Complete History of the first Lineal Heavyweight Championship

[acannxr]

In combat sports where champions are decided by a challenge, the lineal championship of a weight class is a world championship title held initially by an undisputed champion and subsequently by a fighter who defeats the reigning champion in a match at that weight class. In professional boxing, the lineal champion is informally called "the man who beat the man".[1][2]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lineal_championship

No one organization has control over lineal titles, they can't be stripped from a champion, they must be won and lost in a fight at the corresponding weight class (i.e. the lineal heavyweight champion can't lose the lineal heavyweight title in a light heavyweight bout).

For the purposes of this thread, the birth of the UFC Heavyweight Champion will be considered the starting point of the first lineal title, as Pride and Pancrase didn't have a Heavyweight title until November and December of 2001, respectively.

1st Lineal Heavyweight Champion:

Mark Coleman

Coleman defeated Severn on Feb 1997.

2nd Lineal Heavyweight Champion:

Maurice Smith

Smith defeated Coleman on Jul 1997.

3rd Lineal Heavyweight Champion:

Randy Couture

Couture defeated Smith on Dec 1997.

4th Lineal Heavyweight Champion:

Enson Inoue

Inoue defeated Couture on Oct 1998.

5th Lineal Heavyweight Champion:

Igor Vovchanchyn
​

Vovchanchyn defeated Inoue on Aug 2000 (Inoue's previous loss to Kerr was at Openweight).

6th Lineal Heavyweight Champion:

Tra Telligman

Telligman defeated Vovchanchyn on Mar 2001.

7th Lineal Heavyweight Champion:

Pedro Rizzo

Rizzo defeated Telligman on Jun 2003.

8th Lineal Heavyweight Champion:

Sergei Kharitonov

Kharitonov defeated Rizzo on Jun 2005.

9th Lineal Heavyweight Champion:

Alistair Overeem

Overeem defeated Kharitonov on Feb 2006.

10th Lineal Heavyweight Champion:

Sergei Kharitonov

Kharitonov defeated Overeem on Sep 2007 (Overeem's previous loss to Werdum was at Openweight).

11th Lineal Heavyweight Champion:

Jeff Monson

Monson defeated Kharitonov on Apr 2009.

12th Lineal Heavyweight Champion:

Pedro Rizzo

Rizzo defeated Monson on Sep 2009.

13th Lineal Heavyweight Champion:

Fedor Emelianenko

Emelianenko defeated Rizzo on Jun 2012 and with his retirement that same year brought an end to the first lineal heavyweight championship.

 

[xnhojx]

Is that really the COMPLETE history tho ?

 

[Fatback96]

But Fedor came back... why did you stop it there??

If this is the Lineal title, it doesn’t just go away when you retire, it keeps going until that person loses.

 

[acannxr]

Is that really the COMPLETE history tho ?

It's the complete history of the first lineal heavyweight championship, not the current one.

But Fedor came back... why did you stop it there??

If this is the Lineal title, it doesn’t just go away when you retire, it keeps going until that person loses.

Feel free to explain who is the current lineal heavyweight boxing champion then, because Lewis retired without losing it .

 

[Chomsky Honk]

Openweight, heavyweight, and super heavyweight should all be considered the same weightclass in everyone's headcannon. but it is what it is I guess

Ken
Royce
Saku
Igor
Coleman
Nog
Fedor
Werdum
Overeem
Bigfoot
Cain
Werdum
Stipe
DC
Stipe

Royce retired for awhile after that horrible performance in the draw against Ken. If that ruins the lineage for you:

Ken
Royce
(Suzuki, Dan Severn, or Mark Coleman)
(Bas Rutten or Maurice Smith)
Couture
Inoue
Kerr
Fujita
Coleman
Nog
and so on...

 

[this is my new account]

The next lineal HW WORLD CHAMPION is Matt mitrione. Lol. Now i see why you stopped

 

[this is my new account]

Bader is the new GOAT HW LINEAL CHAMP?

 

[Deleted member 545701]

It's the complete history of the first lineal heavyweight championship, not the current one.


Feel free to explain who is the current lineal heavyweight boxing champion then, because Lewis retired without losing it .

You realize Lewis isn't the first Lineal heavyweight champion to retire, right? The lineage restores when a dominant figure emerges & it's usually the Ring Magazine Heavyweight Champion. This is a list of lineal champions who stayed retired and never came back.

Gene Tunney (1926–1928; retired) - Stayed retired

Rocky Marciano (1952–1956; retired). - Stayed retired

Lennox Lewis (2001–2004; retired). - Stayed retired

https://www.worldboxingnews.net/2020/11/22/lineal-heavyweight-championship-history/

wladimir klitschko emerged as the Lineal champion when he won the RIng Maganzine Belt in 2009. So he went from 2009-2015, when Fury beat him.

Fury remains the current lineal champion. Lennox is no longer the Lineal champion. He retired, broke the lineage, and then Wlad restored it. It's happened several times before.

And that's not specifically for you @acannxr its for the guy you quoted as well

 

[acannxr]

And that's not specifically for you @acannxr its for the guy you quoted as well

I figured as much; good post.

 

[acannxr]

The next lineal HW WORLD CHAMPION is Matt mitrione. Lol. Now i see why you stopped

The next lineage begins with Velasquez defeating JDS in their second fight, and that lineage is too self-evident for me to make a thread about it.

 

[TJH Exitium]

UFC HW Championship started with Coleman, and if you don't take openweight matches into consideration then technically this makes sense - although it didn't end at Fedor since he didn't stay retired...
This is a good way to view the lineage if you want to apply a rule that all contests had to be fought at heavyweight, dismissing any losses in Openweight tournaments:
Coleman, Smith, Couture, Inoue, Vovchanchyn, Telligman, Rizzo, Kharitonov, Overeem, Kharitonov, Monson, Rizzo, Fedor, *Mitrione, *Bader, *Nemkov.

However, I think the Openweight matches should be included, on the grounds that openweight tournaments allowed fighters from all weights, and in any matches to be considered in this argument, the fighters weighed within heavyweight limits. Also I have a hard time accepting a list that included Mitrione holding the lineal title. I prefer to look at it this way:

Coleman, Smith, Couture, Inoue, Kerr, Fujita, Coleman, Noqueira, Fedor, Werdum, Overeem, Bigfoot, Velesquez, Werdum, Miocic, Cormier, Miocic.

 

[RawDawgBob]

Ken Shammy and Don Frye were the best.

 

[kflo]

UFC HW Championship started with Coleman, and if you don't take openweight matches into consideration then technically this makes sense - although it didn't end at Fedor since he didn't stay retired...
This is a good way to view the lineage if you want to apply a rule that all contests had to be fought at heavyweight, dismissing any losses in Openweight tournaments:
Coleman, Smith, Couture, Inoue, Vovchanchyn, Telligman, Rizzo, Kharitonov, Overeem, Kharitonov, Monson, Rizzo, Fedor, *Mitrione, *Bader, *Nemkov.

However, I think the Openweight matches should be included, on the grounds that openweight tournaments allowed fighters from all weights, and in any matches to be considered in this argument, the fighters weighed within heavyweight limits. Also I have a hard time accepting a list that included Mitrione holding the lineal title. I prefer to look at it this way:

Coleman, Smith, Couture, Inoue, Kerr, Fujita, Coleman, Noqueira, Fedor, Werdum, Overeem, Bigfoot, Velesquez, Werdum, Miocic, Cormier, Miocic.

Mitrione would beat some of the names on the list, in my opinion.

Lineal champions like this aren’t that meaningful when the participants themselves don’t even know they have a title......

Coleman for example wins the lineal title because Fujita retires at the start of the fight......

 

[TJH Exitium]

Mitrione would beat some of the names on the list, in my opinion.

Lineal champions like this aren’t that meaningful when the participants themselves don’t even know they have a title......

Coleman for example wins the lineal title because Fujita retires at the start of the fight......

Yeh, well the Mitrione thing was a joke.

But really the whole thing is kind of a joke, isn't it? It's just a playful way of looking at fight stats to legitimize the belt, or in some cases just to stir up conversation and debate.

 

[kflo]

Yeh, well the Mitrione thing was a joke.

But really the whole thing is kind of a joke, isn't it? It's just a playful way of looking at fight stats to legitimize the belt, or in some cases just to stir up conversation and debate.

Yeah, I don’t want to derail. It’s cool trivia. Nothing more.....and I know he puts time in to compiling and it’s cool to discuss.

 

[Grill master]

In combat sports where champions are decided by a challenge, the lineal championship of a weight class is a world championship title held initially by an undisputed champion and subsequently by a fighter who defeats the reigning champion in a match at that weight class. In professional boxing, the lineal champion is informally called "the man who beat the man".[1][2]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lineal_championship

No one organization has control over lineal titles, they can't be stripped from a champion, they must be won and lost in a fight at the corresponding weight class (i.e. the lineal heavyweight champion can't lose the lineal heavyweight title in a light heavyweight bout).

For the purposes of this thread, the birth of the UFC Heavyweight Champion will be considered the starting point of the first lineal title, as Pride and Pancrase didn't have a Heavyweight title until November and December of 2001, respectively.

1st Lineal Heavyweight Champion:

Mark Coleman

Coleman defeated Severn on Feb 1997.

2nd Lineal Heavyweight Champion:

Maurice Smith

Smith defeated Coleman on Jul 1997.

3rd Lineal Heavyweight Champion:

Randy Couture

Couture defeated Smith on Dec 1997.

4th Lineal Heavyweight Champion:

Enson Inoue

Inoue defeated Couture on Oct 1998.

5th Lineal Heavyweight Champion:

Igor Vovchanchyn
​

Vovchanchyn defeated Inoue on Aug 2000 (Inoue's previous loss to Kerr was at Openweight).

6th Lineal Heavyweight Champion:

Tra Telligman

Telligman defeated Vovchanchyn on Mar 2001.

7th Lineal Heavyweight Champion:

Pedro Rizzo

Rizzo defeated Telligman on Jun 2003.

8th Lineal Heavyweight Champion:

Sergei Kharitonov

Kharitonov defeated Rizzo on Jun 2005.

9th Lineal Heavyweight Champion:

Alistair Overeem

Overeem defeated Kharitonov on Feb 2006.

10th Lineal Heavyweight Champion:

Sergei Kharitonov

Kharitonov defeated Overeem on Sep 2007 (Overeem's previous loss to Werdum was at Openweight).

11th Lineal Heavyweight Champion:

Jeff Monson

Monson defeated Kharitonov on Apr 2009.

12th Lineal Heavyweight Champion:

Pedro Rizzo

Rizzo defeated Monson on Sep 2009.

13th Lineal Heavyweight Champion:

Fedor Emelianenko

Emelianenko defeated Rizzo on Jun 2012 and with his retirement that same year brought an end to the first lineal heavyweight championship.

Good thread and a fun read back through some of those older fights.

 

[Ancient Warrior]

It’s a fun way to look back at the UFC championship and I don’t mean to be a smart ass, but I don’t think it’s really applicable.

The problem is the UFC is not any more of a lineal championship than boxing’s IBF, WBC, WBA and WBO.

Boxing’s first champs were universally recognized as lineal because they were first recognized by the public and then declared later on by the NYSAC.

 

[TheMaster]

In combat sports where champions are decided by a challenge, the lineal championship of a weight class is a world championship title held initially by an undisputed champion and subsequently by a fighter who defeats the reigning champion in a match at that weight class. In professional boxing, the lineal champion is informally called "the man who beat the man".[1][2]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lineal_championship

No one organization has control over lineal titles, they can't be stripped from a champion, they must be won and lost in a fight at the corresponding weight class (i.e. the lineal heavyweight champion can't lose the lineal heavyweight title in a light heavyweight bout).

For the purposes of this thread, the birth of the UFC Heavyweight Champion will be considered the starting point of the first lineal title, as Pride and Pancrase didn't have a Heavyweight title until November and December of 2001, respectively.

1st Lineal Heavyweight Champion:

Mark Coleman

Coleman defeated Severn on Feb 1997.

2nd Lineal Heavyweight Champion:

Maurice Smith

Smith defeated Coleman on Jul 1997.

3rd Lineal Heavyweight Champion:

Randy Couture

Couture defeated Smith on Dec 1997.

4th Lineal Heavyweight Champion:

Enson Inoue

Inoue defeated Couture on Oct 1998.

5th Lineal Heavyweight Champion:

Igor Vovchanchyn
​

Vovchanchyn defeated Inoue on Aug 2000 (Inoue's previous loss to Kerr was at Openweight).

6th Lineal Heavyweight Champion:

Tra Telligman

Telligman defeated Vovchanchyn on Mar 2001.

7th Lineal Heavyweight Champion:

Pedro Rizzo

Rizzo defeated Telligman on Jun 2003.

8th Lineal Heavyweight Champion:

Sergei Kharitonov

Kharitonov defeated Rizzo on Jun 2005.

9th Lineal Heavyweight Champion:

Alistair Overeem

Overeem defeated Kharitonov on Feb 2006.

10th Lineal Heavyweight Champion:

Sergei Kharitonov

Kharitonov defeated Overeem on Sep 2007 (Overeem's previous loss to Werdum was at Openweight).

11th Lineal Heavyweight Champion:

Jeff Monson

Monson defeated Kharitonov on Apr 2009.

12th Lineal Heavyweight Champion:

Pedro Rizzo

Rizzo defeated Monson on Sep 2009.

13th Lineal Heavyweight Champion:

Fedor Emelianenko

Emelianenko defeated Rizzo on Jun 2012 and with his retirement that same year brought an end to the first lineal heavyweight championship.

I agree with the premise and have discussed and even told Enson on a thread here once that he was the former lineal UFC champ which he said was awesome.

But it goes to Kerr after since Openweight is equivalent to HW in mma.

So 5th lineal champ is Mark Kerr


After that it goes to Kazayuki Fujita as 6th


Then Mark Coleman again 7th

And then Antonio Rodrigo Nogueria as 8th

which coincides with the inaugural Pride HW championship so that is interesting.

 

[Bobby Boulders]

@gono btw

 

[acannxr]

But it goes to Kerr after since Openweight is equivalent to HW in mma.

Except it's not; Heavyweight has a minimum and maximum weight limit, while Openweight does not, they're two different divisions.