UFC Champions by age - LHW

[kellier]

Sounds about right for average age 31. Still in physical prime (just about) but seasoned enough to have rounded skillset and fight IQ

 

[kellier]

Shocked Liddell was only champ for 2 yrs. Seemed like a lot longer reign at the time

 

[Fioretti]

Shocked Liddell was only champ for 2 yrs. Seemed like a lot longer reign at the time

3 fights per year used to be pretty standard. Compared to the fight frequency of champions today, it's no wonder it seemed longer. Champs today need 3-4 years or more to get 6 fights in.

 

[Fioretti]

Updated to add Hill

• Average age when they won went from 33.47 to 33.44
• Average age when they lost/etc went from 33.13 to 33

 

[HHJ]

Chuck prob would have won it sooner if MMA paid more at the time.

 

[Fioretti]

Chuck prob would have won it sooner if MMA paid more at the time.

Or if he hadn't lost to Randy in his first (interim) title shot 2 years prior.

 

[HHJ]

Or if he hadn't lost to Randy in his first (interim) title shot 2 years prior.

Yeah but he'da fought Tito before that and THEN lost to Randy

 

[Fioretti]

Yeah but he'da fought Tito before that and THEN lost to Randy

He was fighting 2-3 times a year before losing to Handy.

 

[HHJ]

He was fighting 2-3 times a year before losing to Handy.

Defending his title before losing to Handy*

 

[Yellowcrab]

You can see a stabilization with later champions.

 

[Fioretti]

UPDATE!

- Added Alex Pereira (36)
- Average age when they won the title went from 31.44 to 31.84

 

[StonedLemur]

Youngest in history, and has held his position without a loss for over a decade. He's 33 now. Serious bizzniss.

He got stripped of his title though sir.

 

[Fioretti]

He got stripped of his title though sir.

Still held his position, friend. He was ranked #1 while DC was champ.

 

[StonedLemur]

Still held his position, friend. He was ranked #1 while DC was champ.

True, but he hasn't been champ that whole time sir.
That was my original point.

 

[Fioretti]

True, but he hasn't been champ that whole time sir.
That was my original point.

I understand what you meant, but I intentionally said position, not title, in the post you were responding to.

 

[orca]

at age 31 its a prime LHW
jones fought and beat fighters averaging 29 - 32 years old
its weird some people saying they where past their primes

its crazy that some people think that way

 

[Fioretti]

UPDATE!

• Added Ankalaev winning and losing to Pereira
• Average age when won went from 31.84 to 32.43
• Average age when lost/stripped/vacated went from 33.13 to 33.1

 

[tasticles]

Damn, Shogun wasn't even 30 years old when he won that title. He was already far past his prime at that point. Makes you realize what these guys sometimes go trough. Few PRIDE guys competed at their best for more than about 5 years. Kinda heartbreaking, but the memories are worth it

Foe real. I wish cro cop never came to the ufc. He was washed and injured.

 

[Fioretti]

Foe real. I wish cro cop never came to the ufc. He was washed and injured.

Me too, but once he left again (and got back on the sauce) he finished out his career on a major win streak.

There's was more to the Pride guys losing than just mileage. It's pretty obvious what the two biggest factors were: competition and less juice.