Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling.

Boxing

Professional boxing

History

A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of 126 pounds (57 kg). In the early days of the division, this limit fluctuated. The British have generally always recognized the limit at 126 pounds, but in America the weight limit was at first 114 pounds. An early champion, George Dixon, moved the limit to 120 and then 122 pounds. Finally, in 1920 the United States fixed the limit at 126 pounds.

The 1860 fight between Nobby Clark and Jim Elliott is sometimes called the first featherweight championship. However, the division only gained wide acceptance in 1889 after the Ike Weir–Frank Murphy fight.

Since the end of the 2000s and early 2010s the featherweight division is one of the most active in boxing with fighters such as Orlando Salido, Chris John, Juan Manuel López, Celestino Caballero, Yuriorkis Gamboa, Elio Rojas, Israel Vazquez, Cristobal Cruz, Rafael Márquez, Rocky Juarez, Steven Luevano, Naseem Hamed, Marco Antonio Barrera and Manny Pacquiao.

Current world champions

Sanctioning BodyReign BeganChampionRecordDefenses
WBAFebruary 7, 2026Brandon Figueroa27–2–1 (20 KO)0
WBCJanuary 31, 2026Bruce Carrington17–0 (10 KO)0
IBFAugust 10, 2024Angelo Leo26–1 (12 KO)1
WBODecember 9, 2023Rafael Espinoza27–0 (23 KO)3

Current The Ring world rankings

As of August 16, 2025.

Keys:

C Current The Ring world champion

RankNameRecordTitle(s)
Cvacant
1Rafael Espinoza27–0 (23 KO)WBO
2Angelo Leo26–1 (12 KO)IBF
3Nick Ball23–0–1 (13 KO)WBA
4Stephen Fulton23–1 (8 KO)WBC
5Luis Alberto Lopez31–3 (18 KO)
6Bruce Carrington16–0 (9 KO)
7Brandon Figueroa26–2–1 (19 KO)
8Mirco Cuello16–0 (13 KO)
9Robeisy Ramírez14–3 (9 KO)
10Nathaniel Collins17–0–1 (8 KO)

Longest reigning world featherweight champions

Below is a list of longest reigning featherweight champions in boxing measured by the individual's longest reign. Career total time as champion (for multiple time champions) does not apply.

NameTitle reignTitle recognitionSuccessful defensesBeaten opponentsFights
1.Johnny Kilbane11 years, 3 months, 24 daysWorld/NYSAC42
2.Chris John10 years, 1 month, 5 daysWBA1816
3.Abe Attell8 years, 5 months, 19 daysWorld2214
4.Eusebio Pedroza7 years, 1 month, 23 daysWBA1918
5.Gary Russell, Jr.6 years, 9 month, 25 daysWBC55
6.Sandy Saddler6 years, 4 months, 13 daysWorld43
7.Léo Santa Cruz5 years, 10 months, 13 daysWBA (Super)55
8.Naseem Hamed4 years, 11 months, 20 daysWBO1515
9.George Dixon4 years, 5 monthsWorld44
10.Antonio Esparragoza4 years, 27 daysWBA77
11.Davey Moore4 years, 3 daysWorld54

Lineal Champions

Olympic champions

Men's

Pan American Champions

Notable featherweights

Kickboxing

In kickboxing, a featherweight fighter generally weighs between 55 and 59 kg (121 and 130 lb). However, some governing bodies have slightly different classes. For example, the International Kickboxing Federation (IKF) featherweight division (professional and amateur) is between 122.1–127 lb (55.4–57.6 kg).

In Glory promotion, a featherweight division is up to 65 kg (143 lb).

In Bellator Kickboxing promotion, a featherweight division is up to 66 kg (146 lb).

In ONE Championship, the featherweight division limit is 70.3 kg (155 lb).

Bare-knuckle boxing

The limit for featherweight generally differs among promotions in bare-knuckle boxing:

  • In Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship, the featherweight division has an upper limit of 145 lb (66 kg).
  • In BKB™, the featherweight division has an upper limit of 76 kg (168 lb).

Lethwei

International Lethwei Federation Japan has a featherweight division with an upper limit of 65 kg (143 lb). In International Lethwei Federation Japan, Thar A Thae Ta Pwint is the Featherweight Champion.

In World Lethwei Championship, the featherweight division has an upper limit of 57 kg (126 lb).

Mixed Martial Arts

In MMA, within the UFC company and most other MMA companies the featherweight range is from 136 to 145 lb (62 to 66 kg).

Current champions

These tables were last updated in July 2025.

Men:

OrganizationReign BeganChampionRecordDefenses
UFCApril 13, 2025Australia Alexander Volkanovski27-4 (13KO 3SUB)0
Bellator MMAApril 15, 2022Brazil Patrício Pitbull33–5 (11KO 12SUB)1
ONE ChampionshipAugust 26, 2022China Tang Kai15–2 (12KO 0SUB)0
ACAJuly 22, 2022Russia Alikhan Suleymanov15–2 (1KO 10SUB)0
Cage WarriorsNovember 4, 2022England Paul Hughes9–1 (3KO 3SUB)0
KSWDecember 18, 2021France Salahdine Parnasse21–2 (6KO 7SUB)2
M-1 GlobalVacant
AMC Fight NightsOctober 14, 2022Russia Gleb Khabibulin7–1–2 (4KO 3SUB)0
Brave Combat FederationOctober 22, 2022Russia Roman Bogatov13–1 (1KO 5SUB)0
Titan FCAugust 6, 2021Jordan Ali al-Qaisi12–5 (2KO 4SUB)0
Legacy Fighting AllianceVacant
Road FCDecember 18, 2022South Korea Hae Jin Park10–2 (1KO 4SUB)0

Women:

OrganizationReign BeganChampionRecordDefenses
Bellator MMAJanuary 25, 2020Brazil Cris Cyborg29–2 (1) (20KO 1SUB)4
UFCDecember 29, 2018Brazil Amanda Nunes21–5 (13KO 3SUB)2
Invicta FCVacant

See also