List of Professional Fighters League champions

Professional Fighters League (formerly the World Series of Fighting, or "WSOF") is an American mixed martial arts promotion, and the following is a history of its champions in each weight class. As well as championship history for their International promotions WSOF: Canada and WSOF Global Championship.

PFL Tournament champions

2018

Event(s)DivisionWeightChampionRunner-upSemi-finalists
PFL 11 (2018)
December 31, 2018
Heavyweight Until 120 kg Philipe Lins Josh Copeland Alex Nicholson
Jared Rosholt
Light Heavyweight Until 93 kg Sean O'Connell Vinny Magalhães Bazigit Atajev
Smealinho Rama
Middleweight Until 84 kg Louis Taylor Abusupiyan Magomedov Sadibou Sy
John Howard
Welterweight Until 77 kg Magomed Magomedkerimov Ray Cooper III Handesson Ferreira
Bojan Veličković
Lightweight Until 70 kg Natan Schulte Rashid Magomedov Chris Wade
Thiago Tavares
Featherweight Until 66 kg Lance Palmer Steven Siler Andre Harrison
Alexandre Almeida

2019

Event(s)DivisionWeightChampionRunner-upSemi-finalists
PFL 10 (2019)
December 31, 2019
Heavyweight Until 120 kg Ali Isaev Jared Rosholt Denis Goltsov
Kelvin Tiller
Light Heavyweight Until 93 kg Emiliano Sordi Jordan Johnson Bazigit Atajev
Rashid Yusupov
Welterweight Until 77 kg Ray Cooper III David Michaud Glaico França
Chris Curtis
Lightweight Until 70 kg Natan Schulte (2) Loik Radzhabov Chris Wade
Akhmet Aliev
Featherweight Until 66 kg Lance Palmer (2) Alex Gilpin Daniel Pineda
Jeremy Kennedy
Women's Lightweight Until 70 kg Kayla Harrison Larissa Pacheco Sarah Kaufman
Bobbi Jo Dalziel

2021

Event(s)DivisionWeightChampionRunner-upSemi-finalists
PFL 10 (2021)
October 27, 2021
Heavyweight Until 120 kg Bruno Cappelozza Ante Delija Denis Goltsov
Jamelle Jones
Light Heavyweight Until 93 kg Antônio Carlos Júnior Marthin Hamlet Cezar Ferreira
Emiliano Sordi
Welterweight Until 77 kg Ray Cooper III (2) Magomed Magomedkerimov Rory MacDonald
Sadibou Sy
Lightweight Until 70 kg Raush Manfio Loik Radzhabov Clay Collard
Alexander Martinez
Featherweight Until 66 kg Movlid Khaybulaev Chris Wade Brendan Loughnane
Bubba Jenkins
Women's Lightweight Until 70 kg Kayla Harrison (2) Taylor Guardado Genah Fabian
Mariana Morais

Men's Championship history (defunct)

All WSOF Championships were retired and vacated on June 7, 2018, when the PFL league format began at PFL 1. The PFL crowns seasonal champions as an alternative to recognizing a single lineal champion.

Heavyweight Championship

206 to 265 lbs (93 to 120 kg)
No. Name Event Date Reign Defenses
1 Smealinho Rama
def. Derrick Mehmen
WSOF 14
Edmonton, AB, Canada
October 11, 2014 237 days
2 Blagoy Ivanov WSOF 21
Edmonton, AB, Canada
June 5, 2015 2521 days

1. def. Derrick Mehmen at WSOF 24 on Oct 17, 2015
2. def. Josh Copeland at WSOF 31 on Jun 17, 2016
3. def. Shawn Jordan at WSOF 35 on March 18, 2017
4. def. Caio Alencar at PFL Fight Night on November 2, 2017

Ivanov vacated title on April 25, 2018, after becoming free agent and signing with the UFC.

Light Heavyweight Championship

186 to 205 lbs (84 to 93 kg)
No. Name Event Date Reign Defenses
1 David Branch
def. Teddy Holder
WSOF 23
Phoenix, AZ, USA
September 18, 2015 507 days 1. def. Vinny Magalhães at WSOF 33 on Oct 7, 2016
Branch vacated title on February 6, 2017, after becoming free agent and signing with the UFC.

Middleweight Championship

171 to 185 lbs (77 to 84 kg)
No. Name Event Date Reign Defenses
1 David Branch
def. Jesse Taylor
WSOF 10
Las Vegas, NV, USA
June 21, 2014 961 days

1. def. Yushin Okami at WSOF 15 on Nov 15, 2014
2. def. Clifford Starks at WSOF 30 on Apr 2, 2016
3. def. Louis Taylor at WSOF 34 on Dec 31, 2016

Branch vacated title on February 6, 2017, after becoming free agent and signing with the UFC.

Welterweight Championship

156 to 170 lbs (70 to 77 kg)
No. Name Event Date Reign Defenses
1 Steve Carl
def. Josh Burkman
WSOF 6
Coral Gables, FL, USA
October 26, 2013 154 days
2 Rousimar Palhares WSOF 9
Las Vegas, NV, USA
March 29, 2014 492 days

1. def. Jon Fitch at WSOF 16 on Dec 13, 2014
2. def. Jake Shields at WSOF 22 on Aug 1, 2015

Palhares was stripped of the title on August 3, 2015.
3 Jon Fitch
def. João Zeferino
WSOF 30
Las Vegas, NV, USA
April 2, 2016 698 days

1. def. Jake Shields at WSOF 34 on Dec 31, 2016
2. def. Brian Foster at PFL Daytona on June 30, 2017

Fitch vacated title on March 1, 2018, after signing with Bellator.

Lightweight Championship

146 to 155 lbs (66 to 70 kg)
No. Name Event Date Reign Defenses
1 Justin Gaethje
def. Richard Patishnock
WSOF 8
Hollywood, FL, USA
January 18, 2014 1196 days

1. def. Nick Newell at WSOF 11 on July 5, 2014
2. def. Luis Palomino at WSOF 19 on Mar 28, 2015
3. def. Luis Palomino at WSOF 23 on Sep 18, 2015
4. def. Brian Foster at WSOF 29 on Mar 12, 2016
5. def. Luiz Firmino at WSOF 34 on Dec 31, 2016

Gaethje vacated title on April 27, 2017, after signing with the UFC.

Featherweight Championship

136 to 145 lbs (61 to 66 kg)
No. Name Event Date Reign Defenses
1 Georgi Karakhanyan
def. Lance Palmer
WSOF 7
Vancouver, BC, Canada
December 7, 2013 196 days
2 Rick Glenn WSOF 10
Las Vegas, NV, USA
June 21, 2014 176 days
3 Lance Palmer WSOF 16
Sacramento, CA, USA
December 13, 2014 371 days

1. def. Chris Horodecki at WSOF 21 on June 5, 2015

4 Alexandre Almeida WSOF 26
Las Vegas, NV, USA
December 18, 2015 226 days
5 Lance Palmer (2) WSOF 32
Everett, WA, USA
July 30, 2016 231 days
(602 days)
6 Andre Harrison WSOF 35
Verona, NY, USA
March 18, 2017 446 days

1. def. Steven Rodriguez at PFL Everett on July 29, 2017

The WSOF Featherweight championship was retired on June 7, 2018 when the PFL league format began at PFL 1.[1][2]

Bantamweight Championship

126 to 135 lbs (57 to 61 kg)
No. Name Event Date Reign Defenses
1 Marlon Moraes
def. Josh Rettinghouse
WSOF 9
Las Vegas, NV, USA
March 29, 2014 1,011 days

1. def. Josh Hill at WSOF 18 on Feb 12, 2015
2. def. Sheymon Moraes at WSOF 22 on Aug 1, 2015
3. def. Joseph Barajas at WSOF 28 on Feb 20, 2016
4. def. Josh Hill at WSOF 32 on Jul 30, 2016
5. def. Josenaldo Silva at WSOF 34 on Dec 31, 2016

Moraes vacated title on January 3, 2017, after becoming a free agent and signing with the UFC.
2 Bekbulat Magomedov
def. Donavon Frelow
WSOF 35
Verona, NY, USA
March 18, 2017 446 days
The WSOF Bantamweight championship was retired on June 7, 2018 when the PFL league format began at PFL 1.[1][2]

Flyweight Championship

116 to 125 lbs (53 to 57 kg)
No. Name Event Date Reign Defenses
1 Magomed Bibulatov
def. Donavon Frelow
WSOF 24
Mashantucket, CT, USA
October 17, 2015 446 days
Bibulatov vacated title on January 5, 2017, after joining the UFC.

Women's Championship history (defunct)

All WSOF Championships were retired and vacated on June 7, 2018 when the PFL league format began at PFL 1. The PFL crowns seasonal champions as an alternative to recognizing a single lineal champion.

Women's Strawweight Championship

106 to 115 lb (48 to 52 kg)
No. Name Event Date Reign Defenses
1 Jessica Aguilar
def. Alida Gray
WSOF 8
Hollywood, FL, USA
January 18, 2014 484 days

1. def. Emi Fujino at WSOF 10 on June 21, 2014
2. def. Kalindra Faria at WSOF 15 on Nov 15, 2014

Aguilar vacated title on May 18, 2015, after joining the UFC.

Symbolic Titles

All WSOF International Championships were retired and vacated on June 7, 2018 when the PFL league format began at PFL 1. The PFL crowns seasonal champions as an alternative to recognizing a single lineal champion.

Canadian Welterweight Championship

156 to 170 lbs (70 to 77 kg)
No. Name Event Date Reign Defenses
1 Ryan Ford
def. Joel Powell
WSOF Canada 1
Edmonton, AB, Canada
February 21, 2014 472 days
Ford vacated title on June 8, 2015, after retiring from the sport of MMA.

Global Heavyweight Championship

206 to 265 lbs (93 to 120 kg)
No. Name Event Date Reign Defenses
1 Evgeny Erokhin
def. Brandon Cash
WSOF Global Championship 2: Japan
Tokyo, Japan
February 7, 2016 851 days 1. def. Richard Odoms at WSOF Global Championship 3: Philippines
All WSOF International championships were retired and vacated on June 7, 2018 when the PFL league format began at PFL 1.[1][2]

Global Flyweight Championship

125 lbs (57 kg)
No. Name Event Date Reign Defenses
1 Yusaku Nakamura
def. Lawrence Diguilio
Deep Cage Impact 2016: DEEP vs. WSOF-GC
Tokyo, Japan
December 17, 2016 537 days
All WSOF International championships were retired and vacated on June 7, 2018 when the PFL league format began at PFL 1.[1][2]

WSOF Tournament champions

Event(s)DivisionChampionRunner-upFinal
WSOF 5, WSOF 7 e WSOF 10 Middleweight David Branch Jesse Taylor June 21, 2014
WSOF 20 e WSOF 23 Light Heavyweight David Branch Teddy Holder September 18, 2015
WSOF 25 Lightweight Brian Foster João Zeferino November 20, 2015

Records

Most wins in title bouts

The following includes all fighters with three or more championship and/or interim championship title fights. Fighters with the same number of title wins are arranged in order of most title bouts. Tournament championships are not included.

Title wins

Champion

Weight class

W D NC L
6 Justin Gaethje Lightweight 6 0 0 0
Marlon Moraes Bantamweight 6 0 0 0
David Branch Light Heavyweight
Middleweight
2
4
0
0
0
0
0
0
5 Blagoy Ivanov Heavyweight 5 0 0 0
3 Lance Palmer Featherweight 3 0 0 3
Jessica Aguilar Women's Strawweight 3 0 0 0
Rousimar Palhares Welterweight 3 0 0 0

Most consecutive title defenses

The following includes all WSOF champions who were able to consecutively defend their title two times or more. Fighters with the same number of title defenses are listed chronologically.

Defenses Champion Weight class Span
5 Justin Gaethje Lightweight January 18, 2014 - April 27, 2017
Marlon Moraes Bantamweight March 29, 2014 - January 3, 2017
4 Blagoy Ivanov Heavyweight June 5, 2015 - April 25, 2018
3 David Branch Middleweight June 21, 2014 - February 6, 2017
2 Jessica Aguilar Women's Strawweight January 18, 2014 - May 18, 2015
Rousimar Palhares Welterweight March 29, 2014 - August 4, 2015

Multi-division champions

Interim title

Fighters who have won championships in multiple weight classes.[3] Tournament champions are not included.

No. Champion Division Won Lost Defenses Reign Total Reign
1 David Branch Light Heavyweight September 18, 2015
(WSOF 23)
February 6, 2017
(Vacated)
1 507 days 1468 days
Middleweight June 21, 2014
(WSOF 10)
February 6, 2017
(Vacated)
3 961 days

Simultaneous two division champions

This table, different from the previous one, only counts the periods in which the fighter loaded the titles simultaneously and the defenses in that period of time.

No.ChampionDivisionSpanDefensesSimultaneous Reign
1 David Branch Light Heavyweight September 18, 2015 – February 6, 2017 1 507 days
Middleweight 2

Champions by nationality

Fighters with multiple title reigns in a specific division will be counted once in the Division champions. Interim champions who have never become linear champions will be listed as interim champions.

CountryTournament
champions
Division
champions
International
champions
Total
 United States 8 8 - 16
 Brazil 6 3 - 9
 Russia 2 3 1 6
 Azerbaijan 1 - - 1
 Argentina 1 - - 1
 Bulgaria - 1 - 1
 Greece - 1 - 1
 Mexico - 1 - 1
 Canada - - 1 1
 Japan - - 1 1

See also

References

  1. Staff (2018-08-31). "Playoff matchups set for PFL's first season of $1 million winners". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2018-08-31.
  2. "Fight Card - PFL 11". PFL.
  3. "MMA All-time Record Holders". sportsillustrated.
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