belfort claimed victory and UFC gold after forcing a doctor stoppage inside a minute of the very first round at UFC 46.
3. Josh Barnett (UFC Heavyweight Champion) - 24 years, 266 days
Josh Barnett had an up-and-down start to his UFC career; he stopped Gan McGee at UFC 28 in a super-heavyweight bout, and then got knocked out by Pedro Rizzo in his next fight.
A few months later, Barnett rediscovered his confidence when he submitted Semmy Schilt via armbar, and he then followed up this victory with one over Bobby Hoffman. In the aftermath of the fight, Barnett received a hard warning from NSAC due to testing positive for banned substances.
Four months after testing positive for banned substances, Barnett was given a title shot, at UFC 36, against the heavyweight champion Randy Couture. Barnett beat Couture down and eventually forced a TKO win in the second round. However, his spell as champion was short-lived because Barnett failed yet another post-fight drug test, which caused him to be stripped of his title and cut from the UFC.
2. Jose Aldo (UFC Featherweight Champion) - 24 years, 183 days
Jose Aldo knees Mario Bautista//Getty Images
Once upon a time, Jose Aldo was known as the king of the featherweight division, that was of course before Conor McGregor dethroned him in 13 seconds. After the UFC merged with WEC in 2010, where Aldo was already the 145-pounds champ, he was automatically crowned the belt holder of the UFC.
He proceeded to successfully defend his featherweight title seven times in the UFC, after defending his WEC title twice before the merger. Throughout his dominant run, he was defeating legends such as Cub Swanson, Urijah Faber, Frankie Edgar, Kenny Florian and Chad Mendes.
After being knocked out by McGregor, who then moved up to lightweight, Aldo reclaimed his title by defeating Frankie Edgar at UFC 200. Nowadays, Aldo is fighting in the UFC's bantamweight division where he is still an elite fighter.
1. Jon Jones (UFC Light-heavyweight Champion) - 23 years, 242 days
Jon Jones//Getty Images
Jonny “Bones” Jones still remains the youngest champion in UFC history, to go along with all of his other accolades which makes him arguably the greatest fighter the sport of MMA has ever seen.
Rising up through the ranks of small-hall shows, Jones made his way to the UFC at a very young age, and he quickly became 3-0 in the company. But then a highly controversial moment occurred. On December 5th 2009, Jones suffered his only ever defeat in his career; he was disqualified against Matt Hamill after using an illegal downward elbow.
With almost everybody not counting that as a loss for Jones, the UFC continued to give Jones top names in the weight class, and he saw off Brandon Vera, winning KO of the night, Vladimir Matyushenko and Ryan Bader, winning submission of the night. This earned Jones a title shot at UFC 128 against Mauricio Rua, “Bones” completely destroyed the legend for two rounds before forcing the stoppage in the third round to claim the UFC light-heavyweight championship.
Jones went on to defend his title eight times, completely annihilating icons like Rampage Jackson, Lyoto Machida, Rashad Evans, Glover Teixeira, Vitor Belfort and Chael Sonnen. In his eighth title defence, he defeated a future legend in Daniel Cormier, but he was stripped of his belt due to legal troubles.
The following year he re-entered the octagon to defeat Ovince Saint Preux to win the 205-pounds interim title, but he tested positive for two banned substances. The following fight, he rematched Cormier, who held the light-heavyweight title in Jones’ absence, and Jones put an end to their rivalry by knocking him out with a head kick to reclaim his belt. However, Jones once again tested positive for banned substances which forced him to be stripped of his belt.
Since then, Jones has defeated Alexander Gustafsson, claiming the vacant light-heavyweight title, Anthony Smith, Thiago Santos and Dominick Reyes, where Jones vacated the belt to move up to heavyweight. After a three-year lay-off, Jones made his heavyweight debut and dominated Ciryl Gane to claim the vacant UFC heavyweight title.
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.
Jake is a boyhood Sheffield United fan, which is often a curse that he thanks his family for. His favourite Blades player ever is Billy Sharp