List of World Extreme Cagefighting champions
Former Bantamweight Champion Dominick Cruz with the WEC belt. This is a list of World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) champions at each weight class.
In December 2006 World Extreme Cagefighting was bought by Zuffa, LLC , the parent company of the UFC , to concentrate on the four smaller weight classes under the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts . Over the next two years, the WEC would phase out weight classes above 155 lbs, with most of the fighters going to the UFC. By the time of the WEC's absorption into the UFC at the end of 2010, the only remaining weight divisions were Lightweight , Featherweight and Bantamweight .
World Title histories
Super Heavyweight Championship
Weight limit: Unlimited
No.
Name
Event
Date
Defenses
1
Ron Waterman def. James Nevarez
WEC 7 Lemoore, CA, USA August 9, 2003
1. def. Ricco Rodriguez at WEC 16 on August 18, 2005 in Lemoore, CA, USA
The WEC Super Heavyweight division was abolished in December 2006 when Zuffa purchased the organization.
Heavyweight Championship
Weight limit: 250 lb (113.4 kg)
No.
Name
Event
Date
Defenses
1
Mike Kyle def. Jude Hargett WEC 9 Lemoore, CA, USA January 16, 2004
Title vacated.
2
def. Rafael del Real WEC 10 Lemoore, CA, USA May 21, 2004
Title vacated.
3
James Irvin def. Houssain Oushani WEC 12 Lemoore, CA, USA October 21, 2004
1. def. Doug Marshall at WEC 15 on May 19, 2005 in Lemoore, CA, USA
Irvin vacated the title to fight in the Light Heavyweight division.
4
Brian Olsen def. Lavar Johnson
WEC 18 Lemoore, CA, USA
January 13, 2006
1. def. Mike Kyle at WEC 20 on May 5, 2006 in Lemoore, CA, USA
The WEC Heavyweight division was abolished in December 2006 when Zuffa purchased the organization.
Light Heavyweight Championship
Weight limit: 200 lb (90.7 kg)
No.
Name
Event
Date
Defenses
1
Frank Shamrock def. Bryan Pardoe
WEC 6 Lemoore, CA, USA
March 27, 2003
Shamrock vacated in August 2003 to fight for Strikeforce .
2
def. Abraham Baxter
WEC 11 Lemoore, CA, USA
August 20, 2004
3
Jason Lambert
WEC 13 Lemoore, CA, USA
January 22, 2005
Lambert vacated in October 2005 to fight for the UFC .
4
Scott Smith def. Tait Fletcher
WEC 17 Lemoore, CA, USA
October 14, 2005
1. def. Justin Levens at WEC 18 on January 13, 2006 in Lemoore, CA, USA
Smith vacated in May 2006 to participate in The Ultimate Fighter .
5
Lodune Sincaid def. Dan Molina
WEC 20 Lemoore, CA, USA
May 5, 2006
6
Doug Marshall
WEC 23 Lemoore, CA, USA
August 17, 2006
1. def. Justin McElfresh at WEC 27 on May 12, 2007 in Las Vegas, NV, USA2. def. Ariel Gandulla at WEC 31 on December 12, 2007 in Las Vegas, NV, USA
7
Brian Stann
WEC 33 Las Vegas, NV, USA
March 26, 2008
8
Steve Cantwell
WEC 35 Las Vegas, NV, USA August 3, 2008
The WEC Light Heavyweight division was absorbed into the UFC on December 3, 2008 so the WEC could further concentrate on lighter weight classes.
Middleweight Championship
Weight limit: 185 lb (83.9 kg)
No.
Name
Event
Date
Defenses
1
Chris Leben def. Mike Swick
WEC 9 Lemoore, CA, USA
January 16, 2004
Leben vacated to participate The Ultimate Fighter.
2
Joe Riggs def. Rob Kimmons
WEC 15 Lemoore, CA, USA
May 19, 2005
The WEC Middleweight title was vacated in December 2006 when Zuffa purchased the organization.
3
Paulo Filho def. Joe Doerksen
WEC 29 Las Vegas, NV, USA August 5, 2007
1. def. Chael Sonnen at WEC 31 on December 12, 2007 in Las Vegas, NV, USA
The WEC Middleweight division was absorbed into the UFC on December 3, 2008, so the WEC could further concentrate on lighter weight classes.
Welterweight Championship
Weight limit: 170 lb (77.1 kg)
No.
Name
Event
Date
Defenses
1
Nick Diaz def. Joe Hurley
WEC 6 Lemoore, CA, USA
March 27, 2003
Diaz vacated the title to focus on fight for the UFC.
2
Shonie Carter def. J.T. Taylor
WEC 8 Lemoore, CA, USA
October 17, 2003
3
Karo Parisyan
WEC 10 Lemoore, CA, USA
May 21, 2004
Parisyan vacated the title to focus on fighting for the UFC.
4
Mike Pyle def. Bret Bergmark
WEC 17 Lemoore, CA, USA
October 14, 2005
1. def. Shonie Carter at WEC 18 on Jan 13, 2006 in Lemoore, CA, USA
The WEC Welterweight title was vacated in December 2006 when Zuffa purchased the organization.
5
Carlos Condit def. John Alessio
WEC 26 Las Vegas, NV, USA
March 24, 2007
1. def. Brock Larson at WEC 29 on Aug 5, 2007 in Las Vegas, NV, USA2. def. Carlo Prater at WEC 32 on Feb 13, 2008 in Albuquerque, NM, USA3. def. Hiromitsu Miura at WEC 35 on Aug 3, 2008 in Las Vegas, NV, USA
The WEC Welterweight division was absorbed into the UFC on February 3, 2009, so the WEC could further concentrate on lighter weight classes.
Lightweight Championship
Weight limit: 155 lb (70.3 kg)
No.
Name
Event
Date
Defenses
1
Kurt Pellegrino def. Mac Danzig
WEC 4 Uncasville, CT, USA
Aug 31, 2002
Pellegrino vacated the title to focus on fighting in other events.
2
Gilbert Melendez def. Olaf Alfonso
WEC 10 Lemoore, CA, USA
May 21, 2004
Melendez vacated the title to focus on fighting in other events.
3
Gabe Ruediger def. Olaf Alfonso
WEC 12 Lemoore, CA, USA
October 21, 2004
1. def. Jason Maxwell at WEC 14 on Mar 17, 2005 in Lemoore, CA, USA2. def. Sam Wells at WEC 17 on Oct 14, 2005 in Lemoore, CA, USA
4
Hermes França
WEC 19 Lemoore, CA, USA
March 17, 2006
1. def. Brandon Olsen at WEC 21 on Jun 15, 2006 in Highland, CA, USA2. def. Nate Diaz at WEC 24 on Oct 12, 2006 in Lemoore, CA, USA
The WEC Lightweight title was vacated in December 2006 when Zuffa purchased the organization and brought França over to the UFC.
5
Rob McCullough def. Kit Cope
WEC 25 Las Vegas, NV, USA
January 20, 2007
1. def. Richard Crunkilton at WEC 30 on Sep 5, 2007 in Las Vegas, NV, USA
6
Jamie Varner
WEC 32 Albuquerque, NM, USA
February 13, 2008
1. def. Marcus Hicks at WEC 35 on Aug 3, 2008 in Las Vegas, NV, USA2. def. Donald Cerrone at WEC 38 on Jan 25, 2009 in San Diego, CA, USA
-
Benson Henderson def. Donald Cerrone for interim title
WEC 43 San Antonio, TX, USA
October 10, 2009
7
Benson Henderson WEC 46 Sacramento, CA, USA
January 10, 2010
1. def. Donald Cerrone at WEC 48 in April 2010, in Sacramento, CA, USA
8
Anthony Pettis WEC 53 Glendale, AZ, USA
December 16, 2010
The WEC Lightweight division was absorbed into the UFC on December 16, 2010, as part of the UFC-WEC merger.
Featherweight Championship
Weight limit: 145 lb (65.8 kg)
No.
Name
Event
Date
Defenses
1
Cole Escovedo def. Philip Perez
WEC 5 Lemoore, CA, USA
October 18, 2002
1. def. Anthony Hamlett at WEC 8 on Oct 17, 2003 in Lemoore, CA, USA
2
Urijah Faber
WEC 19 Lemoore, CA, USA
March 17, 2006
1. def. Joe Pearson at WEC 25 on Jan 20, 2007 in Las Vegas, NV, USA2. def. Dominick Cruz at WEC 26 on Mar 24, 2007 in Las Vegas, NV, USA3. def. Chance Farrar at WEC 28 on Jun 3, 2007 in Las Vegas, NV, USA4. def. Jeff Curran at WEC 31 on Dec 12, 2007 in Las Vegas, NV, USA5. def. Jens Pulver at WEC 34 on Jun 1, 2008 in Sacramento, CA, USA
3
Mike Brown
WEC 36 Hollywood, FL, USA
November 5, 2008
1. def. Leonard Garcia at WEC 39 on Mar 1, 2009 in Corpus Christi, TX, USA2. def. Urijah Faber at WEC 41 on Jun 7, 2009 in Sacramento, CA, USA
4
José Aldo
WEC 44 Las Vegas, NV, USA
November 18, 2009
1. def. Urijah Faber at WEC 48 on April 24, 2010 in Sacramento, CA, USA2. def. Manny Gamburyan at WEC 51 on Sep 30, 2010 in Broomfield, CO, USA
The WEC Featherweight division was absorbed into the UFC on September 30, 2010, as part of the UFC-WEC merger. José Aldo was awarded the inaugural UFC Featherweight Championship on November 20, 2010.[ 1]
Bantamweight Championship
Weight limit: 135 lb (61.2 kg)
No.
Name
Event
Date
Defenses
1
Eddie Wineland def. Antonio Banuelos
WEC 20 Lemoore, CA, USA
May 5, 2006
2
Chase Beebe
WEC 26 Las Vegas, NV, USA
March 24, 2007
1. def. Rani Yahya at WEC 30 on Sep 5, 2007 in Las Vegas, NV, USA
3
Miguel Torres
WEC 32 Albuquerque, NM, USA
February 13, 2008
1. def. Yoshiro Maeda at WEC 34 on Jun 1, 2008 in Sacramento, CA, USA2. def. Manny Tapia at WEC 37 on Dec 3, 2008 in Las Vegas, NV, USA3. def. Takeya Mizugaki at WEC 40 on April 5, 2009 in Chicago, IL, USA
4
Brian Bowles
WEC 42 Las Vegas, NV, USA
August 9, 2009
5
Dominick Cruz
WEC 47 Columbus, OH, USA
March 6, 2010
1. def. Joseph Benavidez at WEC 50 on Aug 18, 2010 in Las Vegas, NV, USA2. def. Scott Jorgensen at WEC 53 on Dec 16, 2010 in Glendale, AZ, USA
The WEC Bantamweight division was absorbed into the UFC on December 16, 2010, as part of the UFC-WEC merger. Dominick Cruz won the inaugural UFC Bantamweight Championship when he defeated Scott Jorgensen at WEC 53 .[ 2]
North American Title histories
North American Heavyweight Championship
Weight limit: 265 lb (120.2 kg)
No.
Name
Event
Date
Defenses
1
Doug Marshall def. Anthony Arria
WEC 10 Lemoore, CA, USA May 21, 2004
1. def. Carlos Garcia at WEC 12 on October 21, 2004 in Lemoore, CA, USA
North American Middleweight Championship
Weight limit: 185 lb (83.9 kg)
No.
Name
Event
Date
Defenses
1
Mark Weir def. Will Bradford
WEC 12 Lemoore, CA, USA October 21, 2004
2
Alex Serdyukov WEC 14 Lemoore, CA, USA March 17, 2005
1. def. Victor Parfenov at WEC 16 on August 18, 2005 in Lemoore, CA, USA
North American Lightweight Championship
Weight limit: 155 lb (70.3 kg)
Native American Title histories
Native American Super Heavyweight Championship
Weight limit: Unlimited
No.
Name
Event
Date
Defenses
1
def. Andre Roberts
WEC 13 Lemoore, CA, USA January 22, 2005
Native American Lightweight Championship
Weight limit: 155 lb (70.3 kg)
No.
Name
Event
Date
Defenses
1
Cole Escovedo def. Poppies Martinez
WEC 15 Lemoore, CA, USA May 19, 2005
Tournament winners
Records
Most wins in title bouts
Most consecutive title defenses
Defenses
Champion
Division
Period
5
Urijah Faber
Featherweight
March 17, 2006 – November 5, 2008
3
Carlos Condit
Welterweight
March 24, 2007 – December 3, 2008
Miguel Torres
Bantamweight
February 13, 2008 – August 9, 2009
2
Gabe Ruediger
Lightweight
October 21, 2004 – March 17, 2006
Hermes França
Lightweight
March 17, 2006 – December 2006
Doug Marshall
Light Heavyweight
August 17, 2006 – March 26, 2008
Jamie Varner
Lightweight
February 13, 2008 – January 10, 2010
Mike Brown
Featherweight
November 5, 2008 – August 9, 2009
José Aldo
Featherweight
November 18, 2009 – September 30, 2010
Dominick Cruz
Bantamweight
March 6, 2010 – December 16, 2010
Champions by nationality
The division champions includes only linear champions. Interim champions who have never become linear champions will be listed as interim champions. Fighters with multiple title reigns in a specific division will also be counted once. Runners-up are not included in tournaments champions.
See also
References
External links
Current champions for active organizations Legacy champions for defunct organizations Miscellaneous
