UFC Champions and the average number of title defenses per year

[MMAart]

Here, All male divisions for the past 4 years. Take your own conclusions!
Note: I don't count Interim because it is not the real title. If/when they unify, I did count.

HW Belt
Stipe & DC
0 fights in 2020
1 fight in 2019 (Stipe & DC)
2 fight in 2018 (Stipe & DC)
1 fight in 2017 (Junior)

4 fights in 4 years
===================================
LHW Belt
Jon Jones
1 fight 2020 (Reyes)
2 fights 2019 (Smith, Santos)
1 fight 2018 (DC)
DC
1 fight 2017

5 fights in 4 years
===================================
MW belt:

Israel Adesanya -
1 fight 2020 (Yoel)
Robert Whittaker -
1 fight 2019 (Adesanya)
1 fight 2018 (Yoel)
1 fight 2017 (Yoel)

4 fights in 4 years
===================================
WW Belt

Usman
0 fights in 2020
2 fights in 2019 (Colby, Woodlwy)
1 fight 2018 (Til)
2 fights in 2017 (Maia, Thompson)

5 fights in 4 years
===================================
LW Belt
Khabib
0 fights in 2020
1 fight in 2019 (Dustin)
2 fights in 2018 (Conor, Iaquinta)
0 fights in 2017

3 fights in 4 years
===================================
FW Belt

Volkanovski
0 fights in 2020

Max:
2 fight in 2019 (Volkanovski, Frankie)
1 fight in 2018 (Ortega)
2 fights in 2017 (Aldo*2)

5 fights in 4 years
===================================
BW Belt
1 fight in 2020 (cruz)
0 fights in 2019 (Cejudo Marlon)
1 fight in 2018 (Cody)
1 fight in 2017 (Cody)

3 fights in 4 years
===================================
FLW Belt
0 fight in 2020
1 fights in 2019 (TJ)
1 fight in 2018 (DJ & Cejudo)
2 fight in 2017 (Borg, Reis)

4 fights in 4 years


Total
3 belts defended 5 times in 4 years
3 belts defended 4 fights in 4 years
2 belts defended 3 fights in 4 years

So the best, most active divisions fought 5 times in 4 years....
Please tell me again how active they are!!!!

 

[warriorfan808]

And DJ wasnt appreciated

 

[MMAart]

Ufc Champs just don't have the same strength of schedule as the goat Fedor had.

@2004 account

In terms of title defenses per year, here were Fedor's PRIDE title defenses:

(1) Defended title vs. Nogueira on August 15, 2004 -- NC
(2) Defended title vs. Nogueira on December 31, 2004
(3) Defended title vs. Crocop on August 28, 2005
(4) Defended title vs. Hunt on December 31, 2006
-----------------------------------
4 defenses in 3 years ==> 1.3 defenses / year

I didn't count the non-title fights in between his defenses.

Overall, Fedor's title defense / year was decent but it wasn't something that haven't been done by the champs in the UFC.

 

[cmw43]

These numbers are BS.

Jones last 3 defences were in an 11 month window.

 

[Me&MrJones]

Dominick "Deskboii" Cruz probably has the record.

 

[cmw43]

@2004 account

In terms of title defenses per year, here were Fedor's PRIDE title defenses:

(1) Defended title vs. Nogueira on August 15, 2004 -- NC
(2) Defended title vs. Nogueira on December 31, 2004
(3) Defended title vs. Crocop on August 28, 2005
(4) Defended title vs. Hunt on December 31, 2006
-----------------------------------
4 defenses in 3 years ==> 1.3 defenses / year

I didn't count the non-title fights in between his defenses.

Overall, Fedor's title defense / year was decent but it wasn't something that haven't been done by the champs in the UFC.

The UFC Champs werent taking non title fights inbetween. How busy Fedor was makes it impressive.

From winning the belt in 2003 to his final defence in 2006 he had 14 fights.

3.5 fights a year is pretty active for a belt holder however you want to spin it. It would take Stipe 14 years to get another 14 fights in.

 

[MMAart]

These numbers are BS.

Jones last 3 defences were in an 11 month window.

-- 11 defenses total for 7 years or 1.6 defenses / year:

UFC 135 on Sep 24, 2011
UFC 140 on Dec 10, 2011
UFC 145 on Apr 21, 2012
UFC 152 on Sep 22, 2012
UFC 159 on Apr 27, 2013
UFC 165 on Sep 21, 2013
UFC 172 on Apr 26, 2014
UFC 182 on Jan 3, 2015

UFC 235 on Mar 2, 2019
UFC 239 on Jul 6, 2019
UFC 247 on Feb 8, 2020
​

If going by the days / months formula, Jones' title defenses / year is:

The UFC Champs werent taking non title fights inbetween. How busy Fedor was makes it impressive.

From winning the belt in 2003 to his final defence in 2006 he had 14 fights.

3.5 fights a year is pretty active for a belt holder however you want to spin it. It would take Stipe 14 years to get another 14 fights in.

Fedor's busy schedule was impressive. I'm not disputing that. What I mentioned was title defenses per year.

 

[2004 account]

@2004 account

In terms of title defenses per year, here were Fedor's PRIDE title defenses:

(1) Defended title vs. Nogueira on August 15, 2004 -- NC
(2) Defended title vs. Nogueira on December 31, 2004
(3) Defended title vs. Crocop on August 28, 2005
(4) Defended title vs. Hunt on December 31, 2006
-----------------------------------
4 defenses in 3 years ==> 1.3 defenses / year

I didn't count the non-title fights in between his defenses.

Overall, Fedor's title defense / year was decent but it wasn't something that haven't been done by the champs in the UFC.

That's semantics, I care about how many times he actually fought, up to 5 fights a year. What ufc champ has done such a feat?

 

[Sticko]

If you are Cormier and you tell Dana / The UFC / the fans:

"I fight more often than 1 time a year. I fight 1 time every 287 days!"
​

It would not make any much of a difference to them, because you basically fight 1 time per calendar year. No one is going to sit down, calculate, and know that there is a 78 day difference .

Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not bashing Cormier. What I'm basically saying is that if a fighter defends the belt 1 time per calendar year, to the public, it doesn't matter if it took 287 days or 365 days.

78 days is the difference between 9.5 months and a whole year.

Stipe won his belt back August 17, 2019, almost exactly 9 months ago.

UFC 250 is scheduled for June 6, about half a month from now, and is currently headlined by Amanda Nunes vs. somebody named Felicia Spencer. If Stipe were fighting Cormier on June 6 nobody would be complaining about him holding up the division.

People are complaining because it's been 9 months and nobody knows when or if Miocic-Cormier III will ever be booked.