UFC HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONS OF 2005 UNTIL 2012
The Ultimate Fighting Championship or more commonly known as UFC, is a promotion company, the largest actually, that covers mixed martial arts. It was created on 1993 by Art Davie, Campbell McLaren, Rorion Gracie, and Bob Meyrowitz. The main purpose of its creation was to promote different fighting styles, as the championship progresses, fighters then started to display a mix of every fighting style, this led to the start of the creation of another fighting style which is now called present-day mixed martial arts. UFC has bought rival companies such as Pride, Strikeforce, and World Extreme Cagefighting. Over the years, UFC has produced fighters that have become famous worldwide.
10. ANDREI ARLOVSKI
Born as Andrei Valeryevich Arlovski, he is a mixed martial artist hailing from Belarusia. He is nicknamed as “The Pit bull”, and is known for his fast hands and his amazing knock out power. He is the only fighter who has knocked down Roy Nelson. Arlovski’s fighting style is a mixture of kickboxing, and Sambo-based grappling. He won a Heavyweight Championship on 2005 against Tim Sylvia. Now, Andrei Arlovski fights in the World Series of Fighting.
9. TIM SYLVIA
Timothy Dean Sylvia is a mixed martial arts fighter from the United States. He was also a former professional wrestler and has won a total of two UFC Heavyweight Championships. He has competed both in super heavyweight and heavyweight fights. His fighting style is a mixture of karate, boxing, wrestling and grappling. He is a tall fighter, and is known for his striking abilities and long reaches; his victories are mostly by total knockout (TKO) or by knockout (KO) alone. He won the UFC Championship on 2003 against Ricco Rodriguez, and on 2006 against Andrei Arlovski.
8. RANDY COUTURE
Randy Duane Couture is a former mixed martial artist, and now an actor, and he was also a Greco-Roman wrestler. Before his retirement in the UFC, he has won a total of three UFC Heavyweight Championships and won two Light Heavyweight Championships. He is the winner of the UFC 13 Heavyweight Tournament, and is first fighter to ever hold two titles in different divisons. He is an inductee of the UFC Hall of Fame and is the only UFC fighter that has fought at the age of 40 and won titles.
7. ANTONIO RODRIGO NOGUEIRA
He is better known as “Minotauro” or “Minotauro Nogueira”, and he is a mixed martial artist hailing from Brazil, and he is the twin brother of Antonio Rogerio Nogueira. He is popular for his mastery of the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and has won various titles, such as the 2008 UFC Heavyweight Championship, and three Pride Heavyweight Championships. Only three fighters have titles in different companies, and Nogueira is one of them, joining Rua and Coleman. He is ranked by Sherdog as the 8th Heavyweight fighter.
6. BROCK LESNAR
Brock Edward Lesnar is a former mixed martial artist. He is a professional wrestler, and a former professional football player. While working in MMA, Lesnar also sidelined as professional football player on Minnesota Vikings. On 2008, he won the UFC Heavyweight Championship against Randy Couture. After his career in UFC he then went back to being a pro wrestler in MMA.
5. FRANK MIR
Francisco Santos Mir III is a mixed martial artist who is Cuban-American. He is 34 years old, and in his UFC career, he has won two UFC Heavyweight Championships, holding the title of most victories and submissions in the history of UFC. He holds many records, being the only fighter who has knocked out Antonio Nogueira, and the only fighter who made other UFC fighters submit, these are Brock Lesnar and Cheick Kongo. Sherdog ranked him as the 7th Heavyweight UFC Fighter in the world, and also ranked 7th in the UFC Official Heavyweight rankings.
4. SHANE CARWIN
Shane Bannister Carwin is a former UFC fighter. He fought in the Heavyweight division, and won a title as a UFC Heavyweight Champion in year 2010 against Frank Mir. You may not know it but Shane Carwin holds a debree in mechanical engineering, and environmental teachnology. He played football when he was in college and was also into wrestling. He announced his retirement last May.
3. CAIN VELASQUEZ
Cain Ramirez Velasquez is a two time UFC Heavyweight Champion. Sherdog ranked him as the number one heavyweight fighter. His fighting style is a mixture of kickboxing, Guerilla jiu-jitsu, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and wrestling. He made his debut in year 2006 against Jesse Fujarczyk, and won by a TKO.
2. JUNIOR dos SANTOS
Another Brazilian fighter in the house is Junior dos Santos, also known as “Cigano”. He made his debut in MMA on 2008, fighting against Fabricio Werdum. That night was so memorable because as a rookie, he was considered an underdog, but he knocked down Werdum after one minute and twenty-one seconds with a very great uppercut. Junior has won one Heavyweight Championship, and is the only fighter to knockout Marc Hunt and the only fighter to defeat Cain Velasquez.
1. CAIN VELASQUEZ.
He lost his title to Junior dos Santos on 2011, making it the only fight he has lost in his career to date. He won another UFC championship on 2012, fighting against Junior dos Santos. The fight was so dominating that he won via unanimous decision, and regained his titled. He is the only UFC fighter to post triple digits in strikes being landed, and double digits in takedowns being landed in one single fight. In that night, he ended the fight with a total of 111 strikes, and 11 takedowns.