On February 13, Kamaru Usman defends his welterweight title for the third time against Gilbert Burns in the main event of UFC 258. Usman is the latest in the line of champions to rule over perhaps the toughest division in the UFC. And as you can see below, it’s a lineage that includes five UFC Hall of Famers.
1. Pat Miletich (1998-2001)
2. Carlos Newton (2001)
3. Matt Hughes (2001-2004)
4. BJ Penn (2004)
5. Matt Hughes (2004-2006)
In 2004, Hughes regained the UFC welterweight title by defeating Georges St-Pierre at UFC 50 on October 22, 2004 to win the title vacated by BJ Penn. Hughes defends the title against Frank Trigg and BJ Penn, and defeats Royce Gracie in a non-title bout.
6. Georges St-Pierre (2006-2007)
St-Pierre defeats Hughes by TKO on November 18, 2006 to win the UFC welterweight title.
7. Matt Serra (2007-2013)
8. Georges St-Pierre (2007-2013)
St-Pierre wins interim title with win over Hughes at UFC 79 on December 29, 2007. He then regains the undisputed title by stopping Serra in the second round at UFC 83 on April 19, 2008. GSP successfully defended his title against Jon Fitch, BJ Penn, Thiago Alves, Dan Hardy, Josh Koscheck, Jake Shields, Carlos Condit, Nick Diaz and Johny Hendricks. Vacated title on December 13, 2013.
Watch GSP Defeat Hughes On UFC Fight Pass
Watch GSP Get Revenge Against Serra To Reclaim The Undisputed Title