List of Professional Fighters League champions

Professional Fighters League (formerly the World Series of Fighting, or "WSOF") is an American mixed martial arts promotion, and the following is a history of its champions in each weight class. As well as championship history for their International promotions WSOF: Canada and WSOF Global Championship.

PFL Tournament champions

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2018

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Event(s)DivisionWeightChampionRunner-upSemi-finalists
PFL 11 (2018)
December 31, 2018
HeavyweightUntil 120 kg Philipe Lins Josh Copeland Alex Nicholson
Jared Rosholt
Light HeavyweightUntil 93 kg Sean O'Connell Vinny Magalhães Bazigit Atajev
Smealinho Rama
MiddleweightUntil 84 kg Louis Taylor Abusupiyan Magomedov Sadibou Sy
John Howard
WelterweightUntil 77 kg Magomed Magomedkerimov Ray Cooper III Handesson Ferreira
Bojan Veličković
LightweightUntil 70 kg Natan Schulte Rashid Magomedov Chris Wade
Thiago Tavares
FeatherweightUntil 66 kg Lance Palmer Steven Siler Andre Harrison
Alexandre Almeida

2019

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Event(s)DivisionWeightChampionRunner-upSemi-finalists
PFL 10 (2019)
December 31, 2019
HeavyweightUntil 120 kg Ali Isaev Jared Rosholt Denis Goltsov
Kelvin Tiller
Light HeavyweightUntil 93 kg Emiliano Sordi Jordan Johnson Bazigit Atajev
Rashid Yusupov
WelterweightUntil 77 kg Ray Cooper III David Michaud Glaico França
Chris Curtis
LightweightUntil 70 kg Natan Schulte (2) Loik Radzhabov Chris Wade
Akhmet Aliev
FeatherweightUntil 66 kg Lance Palmer (2) Alex Gilpin Daniel Pineda
Jeremy Kennedy
Women's LightweightUntil 70 kg Kayla Harrison Larissa Pacheco Sarah Kaufman
Bobbi Jo Dalziel

2021

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Event(s)DivisionWeightChampionRunner-upSemi-finalists
PFL 10 (2021)
October 27, 2021
HeavyweightUntil 120 kg Bruno Cappelozza Ante Delija Denis Goltsov
Jamelle Jones
Light HeavyweightUntil 93 kg Antônio Carlos Júnior Marthin Hamlet Cezar Ferreira
Emiliano Sordi
WelterweightUntil 77 kg Ray Cooper III (2) Magomed Magomedkerimov Rory MacDonald
Sadibou Sy
LightweightUntil 70 kg Raush Manfio Loik Radzhabov Clay Collard
Alexander Martinez
FeatherweightUntil 66 kg Movlid Khaybulaev Chris Wade Brendan Loughnane
Bubba Jenkins
Women's LightweightUntil 70 kg Kayla Harrison (2) Taylor Guardado Genah Fabian
Mariana Morais

2022

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Event(s)DivisionWeightChampionRunner-upSemi-finalists
PFL 10 (2022)
November 25
HeavyweightUntil 120 kg Ante Delija Matheus Scheffel Renan Ferreira
Juan Adams
Light HeavyweightUntil 93 kg Rob Wilkinson Omari Akhmedov Delan Monte
Josh Silveira
WelterweightUntil 77 kg Sadibou Sy Dilano Taylor Rory MacDonald
Carlos Leal
LightweightUntil 70 kg Olivier Aubin-Mercier Stevie Ray Anthony Pettis
Alexander Martinez
FeatherweightUntil 66 kg Brendan Loughnane Bubba Jenkins Chris Wade
Ryoji Kudo
Women's LightweightUntil 70 kg Larissa Pacheco Kayla Harrison Olena Kolesnyk
Martina Jindrová

2023

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Event(s)DivisionWeightChampionRunner-upSemi-finalists
PFL 10 (2023)
November 24
HeavyweightUntil 120 kg Renan Ferreira Denis Goltsov Jordan Heiderman
Maurice Greene
Light HeavyweightUntil 93 kg Impa Kasanganay Josh Silveira Ty Flores
Marthin Hamlet
WelterweightUntil 77 kg Magomed Magomedkerimov (2) Sadibou Sy Solomon Renfro
Carlos Leal
LightweightUntil 70 kg Olivier Aubin-Mercier (2) Clay Collard Shane Burgos
Bruno Miranda
FeatherweightUntil 66 kg Jesus Pinedo Gabriel Alves Braga Bubba Jenkins
Chris Wade
Women's FeatherweightUntil 66 kg Larissa Pacheco (2) Marina Mokhnatkina Olena Kolesnyk
Amber Leibrock

PFL Europe Tournament champions

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2023

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Event(s)DivisionWeightChampionRunner-upSemi-finalists
PFL Europe 4
December 8
Light HeavyweightUntil 93 kg Jakob Nedoh Simeón Powell Daniel Ladero
Anthony Salamone
LightweightUntil 70 kg Jakub Kaszuba John Mitchell Geysim Derouiche
Dylan Tuke
BantamweightUntil 61 kg Khurshed Kakhorov Frans Mlambo Moktar Benkaci
Ali Taleb
Women's FlyweightUntil 57 kg Dakota Ditcheva Valentina Scatizzi Cornelia Holm
BYE[a]
  1. ^ Malin Hermansson missed weight and Scatizzi therefore got a bye to the finals

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.NameEventDateReignDefenses
1 Smealinho Rama
def. Derrick Mehmen
WSOF 14
Edmonton, AB, Canada
Oct 11, 2014237 days
2 Blagoy IvanovWSOF 21
Edmonton, AB, Canada
Jun 5, 20153305 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.NameEventDateReignDefenses
1 David Branch
def. Teddy Holder
WSOF 23
Phoenix, AZ, U.S.
Sep 18, 2015507 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.NameEventDateReignDefenses
1 David Branch
def. Jesse Taylor
WSOF 10
Las Vegas, NV, U.S.
June 21, 2014961 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.NameEventDateReignDefenses
1 Steve Carl
def. Josh Burkman
WSOF 6
Coral Gables, FL, U.S.
Oct 26, 2013154 days
2 Rousimar PalharesWSOF 9
Las Vegas, NV, U.S.
Mar 29, 2014492 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 Jon Fitch
def. João Zeferino
WSOF 30
Las Vegas, NV, U.S.
Apr 2, 2016698 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.NameEventDateReignDefenses
1 Justin Gaethje
def. Richard Patishnock
WSOF 8
Hollywood, FL, U.S.
Jan 18, 20141196 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.NameEventDateReignDefenses
1 Georgi Karakhanyan
def. Lance Palmer
WSOF 7
Vancouver, BC, Canada
Dec 7, 2013196 days
2 Ricky GlennWSOF 10
Las Vegas, NV, U.S.
Jun 21, 2014176 days
3 Lance PalmerWSOF 16
Sacramento, CA, U.S.
Dec 13, 2014371 days

1. def. Chris Horodecki at WSOF 21 on June 5, 2015

4 Alexandre AlmeidaWSOF 26
Las Vegas, NV, U.S.
Dec 18, 2015226 days
5 Lance Palmer (2)WSOF 32
Everett, WA, U.S.
Jul 30, 2016231 days
(602 days)
6 Andre HarrisonWSOF 35
Verona, NY, U.S.
Mar 18, 2017446 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.NameEventDateReignDefenses
1 Marlon Moraes
def. Josh Rettinghouse
WSOF 9
Las Vegas, NV, USA
March 29, 20141,011 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 Bekbulat Magomedov
def. Donavon Frelow
WSOF 35
Verona, NY, USA
March 18, 2017446 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.NameEventDateReignDefenses
1 Magomed Bibulatov
def. Donavon Frelow
WSOF 24
Mashantucket, CT, USA
October 17, 2015446 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.NameEventDateReignDefenses
1 Jessica Aguilar
def. Alida Gray
WSOF 8
Hollywood, FL, USA
January 18, 2014484 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.

Symbolic Titles

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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.NameEventDateReignDefenses
1 Ryan Ford
def. Joel Powell
WSOF Canada 1
Edmonton, AB, Canada
February 21, 2014472 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.NameEventDateReignDefenses
1 Evgeny Erokhin
def. Brandon Cash
WSOF Global Championship 2: Japan
Tokyo, Japan
February 7, 2016851 days1. 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.NameEventDateReignDefenses
1 Yusaku Nakamura
def. Lawrence Diguilio
Deep Cage Impact 2016: DEEP vs. WSOF-GC
Tokyo, Japan
December 17, 2016537 days
All WSOF International championships were retired and vacated on June 7, 2018 when the PFL league format began at PFL 1.[1][2]

WSOF Tournament champions

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Event(s)DivisionChampionRunner-upFinal
WSOF 5, WSOF 7 e WSOF 10Middleweight David Branch Jesse TaylorJune 21, 2014
WSOF 20 e WSOF 23Light Heavyweight David Branch Teddy HolderSeptember 18, 2015
WSOF 25Lightweight Brian Foster João ZeferinoNovember 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

WDNCL
6 Justin GaethjeLightweight6000
Marlon MoraesBantamweight6000
David BranchLight Heavyweight
Middleweight
2
4
0
0
0
0
0
0
5 Blagoy IvanovHeavyweight5000
3 Lance PalmerFeatherweight3003
Jessica AguilarWomen's Strawweight3000
Rousimar PalharesWelterweight3000

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.

DefensesChampionWeight classSpan
5 Justin GaethjeLightweightJanuary 18, 2014 - April 27, 2017
Marlon MoraesBantamweightMarch 29, 2014 - January 3, 2017
4 Blagoy IvanovHeavyweightJune 5, 2015 - April 25, 2018
3 David BranchMiddleweightJune 21, 2014 - February 6, 2017
2 Jessica AguilarWomen's StrawweightJanuary 18, 2014 - May 18, 2015
Rousimar PalharesWelterweightMarch 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.ChampionDivisionWonLostDefensesReignTotal Reign
1 David BranchLight HeavyweightSeptember 18, 2015
(WSOF 23)
February 6, 2017
(Vacated)
1507 days1468 days
MiddleweightJune 21, 2014
(WSOF 10)
February 6, 2017
(Vacated)
3961 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.ChampionDivisionSpanDefensesSimultaneous Reign
1 David BranchLight HeavyweightSeptember 18, 2015 – February 6, 20171507 days
Middleweight2

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.

CountryTournament
champions
Division
champions
International
champions
Total
 United States88-16
 Brazil63-9
 Russia3317
 Canada1-11
 Argentina1--1
 Bulgaria-1-1
 Greece-1-1
 Mexico-1-1
 Japan--11

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.