List of Professional Fighters League champions
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Professional Fighters League ("PFL") is an American mixed martial arts promotion company, and the following is a history of its super fights champions in each weight class. This list also includes championship histories for their international partners PFL Europe and PFL MENA, as well as the championship histories for their predecessor World Series of Fighting ("WSOF") and its international partners WSOF: Canada and WSOF Global.
Current champions
Men
| Division | Champion | Since | Defenses |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heavyweight | Russia Vadim Nemkov | Dec 13, 2025 | 0 |
| Light Heavyweight | United States Corey Anderson | Oct 3, 2025 | 0 |
| Middleweight | Spain Costello van Steenis | Jul 19, 2025 | 1 |
| Welterweight | Russia Ramazan Kuramagomedov | Feb 7, 2026 | 0 |
| Lightweight | Russia Usman Nurmagomedov | Oct 3, 2025 | 1 |
| Featherweight | |||
| Bantamweight |
Women
| Division | Champion | Since | Defenses |
|---|---|---|---|
| Featherweight | Brazil Cris Cyborg | Dec 13, 2025 | 0 |
| Flyweight |
PFL championship history
Men's championship history
Heavyweight World Championship
206 to 265 lb (93 to 120 kg)
| No. | Name | Event | Date | Reign | Defenses |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Russia Vadim Nemkov def. Renan Ferreira | PFL Lyon Décines-Charpieu, France | Dec 13, 2025 | 125 days (incumbent) |
Light Heavyweight World Championship
186 to 205 lbs (84.3 to 93 kg) Prior to its deactivation on October 3, 2025, Corey Anderson was the Bellator Light Heavyweight Champion. Following the PFL absorption of Bellator MMA, Anderson defeated Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov for the inaugural PFL Light Heavyweight World Championship at PFL Champions Series 3.
| No. | Name | Event | Date | Reign | Defenses |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States Corey Anderson def. Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov | PFL Champions Series Dubai Dubai, UAE | Oct 3, 2025 | 196 days (incumbent) |
Middleweight World Championship
171 to 185 lbs (77 to 84 kg) Prior to its deactivation on July 19, 2025, Johnny Eblen was the Bellator Middleweight Champion. Following the PFL absorption of Bellator MMA, Costello van Steenis defeated Eblen for the inaugural PFL Middleweight World Championship at PFL Champions Series 2.
| No. | Name | Event | Date | Reign | Defenses |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spain Costello van Steenis def. Johnny Eblen | PFL Champions Series Cape Town Cape Town, South Africa | Jul 19, 2025 | 272 days (incumbent) | 1. def. Fabian Edwards at PFL Madrid on Mar 20, 2026 |
Welterweight World Championship
156 to 170 lbs (70 to 77 kg) Prior to its deactivation on February 7, 2026, Ramazan Kuramagomedov was the Bellator Welterweight Champion. Following the PFL absorption of Bellator MMA, Kuramagomedov defeated Shamil Musaev for the inaugural PFL Welterweight World Championship at PFL Champions Series 5.
| No. | Name | Event | Date | Reign | Defenses |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Russia Ramazan Kuramagomedov def. Shamil Musaev | PFL Dubai Dubai, UAE | Feb 7, 2026 | 69 days (incumbent) |
Lightweight World Championship
146 to 155 lbs (66.2 to 70.3 kg) Prior to its deactivation on October 3, 2025, Usman Nurmagomedov was the Bellator Lightweight Champion. Following the PFL absorption of Bellator MMA, Nurmagomedov defeated Paul Hughes for the inaugural PFL Lightweight World Championship at PFL Champions Series 3.
| No. | Name | Event | Date | Reign | Defenses |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Russia Usman Nurmagomedov def. Paul Hughes | PFL Champions Series Dubai Dubai, UAE | Oct 3, 2025 | 196 days (incumbent) | 1. def. Alfie Davis at PFL Dubai on Feb 7, 2026 |
Women's championship history
Women's Featherweight World Championship
126 to 145 lbs (57 to 66 kg) Prior to its deactivation on December 13, 2025, Cris Cyborg was the Bellator Women's Featherweight Champion. Following the PFL absorption of Bellator MMA, Cyborg defeated Sara Collins for the inaugural PFL Women's Featherweight World Championship at PFL Champions Series 4.
| No. | Name | Event | Date | Reign | Defenses |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brazil Cris Cyborg def. Sara Collins | PFL Lyon Décines-Charpieu, France | Dec 13, 2025 | 125 days (incumbent) |
World Tournament winners
European Championship Tournament winners
| Event | Date | Division | Winner | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PFL Europe 4 (2023) | Dec 8, 2023 | Light Heavyweight | Slovenia Jakob Nedoh | England Simeón Powell |
| Lightweight | Poland Jakub Kaszuba | Republic of Ireland John Mitchell | ||
| Bantamweight | Germany Khurshed Kakhorov | South Africa Frans Mlambo | ||
| Women's Flyweight | England Dakota Ditcheva | Italy Valentina Scatizzi | ||
| PFL Europe 4 (2024) | Dec 14, 2024 | Welterweight | Albania Florim Zendeli | Italy Daniele Miceli |
| Lightweight | Poland Jakub Kaszuba (2) | England Connor Hughes | ||
| Bantamweight | England Lewis McGrillen-Evans | Germany Alexander Luster | ||
| Women's Flyweight | Poland Paulina Wiśniewska | Italy Valentina Scatizzi | ||
| PFL Champions Series 4 | Dec 13, 2025 | Lightweight | Latvia Aleksandr Chizov | England Connor Hughes |
| Bantamweight | France Baris Adiguzel | England Dean Garnett |
MENA Championship Tournament winners
| Event | Date | Division | Winner | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PFL 10 (2024) | Nov 29, 2024 | Welterweight | Egypt Omar El Dafrawy | Kuwait Mohammad Alaqraa |
| Lightweight | Iran Mohsen Mohammadseifi | Lebanon Georges Eid | ||
| Featherweight | Saudi Arabia Abdullah Al-Qahtani | Morocco Maraoune Bellagouit | ||
| Bantamweight | Iraq Ali Taleb | Morocco Rachid El Hazoume | ||
| PFL MENA 4 (2025) | Dec 5, 2025 | Welterweight | Kuwait Mohammad Alaqraa | Morocco Badreddine Diani |
| Lightweight | Morocco Salah Eddine Hamli | Iraq Mohammad Fahmi | ||
| Featherweight | Egypt Islam Reda | Algeria Yanis Ghemmouri | ||
| Bantamweight | Jordan Nawras Abzakh | Egypt Islam Youssef |
Africa Championship Tournament winners
| Event | Date | Division | Winner | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PFL Africa 4 (2025) | Dec 20, 2025 | Heavyweight | Ivory Coast Abraham Bably | South Africa Justin Clarke |
| Welterweight | Guinea-Bissau Yabna N'Tchalá | Angola Shido Boris Esperanca | ||
| Featherweight | Nigeria Wasi Adeshina | Cameroon Alain Majorique | ||
| Bantamweight | South Africa Nkosi Ndebele | Angola Boule Godogo |
Symbolic Super Fights Championship
Francis Ngannou and Cris Cyborg won the inaugural titles on October 19, 2024, at PFL Super Fights: Battle of the Giants. On September 24, 2025, PFL CEO John Martin confirmed the "Super Fight" title is a special, one-time designation and going forward, those belts may only be used for occasional special events.
Super Fights Heavyweight Championship
206 to 265 lbs (93 to 120 kg)
| No. | Name | Event | Date | Reign | Defenses |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cameroon Francis Ngannou def. Renan Ferreira | PFL Super Fights: Battle of the Giants Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | Oct 19, 2024 | 503 days | |
| Ngannou was released from PFL on March 6, 2026. |
Super Fights Women's Featherweight Championship
126 to 145 lbs (57 to 66 kg)
| No. | Name | Event | Date | Reign | Defenses |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brazil Cris Cyborg def. Larissa Pacheco | PFL Super Fights: Battle of the Giants Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | Oct 19, 2024 | 545 days (incumbent) |
WSOF champions (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 | Greece Smealinho Rama def. Derrick Mehmen | WSOF 14 Edmonton, AB, Canada | Oct 11, 2014 | 237 days | |
| 2 | Bulgaria Blagoy Ivanov | WSOF 21 Edmonton, AB, Canada | Jun 5, 2015 | 3969 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 Mar 18, 2017 4. def. Caio Alencar at PFL Fight Night on Nov 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 | United States David Branch def. Teddy Holder | WSOF 23 Phoenix, AZ, U.S. | Sep 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 | United States David Branch def. Jesse Taylor | WSOF 10 Las Vegas, NV, U.S. | 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 | United States Steve Carl def. Josh Burkman | WSOF 6 Coral Gables, FL, U.S. | Oct 26, 2013 | 154 days | |
| 2 | Brazil Rousimar Palhares | WSOF 9 Las Vegas, NV, U.S. | Mar 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 | United States Jon Fitch def. João Zeferino | WSOF 30 Las Vegas, NV, U.S. | Apr 2, 2016 | 698 days | 1. def. Jake Shields at WSOF 34 on Dec 31, 2016 2. def. Brian Foster at PFL Daytona on Jun 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 | United States Justin Gaethje def. Richard Patishnock | WSOF 8 Hollywood, FL, U.S. | Jan 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 | Armenia Georgi Karakhanyan def. Lance Palmer | WSOF 7 Vancouver, BC, Canada | Dec 7, 2013 | 196 days | |
| 2 | United States Ricky Glenn | WSOF 10 Las Vegas, NV, U.S. | Jun 21, 2014 | 176 days | |
| 3 | United States Lance Palmer | WSOF 16 Sacramento, CA, U.S. | Dec 13, 2014 | 371 days | 1. def. Chris Horodecki at WSOF 21 on June 5, 2015 |
| 4 | Brazil Alexandre Almeida | WSOF 26 Las Vegas, NV, U.S. | Dec 18, 2015 | 226 days | |
| 5 | United States Lance Palmer (2) | WSOF 32 Everett, WA, U.S. | Jul 30, 2016 | 231 days (602 days) | |
| 6 | United States Andre Harrison | WSOF 35 Verona, NY, U.S. | Mar 18, 2017 | 446 days | 1. def. Steven Rodriguez at PFL Everett on Jul 29, 2017 |
| The WSOF Featherweight championship was retired on June 7, 2018 when the PFL league format began at PFL 1. |
Bantamweight Championship
126 to 135 lbs (57 to 61 kg)
| No. | Name | Event | Date | Reign | Defenses |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brazil 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 | Russia 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. |
Flyweight Championship
116 to 125 lbs (53 to 57 kg)
| No. | Name | Event | Date | Reign | Defenses |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Russia 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 | Mexico 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. |
International Championship History (defunct)
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 | Canada 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 | Russia 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. |
Global Flyweight Championship
125 lbs (57 kg)
| No. | Name | Event | Date | Reign | Defenses |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Japan 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. |
Tournament winners
| Event(s) | Division | Champion | Runner-up | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WSOF 5, WSOF 7 e WSOF 10 | Middleweight | United States David Branch | United States Jesse Taylor | June 21, 2014 |
| WSOF 19, WSOF 20 e WSOF 23 | Light Heavyweight | United States David Branch | United States Teddy Holder | September 18, 2015 |
| WSOF 25 | Lightweight | United States Brian Foster | Brazil 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 | United States Justin Gaethje | Lightweight | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brazil Marlon Moraes | Bantamweight | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| United States David Branch | Light Heavyweight Middleweight | 2 4 | 0 0 | 0 0 | 0 0 | |
| 5 | Bulgaria Blagoy Ivanov | Heavyweight | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | United States Lance Palmer | Featherweight | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Mexico Jessica Aguilar | Women's Strawweight | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Brazil 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 | United States Justin Gaethje | Lightweight | January 18, 2014 - April 27, 2017 |
| Brazil Marlon Moraes | Bantamweight | March 29, 2014 - January 3, 2017 | |
| 4 | Bulgaria Blagoy Ivanov | Heavyweight | June 5, 2015 - April 25, 2018 |
| 3 | United States David Branch | Middleweight | June 21, 2014 - February 6, 2017 |
| 2 | Mexico Jessica Aguilar | Women's Strawweight | January 18, 2014 - May 18, 2015 |
| Brazil Rousimar Palhares | Welterweight | March 29, 2014 - August 4, 2015 |
Multi-division champions
| Interim title |
Fighters who have won championships in multiple weight classes. Tournament champions are not included.
| No. | Champion | Division | Won | Lost | Defenses | Reign | Total Reign |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States 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. | Champion | Division | Span | Defenses | Simultaneous Reign |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States 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.
| Country | Tournament champions | Division champions | International champions | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 8 | 9 | - | 17 |
| Russia | 6 | 4 | 1 | 11 |
| Brazil | 6 | 4 | - | 10 |
| Canada | 1 | - | 1 | 1 |
| Argentina | 1 | - | - | 1 |
| Bulgaria | - | 1 | - | 1 |
| Spain | - | 1 | - | 1 |
| Greece | - | 1 | - | 1 |
| Mexico | - | 1 | - | 1 |
| Japan | - | - | 1 | 1 |
See also
- List of PFL events
- List of current PFL fighters
- List of current mixed martial arts champions
- List of Bellator MMA champions
- List of EliteXC champions
- List of Invicta FC champions
- List of ONE Championship champions
- List of Pride champions
- List of Strikeforce champions
- List of UFC champions
- List of WEC champions
- Mixed martial arts weight classes