 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "List of World Extreme Cagefighting champions" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(January 2010) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
This is alist ofWorld Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) champions at each weight class.
In December 2006World Extreme Cagefighting was bought byZuffa, LLC, the parent company of theUFC, to concentrate on the four smaller weight classes under theUnified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts. Over the next two years, theWEC 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 wereLightweight,Featherweight andBantamweight.
| No. | Name | Event | Date | Defenses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Ron Watermandef. James Nevarez | WEC 7 Lemoore, CA, USA | August 9, 2003 | 1. def.Ricco Rodriguez atWEC 16 on August 18, 2005 in Lemoore, CA, USA |
| The WEC Super Heavyweight division was abolished in December 2006 when Zuffa purchased the organization. | ||||
| No. | Name | Event | Date | Defenses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mike Kyle def. Jude Hargett | WEC 9 Lemoore, CA, USA | January 16, 2004 | |
| Title vacated. | ||||
| 2 | Mike Serr def. Rafael del Real | WEC 10 Lemoore, CA, USA | May 21, 2004 | |
| Title vacated. | ||||
| 3 | James Irvin def. Houssain Oushani | WEC 12 Lemoore, CA, USA | October 21, 2004 | 1. def.Doug Marshall atWEC 15 on May 19, 2005 in Lemoore, CA, USA |
| Irvin vacated the title to fight in the Light Heavyweight division. | ||||
| 4 | Brian Olsen def.Lavar Johnson | WEC 18 Lemoore, CA, USA | January 13, 2006 | 1. def.Mike Kyle atWEC 20 on May 5, 2006 in Lemoore, CA, USA |
| The WEC Heavyweight division was abolished in December 2006 when Zuffa purchased the organization. | ||||
| No. | Name | Event | Date | Defenses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Frank Shamrock def. Bryan Pardoe | WEC 6 Lemoore, CA, USA | March 27, 2003 | |
| Shamrock vacated in August 2003 to fight forStrikeforce. | ||||
| 2 | Richard Montoya def. Abraham Baxter | WEC 11 Lemoore, CA, USA | August 20, 2004 | |
| 3 | Jason Lambert | WEC 13 Lemoore, CA, USA | January 22, 2005 | |
| Lambert vacated in October 2005 to fight for theUFC. | ||||
| 4 | Scott Smith def.Tait Fletcher | WEC 17 Lemoore, CA, USA | October 14, 2005 | 1. def.Justin Levens atWEC 18 on January 13, 2006 in Lemoore, CA, USA |
| Smith vacated in May 2006 to participate inThe Ultimate Fighter. | ||||
| 5 | Lodune Sincaid def. Dan Molina | WEC 20 Lemoore, CA, USA | May 5, 2006 | |
| 6 | Doug Marshall | WEC 23 Lemoore, CA, USA | August 17, 2006 | 1. def. Justin McElfresh atWEC 27 on May 12, 2007 in Las Vegas, NV, USA 2. def. Ariel Gandulla atWEC 31 on December 12, 2007 in Las Vegas, NV, USA |
| 7 | Brian Stann | WEC 33 Las Vegas, NV, USA | March 26, 2008 | |
| 8 | 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. | ||||
| 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 in December 2006 when Zuffa purchased the organization. | ||||
| 3 |  Paulo Filhodef.Joe Doerksen | WEC 29 Las Vegas, NV, USA | August 5, 2007 | 1. def.Chael Sonnen atWEC 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. | ||||
| 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 atWEC 18 on Jan 13, 2006 in Lemoore, CA, USA |
| The WEC Welterweight title was vacated in 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 atWEC 29 on Aug 5, 2007 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. | ||||
| No. | Name | Event | Date | Defenses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kurt Pellegrino def. Mac Danzig | WEC 4 Uncasville, CT, USA | Aug 31, 2002 | |
| Pellegrino vacated the title to focus on fighting in other events. | ||||
| 2 | Gilbert Melendez def. Olaf Alfonso | WEC 10 Lemoore, CA, USA | May 21, 2004 | |
| Melendez vacated the title to focus on fighting in other events. | ||||
| 3 | Gabe Ruediger def. Olaf Alfonso | WEC 12 Lemoore, CA, USA | October 21, 2004 | 1. def. Jason Maxwell atWEC 14 on Mar 17, 2005 in Lemoore, CA, USA |
| 4 | Hermes França | WEC 19 Lemoore, CA, USA | March 17, 2006 | 1. def. Brandon Olsen atWEC 21 on Jun 15, 2006 in Highland, CA, USA |
| The WEC Lightweight title was vacated in December 2006 whenZuffa purchased the organization and brought França over to the UFC. | ||||
| 5 | Rob McCullough def.Kit Cope | WEC 25 Las Vegas, NV, USA | January 20, 2007 | 1. def.Richard Crunkilton atWEC 30 on Sep 5, 2007 in Las Vegas, NV, USA |
| 6 | Jamie Varner | WEC 32 Albuquerque, NM, USA | February 13, 2008 | 1. def.Marcus Hicks atWEC 35 on Aug 3, 2008 in Las Vegas, NV, USA |
| - | Benson Henderson def.Donald Cerrone for interim title | WEC 43 San Antonio, TX, USA | October 10, 2009 | |
| 7 | Benson Henderson | WEC 46 Sacramento, CA, USA | January 10, 2010 | 1. def.Donald Cerrone atWEC 48 in April 2010, in Sacramento, CA, USA |
| 8 | 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. | ||||
| No. | Name | Event | Date | Defenses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cole Escovedo def. Philip Perez | WEC 5 Lemoore, CA, USA | October 18, 2002 | 1. def. Anthony Hamlett atWEC 8 on Oct 17, 2003 in Lemoore, CA, USA |
| 2 | Urijah Faber | WEC 19 Lemoore, CA, USA | March 17, 2006 | 1. def. Joe Pearson atWEC 25 on Jan 20, 2007 in Las Vegas, NV, USA |
| 3 | Mike Brown | WEC 36 Hollywood, FL, USA | November 5, 2008 | 1. def.Leonard Garcia atWEC 39 on Mar 1, 2009 in Corpus Christi, TX, USA |
| 4 | José Aldo | WEC 44 Las Vegas, NV, USA | November 18, 2009 | 1. def.Urijah Faber atWEC 48 on April 24, 2010 in Sacramento, CA, 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 inauguralUFC Featherweight Championship on November 20, 2010.[1] | ||||
| 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 atWEC 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 atWEC 34 on Jun 1, 2008 in Sacramento, CA, 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 atWEC 50 on Aug 18, 2010 in Las Vegas, NV, 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 inauguralUFC Bantamweight Championship when he defeated Scott Jorgensen atWEC 53.[2] | ||||
| No. | Name | Event | Date | Defenses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Doug Marshall def. Anthony Arria | WEC 10 Lemoore, CA, USA | May 21, 2004 | 1. def. Carlos Garcia atWEC 12 on October 21, 2004 in Lemoore, CA, USA |
| No. | Name | Event | Date | Defenses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Mark Weirdef. Will Bradford | WEC 12 Lemoore, CA, USA | October 21, 2004 | |
| 2 |  Alex Serdyukov | WEC 14 Lemoore, CA, USA | March 17, 2005 | 1. def. Victor Parfenov atWEC 16 on August 18, 2005 in Lemoore, CA, USA |
| No. | Name | Event | Date | Defenses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Poppies Martinez def. Gabriel Cruz | WEC 10 Lemoore, CA, USA | May 21, 2004 |
| No. | Name | Event | Date | Defenses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dan Christison def. Andre Roberts | WEC 13 Lemoore, CA, USA | January 22, 2005 |
| No. | Name | Event | Date | Defenses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cole Escovedo def. Poppies Martinez | WEC 15 Lemoore, CA, USA | May 19, 2005 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
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 |