Ahead of his fight against Dustin Poirier this coming weekend at UFC 302, Islam Makhachev could equal the record for the most lightweight title defenses in UFC history.
After winning the 155lb title against Charles Oliveira in 2022, Islam Makhachev has gone on to successfully defend it twice against Alexander Volkanovski and is yet to defend it against a ranked lightweight.
With the lightweight division historically being one of the most stacked, champions of old have struggled to reign over the division for a considerable amount of time.
Although the Russian won’t break the record, he will put his name amongst some of the all-time lightweight greats and will equal the record of three successful title defenses, with a win over Dustin Poirier.
Let’s take a look at the reigns of the four fighters who currently share the record.
B.J. Penn set the record in 2009
In 2009 former two-weight world champion, B.J. Penn, set the lightweight title defense record with an incredible win over Diego Sanchez at UFC 107.
Rewinding to UFC 41 in 2003, Penn had the opportunity to pick up the vacant UFC lightweight title as he met Caol Uno in the lightweight tournament final. After fighting to a split draw, the title remained vacant and Penn went on to beat Matt Hughes for the vacant welterweight title instead.
After a brief hiatus away from the promotion, the Hawaiian returned to the UFC lightweight division in 2007, earning a title shot after a win over Jens Pulver. He then went on to win the vacant title against Joe Stevenson at UFC 80, marking the beginning of his reign.
Just over four months later, Penn made his first title defense at UFC 84 knocking out Sean Sherk in the third round.
‘The Prodigy’ then moved up to 170lbs to take on Georges St-Pierre for the welterweight title at UFC 94 but was unsuccessful after his corner called for the ref to stop the fight at the end of round four.
Later that year, Penn moved back down to defend his lightweight title twice before the year ended, beating both Kenny Florian and Diego Sanchez, thus setting a new record.
Frankie Edgar provided the answer and dethroned B.J. Penn
Frankie ‘The Answer’ Edgar was the one to dethrone B.J.Penn in 2010 after putting together a string of impressive wins.
Although Edgar was awarded the decision win over Penn at UFC 112, it went down as a controversial win as the majority of the fanbase scored it for Penn. Because of that, Edgar’s first title defense was a rematch against the Hawaiian just over four months later.
The second time round, ‘The Answer’ dominated the former champion, scoring a unanimous decision win and beginning his reign over the lightweight division.
Unfortunately for the New Jersey native, his next title defense was no less controversial as his first fight as champion ended in a split draw against Gray Maynard. Later that year, the two rematched, and Edgar put a stamp on the rivalry by knocking Maynard out in the fourth round, equalling Penn’s record.
Four months later, Edgar fought against Benson Henderson in Saitama, Japan, losing the lightweight strap.
Benson Henderson ties the record with a reign of decisions
After picking up the unanimous decision victory over Frankie Edgar at UFC 144, Henderson began his UFC lightweight title reign.
- SUGA: ‘I could just play with him’… Ilia Topuria dismisses champion’s chances against him in fantasy fight
Later in 2012, a rematch between Henderson and Edgar was booked to headline UFC 150, with ‘Smooth’ Henderson once again beating Edgar, but this time via a split decision.
After three wins in a row, Nate Diaz earned himself a title shot against ‘Bendo’ at UFC On Fox 5, but Henderson picked up his sixth UFC win by decision.
Five months later, Henderson was matched against Diaz’s teammate, Gilbert Melendez. Another split decision win saw Henderson retain his title and equal the record for the most title defenses.
Henderson couldn’t quite set a new record though, as at UFC 164 he was submitted in the first round of his title fight against Anthony Pettis, signaling the end of his title reign.
Khabib Nurmagomedov walks away after equalling the record
The most dominant lightweight title reign on this list comes from Khabib Nurmagomedov. ‘The Eagle’ walked away from the sport in 2020, despite having the chance to set a new record.
After Conor McGregor was stripped of his 155lb title, a vacant title was introduced which was later won by Nurmagomedov after the fiasco of UFC 223.
The Russian’s first title defense came in his huge grudge match against the aforementioned McGregor. After dominating the Irishman for three rounds, he submitted him in the fourth, sparking a huge brawl between the two teams at the end of the fight.
Nurmagomedov then went on to fight Dustin Poirier just under a year later at UFC 242, once again picking up a submission win. To round off his title reign, equalling the record, Khabib scored his third submission win in a row against Justin Gaethje at UFC 254.
Instead of sticking around to undoubtedly set a new record, the dominant champion walked away from the sport whilst being at the top of his game, which is still disputed by fans to this day.
On Saturday, June 1st, Makhachev has the chance to equal the record and join his teammate and coach on the list.