List of Professional Fighters League champions

Last updated April 15, 2024

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

2018

Event(s)	Division	Weight	Champion	Runner-up	Semi-finalists
PFL 11 (2018) December 31, 2018	Heavyweight	Until 120 kg	Philipe Lins	Josh Copeland	Alex Nicholson Jared Rosholt
	Light Heavyweight	Until 93 kg	Sean O'Connell	Vinny Magalhães	Bazigit Atajev Smealinho Rama
	Middleweight	Until 84 kg	Louis Taylor	Abusupiyan Magomedov	Sadibou Sy John Howard
	Welterweight	Until 77 kg	Magomed Magomedkerimov	Ray Cooper III	Handesson Ferreira Bojan Veličković
	Lightweight	Until 70 kg	Natan Schulte	Rashid Magomedov	Chris Wade Thiago Tavares
	Featherweight	Until 66 kg	Lance Palmer	Steven Siler	Andre Harrison Alexandre Almeida

2019

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

2021

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

2022

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

2023

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

PFL Europe Tournament champions

2023

Event(s)	Division	Weight	Champion	Runner-up	Semi-finalists
PFL Europe 4 December 8
	Light Heavyweight	Until 93 kg	Jakob Nedoh	Simeón Powell	Daniel Ladero Anthony Salamone
	Lightweight	Until 70 kg	Jakub Kaszuba	John Mitchell	Geysim Derouiche Dylan Tuke
	Bantamweight	Until 61 kg	Khurshed Kakhorov	Frans Mlambo	Moktar Benkaci Ali Taleb
	Women's Flyweight	Until 57 kg	Dakota Ditcheva	Valentina Scatizzi	Cornelia Holm BYE^{[lower-alpha 1]}

↑ Malin Hermansson missed weight and Scatizzi therefore got a bye to the finals

Men'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.

Heavyweight Championship

206 to 265 lbs (93 to 120 kg)

No.	Name	Event	Date	Reign	Defenses
1	Smealinho Rama def. Derrick Mehmen	WSOF 14 Edmonton, AB, Canada	October 11, 2014	237 days
2	Blagoy Ivanov	WSOF 21 Edmonton, AB, Canada	June 5, 2015	3237 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 March 18, 2017 4. def. Caio Alencar at PFL Fight Night on November 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	David Branch def. Teddy Holder	WSOF 23 Phoenix, AZ, USA	September 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	David Branch def. Jesse Taylor	WSOF 10 Las Vegas, NV, USA	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	Steve Carl def. Josh Burkman	WSOF 6 Coral Gables, FL, USA	October 26, 2013	154 days
2	Rousimar Palhares	WSOF 9 Las Vegas, NV, USA	March 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	Jon Fitch def. João Zeferino	WSOF 30 Las Vegas, NV, USA	April 2, 2016	698 days	1. def. Jake Shields at WSOF 34 on Dec 31, 2016 2. def. Brian Foster at PFL Daytona on June 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	Justin Gaethje def. Richard Patishnock	WSOF 8 Hollywood, FL, USA	January 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	Georgi Karakhanyan def. Lance Palmer	WSOF 7 Vancouver, BC, Canada	December 7, 2013	196 days
2	Rick Glenn	WSOF 10 Las Vegas, NV, USA	June 21, 2014	176 days
3	Lance Palmer	WSOF 16 Sacramento, CA, USA	December 13, 2014	371 days	1. def. Chris Horodecki at WSOF 21 on June 5, 2015
4	Alexandre Almeida	WSOF 26 Las Vegas, NV, USA	December 18, 2015	226 days
5	Lance Palmer (2)	WSOF 32 Everett, WA, USA	July 30, 2016	231 days (602 days)
6	Andre Harrison	WSOF 35 Verona, NY, USA	March 18, 2017	446 days	1. def. Steven Rodriguez at PFL Everett on July 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

126 to 135 lbs (57 to 61 kg)

No.	Name	Event	Date	Reign	Defenses
1	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	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

116 to 125 lbs (53 to 57 kg)

No.	Name	Event	Date	Reign	Defenses
1	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	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.

Symbolic Titles

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	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	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

125 lbs (57 kg)

No.	Name	Event	Date	Reign	Defenses
1	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]

WSOF Tournament champions

Event(s)	Division	Champion	Runner-up	Final
WSOF 5, WSOF 7 e WSOF 10	Middleweight	David Branch	Jesse Taylor	June 21, 2014
WSOF 20 e WSOF 23	Light Heavyweight	David Branch	Teddy Holder	September 18, 2015
WSOF 25	Lightweight	Brian Foster	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	Justin Gaethje	Lightweight	6	0	0	0
	Marlon Moraes	Bantamweight	6	0	0	0
	David Branch	Light Heavyweight Middleweight	2 4	0 0	0 0	0 0
5	Blagoy Ivanov	Heavyweight	5	0	0	0
3	Lance Palmer	Featherweight	3	0	0	3
	Jessica Aguilar	Women's Strawweight	3	0	0	0
	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	Justin Gaethje	Lightweight	January 18, 2014 - April 27, 2017
5	Marlon Moraes	Bantamweight	March 29, 2014 - January 3, 2017
4	Blagoy Ivanov	Heavyweight	June 5, 2015 - April 25, 2018
3	David Branch	Middleweight	June 21, 2014 - February 6, 2017
2	Jessica Aguilar	Women's Strawweight	January 18, 2014 - May 18, 2015
2	Rousimar Palhares	Welterweight	March 29, 2014 - August 4, 2015

Multi-division champions

	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	David Branch	Light Heavyweight	September 18, 2015 (WSOF 23)	February 6, 2017 (Vacated)	1	507 days	1468 days
1	David Branch	Middleweight	June 21, 2014 (WSOF 10)	February 6, 2017 (Vacated)	3	961 days	1468 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	David Branch	Light Heavyweight	September 18, 2015 – February 6, 2017	1	507 days
1	David Branch	Middleweight	September 18, 2015 – February 6, 2017	2	507 days

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	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

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References

1 2 3 4 Staff (2018-08-31). "Playoff matchups set for PFL's first season of $1 million winners". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2018-08-31.
1 2 3 4 "Fight Card - PFL 11". PFL.
↑ "MMA All-time Record Holders". sportsillustrated.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
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[1] Malin Hermansson missed weight and Scatizzi therefore got a bye to the finals

[PFL11-2] 1 2 3 4 Staff (2018-08-31). "Playoff matchups set for PFL's first season of $1 million winners". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2018-08-31.

[Fight_Card_-_PFL_11-3] 1 2 3 4 "Fight Card - PFL 11". PFL.

[4] "MMA All-time Record Holders". sportsillustrated.

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v t e Mixed martial arts champions
Current champions for active organizations	UFC Bellator MMA ACA AMC MMA-1 ONE KSW PFL Rizin BRAVE Cage Warriors LFA Pancrase Shooto KOTC Deep FFC Invicta FC UAE Warriors
Legacy champions for defunct organizations	Pride FC Strikeforce IFL EliteXC Cage Rage Dream Hero's WEC SRC SFL
Miscellaneous	UFC Men's Pound for Pound rankings UFC Women's Pound for Pound rankings MMA records List of undefeated mixed martial artists List of mixed martial artists with the most sanctioned fights

List of Professional Fighters League champions

Contents

PFL Tournament champions

2018

2019

2021

2022

2023

PFL Europe Tournament champions

2023

Men's Championship history (defunct)

Heavyweight Championship

Light Heavyweight Championship

Middleweight Championship

Welterweight Championship

Lightweight Championship

Featherweight Championship

Bantamweight Championship

Flyweight Championship

Women's Championship history (defunct)

Women's Strawweight Championship

Symbolic Titles

Canadian Welterweight Championship

Global Heavyweight Championship

Global Flyweight Championship

WSOF Tournament champions

Records

Most wins in title bouts

Most consecutive title defenses

Multi-division champions

Simultaneous two division champions

Champions by nationality

See also

Related Research Articles

References