List of Bellator MMA champions

Bellator MMA (formerly known as "Bellator Fighting Championships") is an American mixed martial arts promotion, and the following is a history of its champions in each weight class.

At the time of its inception in 2008, CEO Bjorn Rebney founded Bellator Fighting Championships as a tournament based organization. The inaugural champion for each weight class was determined by the winner of an eight-man tournament. All subsequent title challengers were required to first win an eight-man tournament in a specific weight class in order to earn the right to challenge that division's reigning champion. Dethroned champions were required to re-enter the tournaments in order to attempt to regain their title. Under Bjorn Rebney's sole leadership, Bellator MMA would strictly adhere to these rules during the first four years of its operation.

The first changes to this format would begin to appear not long after Viacom, Inc. purchased a controlling stake in the organization.[1] In November 2012, CEO Bjorn Rebney announced the introduction of a "championship rematch clause". This would allow Bellator to schedule an immediate title-fight rematch if officials deemed the fight necessary.[2] The next major change occurred during Bellator's 2013 Summer Series when it was announced that all three tournaments would be shorter, four-man affairs instead of the standard eight.[3] Though originally stated to return to the eight-man only tournaments afterwards, officials instead decided to add two additional four-man tournaments to the existing tournament lineup in an effort to provide a more consistent flow of title challengers for their champions to face.[4]

Two additional rule changes would be announced. The first was the "tournament champion replacement clause" introduced in August 2013. This allowed officials to grant title shots to replacement fighters when tournament winners were injured, or otherwise unavailable, through a complex voting and points system.[5] Then, in June 2014, CEO Bjorn Rebney made an announcement stating that any fighter who had previously won a Bellator tournament would maintain permanent eligibility to fight for a title without having to re-enter another tournament.[6] Neither of these changes would ever be implemented, however, as one week later Bellator MMA and its founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney parted ways, bringing about an end to the organization's tournament based model.[7][8]

Current champions
Men[9]
DivisionChampionSinceDefenses
Heavyweight Ryan Bader Jan 26, 2019 0
Light Heavyweight Vadim Nemkov Aug 21, 2020 0
Middleweight Gegard Mousasi Oct 29, 2020 0
Welterweight Douglas Lima Oct 26, 2019 0
Lightweight Patrício Freire May 11, 2019 0
Featherweight Apr 21, 2017 4
Bantamweight Juan Archuleta Sept 12, 2020 0
Women[9]
DivisionChampionSinceDefenses
Women's Featherweight Cris Cyborg Jan 25, 2020 1
Women's Flyweight Juliana Velasquez Dec 10, 2020 0

Men's championship history

Heavyweight World Championship

206 to 265 lbs (93 to 120 kg)

No. Name Event Date Reign Defenses
1 Cole Konrad
def. Neil Grove		 Bellator 32
Kansas City, MO, USA		 October 14, 2010 699 days

1. def. Eric Prindle at Bellator 70 on May 25, 2012

Konrad vacated the title on September 12, 2012 when he retired from MMA competition.[10]
2 Alexander Volkov
def. Rich Hale		 Bellator 84
Hammond, IN, USA		 December 14, 2012 337 days
3 Vitaly Minakov Bellator 108
Atlantic City, NJ, USA		 November 15, 2013 911 days

1. def. Cheick Kongo at Bellator 115 on Apr 4, 2014

Minakov was stripped of the title on May 14, 2016 after failing to make title defenses.[11]
4 Ryan Bader
def. Fedor Emelianenko		 Bellator 214
Inglewood, CA, USA		 January 26, 2019 735 days
(incumbent)

NC. vs. Cheick Kongo at Bellator 226 on September 7, 2019

Light Heavyweight World Championship

186 to 205 lbs (84 to 93 kg)

No. Name Event Date Reign Defenses
1 Christian M'Pumbu
def. Rich Hale		 Bellator 45
Lake Charles, LA, USA		 May 21, 2011 650 days
2 Attila Végh Bellator 91
Rio Rancho, NM, USA		 February 28, 2013 387 days
- Emanuel Newton
def. Muhammed Lawal for interim title		 Bellator 106
Long Beach, CA, USA		 November 2, 2013 —
3 Emanuel Newton Bellator 113
Mulvane, KS, USA		 March 21, 2014 343 days

1. def. Joey Beltran at Bellator 124 on Sep 12, 2014
2. def. Linton Vassell at Bellator 130 on Oct 24, 2014

4 Liam McGeary Bellator 134
Uncasville, CT, USA		 February 27, 2015 617 days

1. def. Tito Ortiz at Bellator 142: Dynamite 1 on Sep 19, 2015

5 Phil Davis Bellator 163
Uncasville, CT, USA		 November 4, 2016 232 days
6 Ryan Bader Bellator 180
New York City, NY, USA		 June 24, 2017 1155 days

1. def. Linton Vassell at Bellator 186 on Nov 3, 2017

7 Vadim Nemkov Bellator 244
Uncasville, CT, USA		 August 21, 2020 162 days
(incumbent)

Middleweight World Championship

171 to 185 lbs (77 to 84 kg)

No. Name Event Date Reign Defenses
1 Hector Lombard
def. Jared Hess		 Bellator 12
Hollywood, FL, USA		 June 19, 2009 1,040 days

1. def. Alexander Shlemenko at Bellator 34 on Oct 28, 2010

Lombard vacated the title on April 24, 2012 when he left Bellator for the UFC.[12]
2 Alexander Shlemenko
def. Maiquel Falcão		 Bellator 88
Duluth, GA, USA		 February 7, 2013 597 days

1. def. Brett Cooper at Bellator 98 on Sep 7, 2013
2. def. Doug Marshall at Bellator 109 on Nov 22, 2013
3. def. Brennan Ward at Bellator 114 on Mar 28, 2014

3 Brandon Halsey Bellator 126
Phoenix, AZ, USA		 September 26, 2014 230 days
Halsey was stripped of the title on May 14, 2015 after failing to make weight for his Bellator 137 title defense. Halsey defeated Kendall Grove in a catchweight (188 lbs) bout in which the title was at stake for Grove only[13]
4 Rafael Carvalho
def. Brandon Halsey		 Bellator 144
Uncasville, CT, USA		 October 23, 2015 945 days

1. def. Melvin Manhoef at Bellator 155 on May 20, 2016
2. def. Melvin Manhoef at Bellator 176 on April 8, 2017
3. def. Alessio Sakara at Bellator 190 on Dec 9, 2017

5 Gegard Mousasi Bellator 200
London, United Kingdom		 May 25, 2018 394 days

1. def. Rory MacDonald at Bellator 206 on Sept 29, 2018

6 Rafael Lovato Jr. Bellator 223
London, United Kingdom		 June 22, 2019 233 days
Lovato vacated the title on February 10, 2020 when it was revealed he had been diagnosed with a cerebral cavernoma.[14]
7 Gegard Mousasi (2)
def. Douglas Lima		 Bellator 250
Uncasville, CT, USA		 October 29, 2020 93 days
(incumbent)

Welterweight World Championship

156 to 170 lbs (70 to 77 kg)

No. Name Event Date Reign Defenses
1 Lyman Good
def. Omar de la Cruz		 Bellator 11
Uncasville, CT, USA		 June 12, 2009 485 days
2 Ben Askren Bellator 33
Philadelphia, PA, USA		 October 21, 2010 1,120 days

1. def. Jay Hieron at Bellator 56 on Oct 29, 2011
2. def. Douglas Lima at Bellator 64 on Apr 6, 2012
3. def. Karl Amoussou at Bellator 86 on Jan 24, 2013
4. def. Andrey Koreshkov at Bellator 97 on Jul 31, 2013

Askren vacated the title on November 14, 2013 when he left Bellator for the ONE FC.[15]
3 Douglas Lima
def. Rick Hawn		 Bellator 117
Council Bluffs, IA, USA		 April 18, 2014 455 days
4 Andrey Koreshkov Bellator 140
Uncasville, CT, USA		 July 17, 2015 482 days 1. def. Benson Henderson at Bellator 153 on April 22, 2016
5 Douglas Lima (2) Bellator 164
Tel Aviv, Israel		 November 10, 2016 437 days 1. def. Lorenz Larkin at Bellator NYC on June 24, 2017
6 Rory MacDonald Bellator 192
Inglewood, CA, USA		 January 20, 2018 644 days

1. drew with Jon Fitch at Bellator 220 on April 27, 2019
2. def. Neiman Gracie at Bellator 222 on June 14, 2019

7 Douglas Lima (3) Bellator 232
Uncasville, CT, USA		 October 26, 2019 462 days
(incumbent)

Lightweight World Championship

146 to 155 lbs (66 to 70 kg)

No. Name Event Date Reign Defenses
1 Eddie Alvarez
def. Toby Imada		 Bellator 12
Hollywood, FL, USA		 June 19, 2009 883 days

1. def. Pat Curran at Bellator 39 on Apr 2, 2011

2 Michael Chandler Bellator 58
Hollywood, FL, USA		 November 19, 2011 715 days

1. def. Rick Hawn at Bellator 85 on Jan 17, 2013
2. def. David Rickels at Bellator 97 on Jul 31, 2013

3 Eddie Alvarez (2) Bellator 106
Long Beach, CA, USA		 November 2, 2013 290 days
- Will Brooks
def. Michael Chandler for interim title		 Bellator 120
Southaven, MS, USA		 May 17, 2014 —
Title was vacated on August 19, 2014 when Alvarez was granted a release from the promotion.[16]
4 Will Brooks
def. Michael Chandler for undisputed title		 Bellator 131
San Diego, CA, USA		 November 15, 2014 546 days

1. def. Dave Jansen at Bellator 136 on Apr 10, 2015
2. def. Marcin Held at Bellator 145 on Nov 6, 2015

Title was vacated on May 14, 2016 when Brooks was granted a release from the promotion.[11]
5 Michael Chandler (2)
def. Patricky Freire		 Bellator 157
St. Louis, MO, USA		 June 24, 2016 365 days 1. def. Benson Henderson at Bellator 165 on Nov 19, 2016
6 Brent Primus
 Bellator NYC
New York City, NY, USA		 June 24, 2017 539 days
7 Michael Chandler (3) Bellator 212
Honolulu, HI, USA		 December 14, 2018 149 days
8 Patrício Freire Bellator 221
Rosemont, IL, USA		 May 11, 2019 630 days (incumbent)

Featherweight World Championship

136 to 145 lbs (61 to 66 kg)

No. Name Event Date Reign Defenses
1 Joe Soto
def. Yahir Reyes		 Bellator 10
Ontario, CA, USA		 June 5, 2009 454 days
2 Joe Warren Bellator 27
San Antonio, TX, USA		 September 2, 2010 554 days
3 Pat Curran Bellator 60
Hammond, IN, USA		 March 9, 2012 604 days

1. def. Patrício Freire at Bellator 85 on Jan 17, 2013
2. def. Shahbulat Shamhalaev at Bellator 95 on Apr 4, 2013

4 Daniel Straus Bellator 106
Long Beach, CA, USA		 November 2, 2013 133 days
5 Pat Curran (2) Bellator 112
Hammond, IN, USA		 March 14, 2014 176 days
6 Patrício Freire Bellator 123
Uncasville, CT, USA		 September 5, 2014 428 days

1. def. Daniel Straus at Bellator 132 on Jan 16, 2015
2. def. Daniel Weichel at Bellator 138 on Jun 19, 2015

7 Daniel Straus (2) Bellator 145
St. Louis, MO, USA		 November 6, 2015 532 days
8 Patrício Freire (2) Bellator 178
Uncasville, CT, USA		 April 21, 2017 1380 days (incumbent)

1. def. Daniel Weichel at Bellator 203 on Jul 14, 2018
2. def. Emmanuel Sanchez at Bellator 209 on Nov 15, 2018
3. def. Juan Archuleta at Bellator 228 on Sept 28, 2019
4. def. Pedro Carvalho at Bellator 252 on Nov 12, 2020

Bantamweight World Championship

126 to 135 lbs (57 to 61 kg)

No. Name Event Date Reign Defenses
1 Zach Makovsky
def. Ed West		 Bellator 32
Kansas City, MO, USA		 October 14, 2010 547 days
2 Eduardo Dantas Bellator 65
Atlantic City, NJ, USA		 April 13, 2012 911 days

1. def. Marcos Galvão at Bellator 89 on Feb 14, 2013
2. def. Anthony Leone at Bellator 111 on Mar 8, 2014

- Joe Warren
def. Rafael Silva for interim title		 Bellator 118
Atlantic City, NJ, USA		 May 2, 2014 —
3 Joe Warren Bellator 128
Thackerville, OK, USA		 October 10, 2014 169 days
4 Marcos Galvão Bellator 135
Thackerville, OK, USA		 March 27, 2015 448 days
5 Eduardo Dantas (2) Bellator 156
Fresno, CA, USA		 June 17, 2016 477 days 1. def. Joe Warren at Bellator 166 on Dec 2, 2016
6 Darrion Caldwell Bellator 184
Thackerville, OK, USA		 October 6, 2017 617 days 1. def. Leandro Higo at Bellator 195 on Mar 2, 2018
7 Kyoji Horiguchi Bellator 222
New York City, NY, USA		 June 14, 2019 166 days
Title was vacated on November 27, 2019 when Horiguchi announced he was injured.[17]
8 Juan Archuleta
def. Patchy Mix		 Bellator 246
Uncasville, CT, USA		 September 12, 2020 140 days (incumbent)

Women's championship history

Women's Featherweight World Championship

126 pounds (57 kg) to 145 pounds (66 kg)

No. Name Event Date Reign Defenses
1 Julia Budd
def. Marloes Coenen		 Bellator 174
Thackerville, OK, USA		 March 3, 2017 1429 days

1. def. Arlene Blencowe at Bellator 189 on Dec 1, 2017
2. def. Talita Nogueira at Bellator 202 on Jul 13, 2018
3. def. Olga Rubin at Bellator 224 on Jul 12, 2019

2 Cris Cyborg Bellator 238
Inglewood, CA, USA		 January 25, 2020 371 days
(incumbent)

1. def. Arlene Blencowe at Bellator 249 on Oct 15, 2020

Women's Flyweight World Championship

116 pounds (53 kg) to 125 pounds (57 kg)

No. Name Event Date Reign Defenses
1 Ilima-Lei Macfarlane
def. Emily Ducote		 Bellator 186
University City, PA, USA		 November 3, 2017 1133 days

1. def. Alejandra Lara at Bellator 201 on Jun 29, 2018
2. def. Valérie Létourneau at Bellator 213 on December 15, 2018
3. def. Veta Arteaga at Bellator 220 on April 27, 2019
4. def. Kate Jackson at Bellator 236 on December 21, 2019

2 Juliana Velasquez Bellator 254
Uncasville, CT, USA		 December 10, 2020 51 days
(incumbent)

Women's Strawweight World Championship

Under 115 pounds (52 kg)

No. Name Event Date Reign Defenses
1 Zoila Gurgel
def. Megumi Fujii		 Bellator 34
Hollywood, FL, USA		 October 28, 2010 831 days
Gurgel vacated the title on February 5, 2013 when she left Bellator for Invicta FC and the title was subsequently deactivated.[18]

Tournament winners

Originally, all title challengers were determined through these tournaments with the winners earning the right to challenge the reigning champion at that weight class or, if necessary, be allowed to compete for an interim or vacant title.

Bellator Fighting Championships: Season One

(April 3, 2009 - June 19, 2009)

Weight Division Champion Runner-up Event Date
Featherweight[1] Joe Soto Yahir ReyesBellator 10June 5, 2009
Welterweight[2] Lyman Good Omar De La CruzBellator 11June 12, 2009
Middleweight[3] Hector Lombard Jared HessBellator 12June 19, 2009
Lightweight[4] Eddie Alvarez Toby ImadaBellator 12June 19, 2009

^ 1: Tournament determined the inaugural Bellator Featherweight Champion.
^ 2: Tournament determined the inaugural Bellator Welterweight Champion.
^ 3: Tournament determined the inaugural Bellator Middleweight Champion.
^ 4: Tournament determined the inaugural Bellator Lightweight Champion.

Bellator Fighting Championships: Season Two

(April 8, 2010 - June 24, 2010)

Weight Division Champion Runner-up Event Date
Lightweight Pat Curran Toby ImadaBellator 21June 10, 2010
Welterweight Ben Askren Dan HornbuckleBellator 22June 17, 2010
Middleweight Alexander Shlemenko Bryan BakerBellator 23June 24, 2010
Featherweight Joe Warren Patricio FreireBellator 23June 24, 2010

Bellator Fighting Championships: Season Three

(August 12, 2010 - October 28, 2010)

Weight Division Champion Runner-up Event Date
Heavyweight[1] Cole Konrad Neil GroveBellator 32October 14, 2010
Bantamweight[2] Zach Makovsky Ed WestBellator 32October 14, 2010
Women's Strawweight[3] Zoila Gurgel Megumi FujiiBellator 34October 28, 2010

^ 1: Tournament determined the inaugural Bellator Heavyweight Champion.
^ 2: Tournament determined the inaugural Bellator Bantamweight Champion.
^ 3: Tournament determined the inaugural Bellator Women's Strawweight Champion.

Bellator Fighting Championships: Season Four

(March 5, 2011 - May 21, 2011)

Weight Division Champion Runner-up Event Date
Welterweight Jay Hieron Rick HawnBellator 43May 7, 2011
Lightweight Michael Chandler Patricky FreireBellator 44May 14, 2011
Light Heavyweight[1] Christian M'Pumbu Richard HaleBellator 45May 21, 2011
Featherweight Patrício Freire Daniel Mason-StrausBellator 45May 21, 2011

^ 1: Tournament determined the inaugural Bellator Light Heavyweight Champion.

Bellator Fighting Championships: 2011 Summer Series

(June 25, 2011 - August 20, 2011)

Weight Division Champion Runner-up Event Date
Featherweight Pat Curran Marlon SandroBellator 48August 20, 2011

Bellator Fighting Championships: Season Five

(September 27, 2011 - November 26, 2011)

Weight Division Champion Runner-up Event Date
Middleweight[1] Alexander Shlemenko Vitor ViannaBellator 57November 12, 2011
Welterweight Douglas Lima Ben SaundersBellator 57November 12, 2011
Bantamweight Eduardo Dantas Alexis VilaBellator 59November 26, 2011
Heavyweight[2] Eric Prindle Thiago SantosBellator 62March 23, 2012

^ 1: Shlemenko next faced Season Six tournament winner Maiquel Falcão for the vacant middleweight title.
^ 2: Following a no contest in the finals at Bellator 59, a rematch between Prindle and Santos was cancelled at Bellator 61, and again at Bellator 62 when Santos was unable to make weight. Prindle was awarded the tournament victory.[19]

Bellator Fighting Championships: Season Six

(March 9, 2012 - May 25, 2012)

Weight Division Champion Runner-up Event Date
Featherweight Daniel Mason-Straus Marlon SandroBellator 68May 11, 2012
Middleweight[1] Maiquel Falcão Andreas SpångBellator 69May 18, 2012
Lightweight Rick Hawn Brent WeedmanBellator 70May 25, 2012
Welterweight Karl Amoussou Bryan BakerBellator 72July 20, 2012
Bantamweight Marcos Galvão Luis NogueiraBellator 73August 24, 2012

^ 1: Falcão next faced Season Five tournament winner Alexander Shlemenko for the vacant middleweight title.

Bellator Fighting Championships: 2012 Summer Series

(June 22, 2012 - July 24, 2012)

Weight Division Champion Runner-up Event Date
Light Heavyweight Attila Vegh Travis WiuffBellator 73August 24, 2012

Bellator Fighting Championships: Season Seven

(September 28, 2012 - December 14, 2012)

Weight Division Champion Runner-up Event Date
Welterweight Andrey Koreshkov Lyman GoodBellator 82November 30, 2012
Heavyweight[1] Alexander Volkov Richard HaleBellator 84December 14, 2012
Featherweight Shahbulat Shamhalaev Rad MartinezBellator 90February 21, 2013
Lightweight[2] Dave Jansen Marcin HeldBellator 93March 21, 2013

^ 1: Tournament determined the new Bellator Heavyweight champion.
^ 2: After an extended layoff due to injury, Jansen would choose to forfeit his title shot for the opportunity to take an immediate fight upon his return.[20]

Bellator Fighting Championships: Season Eight

(January 17, 2013 - April 4, 2013)

Weight Division Champion Runner-up Event Date
Light Heavyweight[1] Emanuel Newton Mikhail ZayatsBellator 94March 28, 2013
Lightweight David Rickels Saad AwadBellator 94March 28, 2013
Middleweight Doug Marshall Brett CooperBellator 95April 4, 2013
Featherweight[2] Magomedrasul Khasbulaev Mike Richman Bellator 95April 4, 2013
Welterweight[3] Douglas Lima Ben SaundersBellator 100September 20, 2013

^ 1: Newton next faced 2013 Summer Series tournament winner Muhammed Lawal for the Interim Light Heavyweight title.
^ 2: After repeated visa issues prevented Khasbulaev from returning to the USA to claim his title shot, the fighter was granted his release from the promotion in December 2014.[21]
^ 3: Lima next faced Season Nine tournament winner Rick Hawn for the vacant welterweight title.

Bellator Fighting Championships: 2013 Summer Series

(June 19, 2013 - July 31, 2013)
All three tournaments were shortened, four-man tournaments instead of the standard eight.

Weight Division Champion Runner-up Event Date
Heavyweight Vitaly Minakov Ryan MartinezBellator 97July 31, 2013
Light Heavyweight[1] Muhammed Lawal Jacob NoeBellator 97July 31, 2013
Bantamweight[2] Rafael Silva Anthony LeoneBellator 102October 4, 2013

^ 1: Lawal next faced Season Eight tournament winner Emanuel Newton for the Interim Light Heavyweight title.
^ 2: Silva next faced Season Nine tournament winner Joe Warren for the Interim Bantamweight title.

Bellator MMA: Season Nine

(September 7, 2013 - November 22, 2013)

Weight Division Champion Runner-up Event Date
Heavyweight[1] Cheick Kongo Peter GrahamBellator 107November 8, 2013
Middleweight Brennan Ward Mikkel ParloBellator 107November 8, 2013
Bantamweight[1][2] Joe Warren Travis MarxBellator 107November 8, 2013
Featherweight Patrício Freire Justin WilcoxBellator 108November 15, 2013
Welterweight[3] Rick Hawn Ron KeslarBellator 109November 22, 2013
Lightweight[4] Will Brooks Alexander SarnavskiyBellator 109November 22, 2013

^ 1: Tournament was a shortened, four-man tournament instead of the standard eight.
^ 2: Warren next faced 2013 Summer Series tournament winner Rafael Silva for the Interim Bantamweight title.
^ 3: Hawn next faced Season Eight tournament winner Douglas Lima for the vacant welterweight title.
^ 4: Brooks next faced former champion Michael Chandler for the Interim Lightweight Championship at Bellator 120. Chandler was originally scheduled for an immediate rematch with champion Eddie Alvarez at the event.[22]

Bellator MMA: Season Ten

(February 28, 2014 – May 17, 2014)

Weight Division Champion Runner-up Event Date
Featherweight[3] Daniel Weichel Desmond GreenBellator 119May 9, 2014
Heavyweight[3] Alexander Volkov Blagoy IvanovBellator 120May 17, 2014
Light Heavyweight[1][2] Quinton Jackson Muhammed LawalBellator 120May 17, 2014
Middleweight[1] Brandon Halsey Brett CooperBellator 122July 25, 2014
Welterweight Andrey Koreshkov Adam McDonoughBellator 122July 25, 2014
Lightweight[3] Marcin Held Patricky FreireBellator 126September 26, 2014

^ 1: Tournament was a shortened, four-man tournament instead of the standard eight.
^ 2: Jackson would end up leaving Bellator MMA for the UFC and never claim his title shot.[23]
^ 3: Despite initial assurances to the contrary,[24][25] Bellator's new management would not honor the title shots Volkov, Weichel and Held earned while under the tournament format.

Bellator MMA: 2014 Summer Series

(June 6, 2014 – July 25, 2014)

Weight Division Champion Runner-up Event Date
Light Heavyweight Liam McGeary Kelly AnundsonBellator 124September 14, 2014

Bellator MMA: Dynamite 1

(September 19, 2015)
A one night, four-man light heavyweight tournament.

Weight Division Champion Runner-up Event Date
Light Heavyweight Phil Davis Francis CarmontBellator 142: Dynamite 1September 19, 2015

Bellator Heavyweight World Grand Prix Tournament

(January 20, 2018 - January 26, 2019)
Year long, eight-man heavyweight tournament to crown a new heavyweight champion.

Weight Division Champion Runner-up Event Date
Heavyweight Ryan Bader Fedor EmelianenkoBellator 214: Fedor vs. BaderJanuary 26, 2019

Bellator Welterweight World Grand Prix Tournament

(September 29, 2018 - October 26, 2019)
Year long, eight-man welterweight tournament. Current welterweight champion, Rory MacDonald, is a participant and if he were to lose, the victor will be declared lineal champion until he loses or wins the tournament and becomes undisputed champion.

Weight Division Champion Runner-up Event Date
Welterweight Douglas Lima Rory MacDonaldBellator 232October 26, 2019

Bellator Featherweight World Grand Prix Tournament

(September 28, 2019 - TBD)
Year long, sixteen-man featherweight tournament. Current featherweight champion, Patrício Freire, is a participant and if he were to lose, the victor will be declared lineal champion until he loses or wins the tournament and becomes undisputed champion.

Weight Division Champion Runner-up Event Date
FeatherweightTBDTBDTBDTBD

Champions by nationality

Division champions include title holders and interim title holders. Interim champions who become undisputed champions are listed only once. Tournament runners-up are not included.

CountryDivision
champions		Tournament
champions		Total
United States 242852
Brazil 6915
Russia 5914
Canada 2-2
Cuba 112
D.R. Congo 112
England 112
Slovakia 112
France -22
Japan 1-1

Netherlands

 1-1
Germany -11
Poland -11

Multi-division champions

Fighters who have won championships in multiple weight classes.[26] Tournament champions are not included.

ChampionDivisionWonLostDefensesReignTotal reign
Joe Warren Featherweight Sep 2, 2010
(Bellator 27)		 Mar 9, 2012
(Bellator 60)		 0 554 days 723 days
Bantamweight
(interim champion)		 May 2, 2014
(Bellator 118)		 October 10, 2014
(Bellator 128)		 0 -
Bantamweight October 10, 2014
(Bellator 128)		 March 27, 2015
(Bellator 135)		 0 169 days
Ryan Bader Light Heavyweight June 24, 2017
(Bellator 180)		 August 21, 2020
(Bellator 244)		 1 1154 days Ongoing
Heavyweight January 26, 2019
(Bellator 214)		 Current Champion 0 735 days
(incumbent)
Patrício Freire Featherweight September 5, 2014
(Bellator 123)		 November 6, 2015
(Bellator 145)		 2 428 days Ongoing
April 21, 2017
(Bellator 178)		 Current Champion 4 1380 days
(incumbent)
Lightweight May 11, 2019
(Bellator 221)		 0 630 days
(incumbent)

Most consecutive title defenses

The following includes all Bellator 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 Days
4 Ben Askren Welterweight Oct 21, 2010 - Jul 31, 2013 1014
Ilima-Lei Macfarlane Women's Flyweight Nov 3, 2017 - present 1184
Patrício Freire Featherweight Apr 21, 2017 - present 1380
3 Alexander Shlemenko Middleweight Feb 7, 2013 - Sep 26, 2014 596
Rafael Carvalho Middleweight Oct 23, 2015 - May 25, 2018 945
Julia Budd Women's Featherweight Mar 3, 2017 - Jan 25, 2020 1058
2 Michael Chandler Lightweight Nov 19, 2011 - Nov 2, 2013 714
Pat Curran Featherweight Mar 9, 2012 - Nov 2, 2013 603
Eduardo Dantas Bantamweight Feb 14, 2013 - Oct 10, 2014 603
Emanuel Newton Light Heavyweight Mar 21, 2013 - Feb 27, 2015 708
Patrício Freire Featherweight Sep 5, 2014 - Nov 6, 2015 427
Will Brooks Lightweight Nov 15, 2014 - May 14, 2016 546
Rory MacDonald[lower-alpha 1] Welterweight Jan 20, 2018 - Oct 26, 2019 644
  1. MacDonald successfully defended the Bellator Welterweight Championship once and retained the title once following a draw against Jon Fitch at Bellator 220.

Most wins in title bouts

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

Title wins

 Champion

 Weight class

 Record in title bouts
(Win-Loss-Draw)
9 Patrício Freire Featherweight
Lightweight		 8 - 2 - 0
1 - 0 - 0
6 Michael Chandler Lightweight 6 - 5 - 0
5 Ben Askren Welterweight 5 - 0 - 0
Eduardo Dantas Bantamweight 5 - 2 - 0
4 Ilima-Lei Macfarlane Women's Flyweight 4 - 0 - 0
Will Brooks Lightweight 4 - 0 - 0
Julia Budd Women's Featherweight 4 - 1 - 0
Emanuel Newton Light Heavyweight 4 - 1 - 0
Rafael Carvalho Middleweight 4 - 1 - 0
Alexander Shlemenko Middleweight 4 - 2 - 0
Pat Curran Lightweight
Featherweight
 0 - 1 - 0
4 - 2 - 0
Douglas Lima Welterweight 4 - 3 - 0
3 Ryan Bader Light Heavyweight
Heavyweight		 2 - 0 - 0
1 - 0 - 0
Eddie Alvarez Lightweight 3 - 1 - 0
Joe Warren Featherweight
Bantamweight
 1 - 1 - 0
2 - 2 - 0

See also

References
  1. Whitman, Mike. "Viacom Buys Stake in Bellator; Promotion Headed to Spike by 2013". Sherdog.com. Retrieved January 27, 2015.
  2. "Bellator announces championship-rematch clause with move to Spike TV". MMAjunkie.com. Retrieved August 6, 2014.
  3. "Bellator's 'Summer Series' returns with three four-man tournaments". MMAjunkie.com. Retrieved August 6, 2014.
  4. Erickson, Matt. "Rebney open to holding four-man tourneys in Bellator's regular season". MMAjunkie.com. Retrieved August 6, 2014.
  5. "Bellator institutes 'tournament champion replacement clause' for title fights". MMAjunkie.com. Retrieved August 6, 2014.
  6. Critchfield, Tristen. "New Bellator Rule Allows Former Tourney Winners to Fight for Title at Any Time". Sherdog.com. Retrieved June 18, 2014.
  7. Stupp, Dann. "Bellator announces departure of executives Bjorn Rebney and Tim Danaher". MMAjunkie.com. Retrieved August 6, 2014.
  8. Marrocco, Steven. "Scott Coker: Bellator moving to monthly events in 2015; Spike TV to remain focus". MMAjunkie.com. Retrieved August 19, 2014.
  9. "Bellator Fighters". bellator.com. Retrieved 2013-03-02.
  10. "Bellator confirms retirement of heavyweight champ Cole Konrad; title's future to be decided". mmajunkie.com. Archived from the original on 2012-09-16. Retrieved 2012-09-13.
  11. Mike Sloan (2016-05-14). "Bellator cuts lightweight champ Will Brooks, strips Heavyweight champ Vitaly Minakov". sherdog.com. Retrieved 2016-05-14.
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