List of World Extreme Cagefighting champions

This is a list of World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) champions at each weight class.

WEC Logo

In December 2006 World Extreme Cagefighting was bought by Zuffa, LLC, the parent company of the UFC, to concentrate on the four smaller weight classes under the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts. Over the next two years, the WEC would phase out weight classes above 155 lbs, with most of the fighters going to the UFC. By the time of the WEC's absorption into the UFC at the end of 2010, the only remaining weight divisions were Lightweight, Featherweight and Bantamweight.

Discontinued Title Histories

Super Heavyweight Championship

Weight limit: Unlimited

No.	Name	Event	Date	Defenses
1	Ron Waterman def. James Nevarez	WEC 7 Lemoore, CA, USA	August 9, 2003	1. def. Ricco Rodriguez at WEC 16 on August 18, 2005 in Lemoore, CA, USA
The WEC Super Heavyweight division was abolished on December 2006 when Zuffa purchased the organization.

Heavyweight Championship

Weight limit: 250 lb (113.4 kg)

No.	Name	Event	Date	Defenses
1	James Irvin def. Houssain Oushani	WEC 12 Lemoore, CA, USA	October 21, 2004	1. def. Doug Marshall at WEC 15 on May 19, 2005 in Lemoore, CA, USA
Irvin vacated the title to fight in the Light Heavyweight division.
2	Brian Olsen def. Lavar Johnson	WEC 18 Lemoore, CA, USA	January 13, 2006	1. def. Mike Kyle at WEC 20 on May 5, 2006 in Lemoore, CA, USA
The WEC Heavyweight division was abolished on December 2006 when Zuffa purchased the organization.

Light Heavyweight Championship

Weight limit: 200 lb (90.7 kg)

No.	Name	Event	Date	Defenses
1	Frank Shamrock def. Bryan Pardoe	WEC 6 Lemoore, CA, USA	March 27, 2003
Shamrock vacated on August 2003 to fight for Strikeforce.
2	Jason Lambert def. Richard Montoya	WEC 13 Lemoore, CA, USA	January 22, 2005
Lambert vacated on October 2005 to fight for the UFC.
3	Scott Smith def. Tait Fletcher	WEC 17 Lemoore, CA, USA	October 14, 2005	1. def. Justin Levens at WEC 18 on January 13, 2006 in Lemoore, CA, USA
Smith vacated on May 2006 to participate in The Ultimate Fighter.
4	Lodune Sincaid def. Dan Molina	WEC 20 Lemoore, CA, USA	May 5, 2006
5	Doug Marshall	WEC 23 Lemoore, CA, USA	August 17, 2006	1. def. Justin McElfresh at WEC 27 on May 12, 2007 in Las Vegas, NV, USA 2. def. Ariel Gandulla at WEC 31 on December 12, 2007 in Las Vegas, NV, USA
6	Brian Stann	WEC 33 Las Vegas, NV, USA	March 26, 2008
7	Steve Cantwell	WEC 35 Las Vegas, NV, USA	August 3, 2008
The WEC Light Heavyweight division was absorbed into the UFC on December 3, 2008 so the WEC could further concentrate on lighter weight classes.

Middleweight Championship

Weight limit: 185 lb (83.9 kg)

No.	Name	Event	Date	Defenses
1	Chris Leben def. Mike Swick	WEC 9 Lemoore, CA, USA	January 16, 2004
Leben vacated to participate The Ultimate Fighter.
2	Joe Riggs def. Rob Kimmons	WEC 15 Lemoore, CA, USA	May 19, 2005
The WEC Middleweight title was vacated on December 2006 when Zuffa purchased the organization.
3	Paulo Filho def. Joe Doerksen	WEC 29 Las Vegas, NV, USA	August 5, 2007	1. def. Chael Sonnen at WEC 31 on December 12, 2007 in Las Vegas, NV, USA
The WEC Middleweight division was absorbed into the UFC on December 3, 2008, so the WEC could further concentrate on lighter weight classes.

Welterweight Championship

Weight limit: 170 lb (77.1 kg)

No.	Name	Event	Date	Defenses
1	Nick Diaz def. Joe Hurley	WEC 6 Lemoore, CA, USA	March 27, 2003
Diaz vacated the title to focus on fight for the UFC.
2	Shonie Carter def. J.T. Taylor	WEC 8 Lemoore, CA, USA	October 17, 2003
3	Karo Parisyan	WEC 10 Lemoore, CA, USA	May 21, 2004
Parisyan vacated the title to focus on fighting for the UFC.
4	Mike Pyle def. Bret Bergmark	WEC 17 Lemoore, CA, USA	October 14, 2005	1. def. Shonie Carter at WEC 18 on Jan 13, 2006 in Lemoore, CA, USA
The WEC Welterweight title was vacated on December 2006 when Zuffa purchased the organization.
5	Carlos Condit def. John Alessio	WEC 26 Las Vegas, NV, USA	March 24, 2007	1. def. Brock Larson at WEC 29 on Aug 5, 2007 in Las Vegas, NV, USA 2. def. Carlo Prater at WEC 32 on Feb 13, 2008 in Albuquerque, NM, USA 3. def. Hiromitsu Miura at WEC 35 on Aug 3, 2008 in Las Vegas, NV, USA
The WEC Welterweight division was absorbed into the UFC on February 3, 2009, so the WEC could further concentrate on lighter weight classes.

Lightweight Championship

Weight limit: 155 lb (70.3 kg)

No.	Name	Event	Date	Defenses
1	Gilbert Melendez def. Olaf Alfonso	WEC 10 Lemoore, CA, USA	May 21, 2004
Melendez vacated the title to focus on fighting in another events.
2	Gabe Ruediger def. Olaf Alfonso	WEC 12 Lemoore, CA, USA	October 21, 2004	1. def. Jason Maxwell at WEC 14 on Mar 17, 2005 in Lemoore, CA, USA 2. def. Sam Wells at WEC 17 on Oct 14, 2005 in Lemoore, CA, USA
3	Hermes França	WEC 19 Lemoore, CA, USA	March 17, 2006	1. def. Brandon Olsen at WEC 21 on Jun 15, 2006 in Highland, CA, USA 2. def. Nate Diaz at WEC 24 on Oct 12, 2006 in Lemoore, CA, USA
The WEC Lightweight title was vacated on December 2006 when Zuffa purchased the organization and brought França over to the UFC.
4	Rob McCullough def. Kit Cope	WEC 25 Las Vegas, NV, USA	January 20, 2007	1. def. Richard Crunkilton at WEC 30 on Sep 5, 2007 in Las Vegas, NV, USA
5	Jamie Varner	WEC 32 Albuquerque, NM, USA	February 13, 2008	1. def. Marcus Hicks at WEC 35 on Aug 3, 2008 in Las Vegas, NV, USA 2. def. Donald Cerrone at WEC 38 on Jan 25, 2009 in San Diego, CA, USA
-	Benson Henderson def. Donald Cerrone for interim title	WEC 43 San Antonio, TX, USA	October 10, 2009
6	Benson Henderson	WEC 46 Sacramento, CA, USA	January 10, 2010	1. def. Donald Cerrone at WEC 48 in April 2010, in Sacramento, CA, USA
7	Anthony Pettis	WEC 53 Glendale, AZ, USA	December 16, 2010
The WEC Lightweight division was absorbed into the UFC on December 16, 2010, as part of the UFC-WEC merger.

Featherweight Championship

Weight limit: 145 lb (65.8 kg)

No.	Name	Event	Date	Defenses
1	Cole Escovedo def. Philip Perez	WEC 5 Lemoore, CA, USA	October 18, 2002	1. def. Anthony Hamlett at WEC 8 on Oct 17, 2003 in Lemoore, CA, USA
2	Urijah Faber	WEC 19 Lemoore, CA, USA	March 17, 2006	1. def. Joe Pearson at WEC 25 on Jan 20, 2007 in Las Vegas, NV, USA 2. def. Dominick Cruz at WEC 26 on Mar 24, 2007 in Las Vegas, NV, USA 3. def. Chance Farrar at WEC 28 on Jun 3, 2007 in Las Vegas, NV, USA 4. def. Jeff Curran at WEC 31 on Dec 12, 2007 in Las Vegas, NV, USA 5. def. Jens Pulver at WEC 34 on Jun 1, 2008 in Sacramento, CA, USA
3	Mike Brown	WEC 36 Hollywood, FL, USA	November 5, 2008	1. def. Leonard Garcia at WEC 39 on Mar 1, 2009 in Corpus Christi, TX, USA 2. def. Urijah Faber at WEC 41 on Jun 7, 2009 in Sacramento, CA, USA
4	José Aldo	WEC 44 Las Vegas, NV, USA	November 18, 2009	1. def. Urijah Faber at WEC 48 on April 24, 2010 in Sacramento, CA, USA 2. def. Manny Gamburyan at WEC 51 on Sep 30, 2010 in Broomfield, CO, USA
The WEC Featherweight division was absorbed into the UFC on September 30, 2010, as part of the UFC-WEC merger. José Aldo was awarded the inaugural UFC Featherweight Championship on November 20, 2010.^[1]

Bantamweight Championship

Weight limit: 135 lb (61.2 kg)

No.	Name	Event	Date	Defenses
1	Eddie Wineland def. Antonio Banuelos	WEC 20 Lemoore, CA, USA	May 5, 2006
2	Chase Beebe	WEC 26 Las Vegas, NV, USA	March 24, 2007	1. def. Rani Yahya at WEC 30 on Sep 5, 2007 in Las Vegas, NV, USA
3	Miguel Torres	WEC 32 Albuquerque, NM, USA	February 13, 2008	1. def. Yoshiro Maeda at WEC 34 on Jun 1, 2008 in Sacramento, CA, USA 2. def. Manny Tapia at WEC 37 on Dec 3, 2008 in Las Vegas, NV, USA 3. def. Takeya Mizugaki at WEC 40 on April 5, 2009 in Chicago, IL, USA
4	Brian Bowles	WEC 42 Las Vegas, NV, USA	August 9, 2009
5	Dominick Cruz	WEC 47 Columbus, OH, USA	March 6, 2010	1. def. Joseph Benavidez at WEC 50 on Aug 18, 2010 in Las Vegas, NV, USA 2. def. Scott Jorgensen at WEC 53 on Dec 16, 2010 in Glendale, AZ, USA
The WEC Bantamweight division was absorbed into the UFC on December 16, 2010, as part of the UFC-WEC merger. Dominick Cruz won the inaugural UFC Bantamweight Championship when he defeated Scott Jorgensen at WEC 53.^[2]

Tournament Winners

Event	Date	Division	Winner	Runner-up
WEC 13	January 22, 2005	Heavyweight	Brandon Vera	Mike Whitehead
WEC 17	October 14, 2005	Light Heavyweight	Scott Smith	Tait Fletcher

Records

Most wins in title bouts

Victories	Champion	Division	V	D	NC	L
6	Urijah Faber	Featherweight	6	0	0	3
4	Miguel Torres	Bantamweight	4	0	0	1
	Carlos Condit	Welterweight	4	0	0	0
3	Doug Marshall	Heavyweight Light Heavyweight	0 3	0 0	0 0	1 1
	Gabe Ruediger	Lightweight	3	0	0	1
	Mike Brown	Featherweight	3	0	0	1
	Jamie Varner	Lightweight	3	0	0	1
	Benson Henderson	Lightweight	3	0	0	1
	Dominick Cruz	Featherweight Bantamweight	0 3	0 0	0 0	1 0
	Hermes França	Lightweight	3	0	0	0
	José Aldo	Featherweight	3	0	0	0

Most consecutive title defenses

Defenses	Champion	Division	Period
5	Urijah Faber	Featherweight	March 17, 2006 – November 5, 2008
3	Carlos Condit	Welterweight	March 24, 2007 – December 3, 2008
	Miguel Torres	Bantamweight	February 13, 2008 – August 9, 2009
2	Gabe Ruediger	Lightweight	October 21, 2004 – March 17, 2006
	Hermes França	Lightweight	March 17, 2006 – December 2006
	Doug Marshall	Light Heavyweight	August 17, 2006 – March 26, 2008
	Jamie Varner	Lightweight	February 13, 2008 – January 10, 2010
	Mike Brown	Featherweight	November 5, 2008 – August 9, 2009
	José Aldo	Featherweight	November 18, 2009 – September 30, 2010
	Dominick Cruz	Bantamweight	March 6, 2010 – December 16, 2010

Champions by nationality

The division champions includes only linear champions. Interim champions who have never become linear champions will be listed as interim champions. Fighters with multiple title reigns in a specific division will also be counted once. Runners-up are not included in tournaments champions.

Country	Division champions	Interim champions	Tournaments champions	Total
United States	30	-	2	32
Brazil	3	-	-	3
Armenia	1	-	-	1

See also

• List of WEC events
• List of current mixed martial arts champions
• List of Bellator MMA champions
• List of Dream champions
• List of EliteXC champions
• List of Invicta FC champions
• List of ONE Championship champions
• List of Pancrase champions
• List of Pride champions
• List of PFL champions
• List of Shooto champions
• List of Strikeforce champions
• List of UFC champions
• Mixed martial arts weight classes

References

1. . mmajunkie.com. November 20, 2010. Archived from the original on October 23, 2012.
2. "WEC 53: Dominick Cruz, Scott Jorgensen Fight To Be First UFC Bantamweight Champion". sbnation.com. December 14, 2010.

External links

• Current Title Holders at WEC.tv