Remember when the UFC champion defended his title?
Sure, the UFC title was defended regularly, but things are not what they used to be. Champions used to focus on the number of title defenses. However, in recent years, things have changed and it has achieved championship status.
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There was a time when the title holder reached the top of their division and planted their flag firmly. Title fights for the likes of Georges St-Pierre, Anderson Silva, Jon Jones and Demetrious Johnson are all about maintaining their lead in the division – while doing so in dominant fashion. Line up the next contender and they’ll knock them out.
Conor McGregor ushered in a different era. After he captured the featherweight and lightweight titles, suddenly everyone wanted to follow suit – even though he never defended either belt.
Soon after, Amanda Nunes and Daniel Cormier followed suit. Recently, Ilia Topuria and Islam Makhachev became champions in both classes. Winning titles in multiple divisions is an impressive feat, but there’s also something special about holding one division title and denying every contender who wants the gold. There is more to be said about not requiring temporary titles and preserving partitions.
At UFC 323, two champions represented an old-school championship reign.
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In the main event, Merab Dvalishvili will attempt his fourth bantamweight title defense, and what’s even more impressive is that they’ve all been accomplished within a calendar year. In the co-feature, Alexander Pantoja will seek his fifth flyweight title defense. Currently, neither champion has any desire to chase a second title.
Take a trip down memory lane in this segment of MMA Junkie’s “Remember when…” in the video above.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Video: Remember when the UFC title was defended?
