Introduced in 2012, the flyweight division is both the lightest and youngest of all men's weight classes in the UFC.
Decided by a four-man tournament spread over two events, Demetrious Johnson became the first man to hold UFC gold at 125lbs and went on to remain champion for six years, recording a record 11 title defences during that time.
In the years since no fighter has even come close to equalling Johnson's dominance, but Alexandre Pantoja did manage four defences during a 882-day reign between 2023 and 2025.
Current UFC flyweight champion
The current flyweight champion is Joshua Van, who became the first Burmese fighter ever to hold UFC gold when he defeated Alexandre Pantoja at UFC 323.
After racking up three wins in 2025 to take his unbeaten streak to five fights, Van earned a shot at long-reigning king Pantoja at the T-Mobile Arena in December 2025.
The fight would ultimately end in unfortunate circumstances as Pantoja suffered an injury after Van caught an early kick and was unable to continue.
While many viewed the result as little more than a fluke, Van established himself as champion with a fifth-round TKO of Tatsuro Taira in his first title defence.
In a rematch with Pantoja at UFC 331 Van proved he was more than worthy of holding the belt, producing an impressive performance to defeat the former king via unanimous decision.
Title Won | Defeated Alexandre Pantoja (TKO) - December 2025 |
Title Defences (current reign) | 2 |
Previous UFC flyweight champions
Demetrious Johnson (September 2012 - August 2018; 11 defences)
Henry Cejudo (August 2018 - February 2020; one defence, vacated)
Deiveson Figueiredo (July 2020 - June 2021; two defences)
Brandon Moreno (June 2021 - January 2022)
Deiveson Figueiredo (January 2022 - January 2023)
Brandon Moreno (July 2023 - January 2023; interim)
Brandon Moreno (January 2023 - July 2023)
Alexandre Pantoja (July 2023 - December 2025; four defences)
