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List of Professional Fighters League champions

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Professional Fighters League ("PFL"; formerly the World Series of Fighting, or "WSOF") is an American mixed martial arts promotion company, and the following is a history of its superfight champions in each weight class. This list also includes championship histories for their international partners PFL Europe, WSOF: Canada and WSOF Global.

PFL

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Men's Super Fights Championship History

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Super Fights Heavyweight Championship

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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 33 days
(incumbent)

Women's Super Fights Championship History

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Super Fights Women's Featherweight Championship

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135 to 145 lbs (61 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 33 days
(incumbent)

Tournament winners

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Event Date Division Winner Runner-up
PFL 11 (2018) Dec 31, 2018 Heavyweight Brazil Philipe Lins United States Josh Copeland
Light Heavyweight United States Sean O'Connell Brazil Vinny Magalhães
Middleweight United States Louis Taylor Russia Abus Magomedov
Welterweight Russia Magomed Magomedkerimov United States Ray Cooper III
Lightweight Brazil Natan Schulte Russia Rashid Magomedov
Featherweight United States Lance Palmer United States Steven Siler
PFL 10 (2019) Dec 31, 2019 Heavyweight Russia Ali Isaev United States Jared Rosholt
Light Heavyweight Argentina Emiliano Sordi United States Jordan Johnson
Welterweight United States Ray Cooper III United States David Michaud
Lightweight Brazil Natan Schulte (2) Tajikistan Loik Radzhabov
Featherweight United States Lance Palmer (2) United States Alex Gilpin
Women's Lightweight United States Kayla Harrison Brazil Larissa Pacheco
PFL 10 (2021) Oct 27, 2021 Heavyweight Brazil Bruno Cappelozza Croatia Ante Delija
Light Heavyweight Brazil Antônio Carlos Júnior Norway Marthin Hamlet
Welterweight United States Ray Cooper III (2) Russia Magomed Magomedkerimov
Lightweight Brazil Raush Manfio Tajikistan Loik Radzhabov
Featherweight Russia Movlid Khaybulaev United States Chris Wade
Women's Lightweight United States Kayla Harrison (2) United States Taylor Guardado
PFL 10 (2022) Nov 25, 2022 Heavyweight Croatia Ante Delija Brazil Matheus Scheffel
Light Heavyweight Australia Rob Wilkinson Russia Omari Akhmedov
Welterweight Sweden Sadibou Sy United States Dilano Taylor
Lightweight Canada Olivier Aubin-Mercier Scotland Stevie Ray
Featherweight England Brendan Loughnane United States Bubba Jenkins
Women's Lightweight Brazil Larissa Pacheco United States Kayla Harrison
PFL 10 (2023) Nov 24, 2023 Heavyweight Brazil Renan Ferreira Russia Denis Goltsov
Light Heavyweight United States Impa Kasanganay United States Josh Silveira
Welterweight Russia Magomed Magomedkerimov (2) Sweden Sadibou Sy
Lightweight Canada Olivier Aubin-Mercier (2) United States Clay Collard
Featherweight Peru Jesus Pinedo Brazil Gabriel Alves Braga
Women's Featherweight United States Larissa Pacheco (2) Russia Marina Mokhnatkina
PFL 10 (2024) November 29, 2024 Heavyweight Russia Russia
Light Heavyweight
Welterweight Russia Russia
Lightweight
Featherweight
Women's Flyweight

Europe Tournament winners

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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 Tajikistan Khurshed Kakhorov South Africa Frans Mlambo
Women's Flyweight England Dakota Ditcheva Italy Valentina Scatizzi
PFL Europe 4 (2024) Dec 14, 2024 Welterweight
Lightweight
Bantamweight
Women's Flyweight

MENA Tournament winners

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Event Date Division Winner Runner-up
PFL 10 (2024) November 29, 2024 Welterweight
Lightweight
Featherweight
Bantamweight

WSOF

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Men's Championship History (defunct)

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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

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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 3457 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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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136 to 145 lbs (61 to 66 kg)
No. Name Event Date Reign Defenses
1 Russia 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.[1][2]

Bantamweight Championship

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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.[1][2]

Flyweight Championship

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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)

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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

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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)

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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

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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

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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.[1][2]

Global Flyweight Championship

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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.[1][2]

Tournament winners

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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 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

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Most wins in title bouts

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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

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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

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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 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

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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

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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 8 - 16
 Brazil 6 3 - 9
 Russia 3 3 1 7
 Canada 1 - 1 1
 Argentina 1 - - 1
 Bulgaria - 1 - 1
 Greece - 1 - 1
 Mexico - 1 - 1
 Japan - - 1 1

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d Staff (2018-08-31). "Playoff matchups set for PFL's first season of $1 million winners". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2018-08-31.
  2. ^ a b c d "Fight Card - PFL 11". PFL.
  3. ^ "MMA All-time Record Holders". sportsillustrated. Archived from the original on May 17, 2012.
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