Youngest UFC Champions in History

Filters All time · Men
16
Demetrious Johnson
Demetrious Johnson vs Joseph BenavidezSep 2012
26.1 AGE
17
Jens Pulver
Jens Pulver vs Caol UnoFeb 2001
26.2 AGE
18
Dominick Cruz
Dominick Cruz vs Urijah FaberJul 2011
26.3 AGE
19
Robert Whittaker
Robert Whittaker vs Yoel RomeroJul 2017
26.5 AGE
20
Anthony Pettis
Anthony Pettis vs Benson HendersonAug 2013
26.6 AGE
21
Vitor Belfort
Vitor Belfort vs Randy CoutureJan 2004
26.8 AGE
22
Tim Sylvia
Tim Sylvia vs Ricco RodriguezFeb 2003
27.0 AGE
23
Ilia Topuria
Ilia Topuria vs Alexander VolkanovskiFeb 2024
27.1 AGE
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24
Dave Menne vs Gil CastilloSep 2001
27.2 AGE
25
Petr Yan
Petr Yan vs Jose AldoJul 2020
27.4 AGE
26
Conor McGregor
Conor McGregor vs Jose AldoDec 2015
27.4 AGE
27
Brandon Moreno
Brandon Moreno vs Deiveson FigueiredoJun 2021
27.5 AGE
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28
Junior Dos Santos
Junior Dos Santos vs Cain VelasquezNov 2011
27.8 AGE
29
Matt Hughes
Matt Hughes vs Carlos NewtonNov 2001
28.1 AGE
30
Cain Velasquez
Cain Velasquez vs Brock LesnarOct 2010
28.2 AGE

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2026 Stats

About Youngest UFC Champions in History

How old each undisputed UFC champion was on the night of their first title-fight win

Undisputed UFC champions ranked by how young they were on the night of their first title-fight win. The age is measured from the fighter's date of birth to the date of that first title win, so a champion who lost and later regained a belt is ranked on the first time they won a title fight. A champion promoted from an interim belt with no unification fight - Robert Whittaker, Tom Aspinall - is ranked on the night they won that interim belt, since that is the fight that made them champion.

Only undisputed titles count - other interim belts and BMF titles do not - and the row under each name says who they beat and when. For the other end of the scale see the oldest UFC champions, and for the whole championship picture the most title wins.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is the youngest UFC champion ever?
Jon Jones. He was 23 years and about eight months old when he stopped Mauricio Rua for the light heavyweight title at UFC 128 in March 2011, and nobody has won an undisputed UFC belt younger since.
Do interim titles count?
Only when the interim champion was promoted to undisputed champion with no unification fight (Aldo, Barao, Whittaker, Aspinall, Arlovski): that interim win is the fight that made them champion. Any other interim belt, and the BMF title, is not a championship win - the same rule as every title board on MMA.SOCIAL.
How is the age worked out?
From the fighter's recorded date of birth to the date of their first undisputed UFC title-fight win, in years to one decimal place. For a champion who was handed the belt without a fight - Jose Aldo and Ronda Rousey both arrived in the UFC as champions - that first title-fight win was a defence. Fighters without a recorded date of birth cannot be ranked.

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Youngest UFC Champions in History - top 10 (MMA.SOCIAL): 1. Jon Jones (23.7), 2. Joshua Van (24.2), 3. Josh Barnett (24.4), 4. Jose Aldo (24.6), 5. Carlos Newton (24.7), 6. Frank Shamrock (25.0), 7. BJ Penn (25.1), 8. Ricco Rodriguez (25.1), 9. Frank Mir (25.1), 10. Tito Ortiz (25.2)
Youngest UFC Champions in History - top 10, updated Oct 30, 2026.
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Youngest UFC Champions in History: top 10

The top 10 as one image. Free to share, updated after every UFC card.