Stipe, Jon Jones, GSP and Conor are legitimately the linear champs of all historical major MMA belts

[Sheepdog]

So in another thread I started looking at how championship reigns actually progressed in terms of 'guy who beat the guy'. This is not constrained to original weight class, but as you will see, with two big exceptions, it mostly works out *edit* Not actually true - I forgot UFC LW and WW both end up with Jon Jones.

UFC HW/Superfight/Tournament champion: Stipe.

Pride HW: Stipe.

Strikeforce HW: Stipe

Rings Openweight: Stipe

Rings LHW: Stipe

UFC LHW: GSP (yes)

Strikeforce LHW: Jon Jones

Pride MW: Jon Jones

UFC MW: Stipe (yes)

Strikeforce MW: GSP

WEC MW: GSP

Pride WW: GSP

WEC WW: GSP

UFC WW: Jon Jones (yes)

UFC LW: Jon Jones (yes)

Pride LW: Conor

WEC LW: Conor

WEC FW: Conor

I'm missing the Shooto and Pancrase belts but sue me, there's only so much I can look up despite being unemployed.

To me this is pretty interesting, it shows that it's tended to end up in the same spot no matter how far it deviates at times from the 'normal' progression of the belt from where it began.

I would've thought there would be far more anomalies - look at how the Pride LW belt goes for example, but it still ends up with Conor.

 

[kneeblock]

The Shooto lineage is with Conor too. Pancrase lineage ends with Bas pretty much, who was never defeated after winning the title.

The most heartbreaking thing is that the FW, WW, MW, and LHW lineages are possibly permanently severed and are unlikely to ever be restored. Whittaker has pretty much reestablished MW and Holloway has done the same for FW, but both belts lack historicity.

 

[TheEmperorRises]

Saku belt: Stipe

 

[Sheepdog]

The Shooto lineage is with Conor too. Pancrase lineage ends with Bas pretty much, who was never defeated after winning the title.

The most heartbreaking thing is that the FW, WW, MW, and LHW lineages are possibly permanently severed and are unlikely to ever be restored. Whittaker has pretty much reestablished MW and Holloway has done the same for FW, but both belts lack historicity.

It's bizarre to me that, Bas and Pancrase aside, there's not more clean breaks until possibly now. That Pride LW belt at one point ends up with Sergey Golyaev for example.

What Shooto belt is Conor's by the way? I'll add it.

I've updated two funny major omissions too - Jon Jones is the linear WW and LW champ by virtue of BJ at one point being both the WW and LW champ and then losing to Machida.

 

[1031]

Dan Henderson beat Bisping for the MW title and retired.