Born out of the promotion's initial iteration as a violent spectacle with few rules, the UFC heavyweight division holds the unique distinction in combat sports of crowning the baddest man on the planet.
The inaugural UFC heavyweight title fight came during an era where wearing gloves was still not mandatory, and sustained legislative efforts were underway to try and kill the sport in its infancy.
In 1997, Mark Coleman defeated Dan Severn at UFC 12 to become the first man to claim the title, and the belt has remained the crowning achievement of the promotion's glamour division ever since.
Current UFC heavyweight champion
Ciryl Gane was promoted to undisputed UFC heavyweight champion when Tom Aspinall was forced to vacate his title due to complications in his recovery from injury.
Aspinall suffered said injury due to an inadvertent eye poke from Gane in the opening round of their title showdown at UFC 321 in October 2025.
With the Brit's fighting future thrown into doubt as he had undergo multiple eye surgeries, Gane took on Alex Pereira for the interim heavyweight title at the UFC's landmark Freedom 250 event at the White House.
Pereira was looking to become the first fighter in UFC history to hold titles in three different weight classes but 265lbs ultimately proved a bridge too far as Gane dominated from the opening bell before scoring a second-round TKO win.
Gane's first assignment since being made undisputed champion is to take on rising contender Josh Hokit at UFC 334.
Title Won | Promoted to undisputed after Tom Aspinall vacated - September 2026 |
Title Defences | 0 |
Previous UFC heavyweight champions
- Mark Coleman (February 1997-July 1997)
- Maurice Smith (July 1997-December 1997; one defence)
- Randy Couture (December 1997-January 1998; stripped)
- Bas Rutten (May 1999-June 1999; vacated)
- Kevin Randleman (November 1999; November 2000; one defence)
- Randy Couture (November 2000-March 2002; two defences)
- Josh Barnett (March 2002-July 2002; stripped)
- Ricco Rodriguez (September 2002-February 2003)
- Tim Sylvia (February 2003-October 2003; one defence, stripped)
- Frank Mir (June 2004-August 2005; stripped)
- Andrei Arlovski (February 2005-August 2005; interim, one defence)
- Andrei Arlovski (August 2005-April 2006; one defence)
- Tim Sylvia (April 2006-March 2007; two defences)
- Randy Couture (March 2007-November 2008; one defence)
- Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (February 2008-December 2008; interim)
- Brock Lesnar (November 2008-October 2010; two defences)
- Frank Mir (December 2008-March 2010; interim)
- Shane Carwin (March 2010- October 2010; interim)
- Cain Velasquez (October 2010-November 2011)
- Junior dos Santos (November 2011-December 2012; one defence)
- Cain Velasquez (December 2012-June 2015; two defences)
- Fabricio Werdum (November 2014- June 2015; interim)
- Fabricio Werdum (June 2015-May 2016)
- Stipe Miocic (May 2016-July 2018; three defences)
- Daniel Cormier (July 2018-August 2019; one defence)
- Stipe Miocic (August 2019-March 2021; one defence)
- Francis Ngannou (March 2021-January 2023; one defence, stripped)
- Ciryl Gane (August 2021-January 2022; interim)
- Jon Jones (March 2023-June 2025)
- Tom Aspinall (November 2023 - June 2025; interim)
- Tom Aspinall (June 2025 - September 2026; vacated)
