Alex Pereira And The Rare Legacy Of Two-Time Champions
Alex Pereira has now won the UFC light heavyweight title twice. With a record of 13 wins and 3 losses, Alex has claimed three UFC titles and defeated a total of seven champions. He is now the third two-time light heavyweight champion, joining one of the most exclusive clubs in MMA. The only thing more rare than becoming a champion is doing it twice.
The first person to achieve this in the light heavyweight division was Randy Couture, who defeated Vitor Belfort at UFC 49 in 2004. After that, there was a 14-year gap until Jon Jones regained his title, which had been stripped. He reclaimed it by defeating Alexander Gustafsson.
Alex Pereira has now knocked out the man who previously beat him in just one minute and twenty seconds of the first round, adding another chapter to his already solidified MMA legacy.
UFC’s Two-Time Champions
In the modern belt era of the UFC, only 18 people have ever won a championship twice. Randy Couture stands out, even in today’s UFC. Not only is Randy the oldest champion the sport has ever seen, but he is the only athlete in the promotion’s history to become a two-time champion in two separate divisions — both light heavyweight and heavyweight. This is a feat that may go down as the most unbreakable record in UFC history.
The heavyweight division is home to several two-time champs. Tim Sylvia, Cain Velasquez, and Stipe Miocic are the other three men who have secured the belt twice in this division. All were feared in their time and respected by peers and fans alike. Being the baddest man on the planet twice is a terrifying achievement.
Middleweight has only one two-time champion, Israel Adesanya, who joined the club by defeating Alex Pereira in their 2023 rematch at UFC 287. This marked Pereira’s last bout at middleweight before permanently moving up to light heavyweight, where he is now on his second reign as undisputed champion.
Welterweight features one of the earliest members of the two-time champions club, none other than Georges “Rush” St-Pierre. He claimed his second welterweight title in a rematch against Matt Serra. Serra had knocked out Georges in what many still consider the greatest upset in UFC history. St-Pierre avenged the loss with a second-round TKO.
Featherweight has only one representative in this elite group: Jose Aldo Jr. The Hall of Fame Brazilian fighter won his second undisputed title when he beat Frankie Edgar at UFC 200, after Conor McGregor vacated the title to pursue the lightweight crown.
Bantamweight features two men whose fighting fates have been deeply connected — Dominick Cruz and TJ Dillashaw. Cruz regained his championship after defeating TJ following a long injury layoff. TJ, in a similar twist of fate, later won the belt from Cody Garbrandt, the same fighter who had taken it from Cruz. These two legends would not be members of this club without each other.
The only members of the two-time champions club who earned their status by trading the belt back and forth are Brandon Moreno and Deiveson Figueiredo in the flyweight division. They fought in the only quadrilogy in UFC history, with each man claiming victory and championship gold during their rivalry.
The women’s divisions have a combined five members in the two-time champions club. Amanda Nunes, Rose Namajunas, Zhang Weili, and Carla Esparza have all cemented themselves as legends within their respective weight classes.
Less than two percent of fighters in UFC history have become two-time champions. That small number represents more than just a statistic — it reflects the rare combination of skill, resilience, and greatness required to climb the mountain twice. In a sport defined by moments, becoming a two-time champion is a legacy that time cannot erase.
