Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a form of competitive combat sport, akin to boxing, muay thai, or kick boxing. MMA titles, or championship belts, are given to those fighters deemed by a promotional organization to have met a certain standard of athletic accomplishment in a specific weight class (most often by means of a championship fight). Championship belts are fought for at each weight class under a promotion, with only one belt awarded per class. Each belt is usually contested every time the belt holder fights, and passed to the victor of that fight (see the List of UFC champions for a chronology of UFC title belts). A belt may be vacated when a fighter leaves a promotion, or is suspended. At such times an interim champion may be crowned, or the belt may be awarded to the winner of a fight between top contenders.
This list displays all title holders for the major, certified MMA promoting and sanctioning bodies. There is no clear industry definition within the MMA community to determine which organizations are considered major promoting bodies. [1] Due to a lack of clear guidelines, this list is limited to those organizations that are either highly regarded (such as the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Strikeforce), long standing (such as King of the Cage (KOTC) and Pancrase), or the dominant organizations of a country or region of the world (such as England's Ultimate Challenge MMA (UCMMA) and Canada's Maximum Fighting Championship (MFC)).
Because there is no international unified MMA weight class system in use, [2] the Nevada State Athletic Commission's (NSAC) weight classes have been adopted for this article as they are most common across major promotions. Some organizations have created titles in weight classes outside the NSAC guidelines. Those titles have been and will be recognized as subdivisions under their common weight class. [3]
Though unofficial, Fight Matrix considered the first MMA lineal champions as follows: [4]
Although the inaugural lineal champions are sometimes contested, especially at heavyweight; the consensus view, is that all the lineal titles have been unified with their respective weight class UFC titles.
Organizations are listed by a combination of their size (number of fighters, events per year, etc.) and their history (years in existence, title lineage, etc.). Title holders from other organizations, who are now fighting in the UFC, are not included in this list as the UFC does not cross promote and these belts are often vacated. [5]
Name | Organization | Date | No. of title defenses | |
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() American | Jon Jones | UFC | March 4, 2023 | 0 |
![]() American | Ryan Bader | Bellator | January 26, 2019 | 3 |
![]() Russian | Anatoly Malykhin | ONE | June 23, 2023 | 0 |
![]() Russian | Evgeniy Goncharov | ACA | March 17, 2023 | 1 |
![]() English | Phil De Fries | KSW | April 14, 2018 | 10 |
N/A | Vacant | CWFC | N/A | N/A |
![]() German | Hatef Moeil | Oktagon | November 18, 2023 | 0 |
![]() Brazilian | Hugo Cunha | LFA | November 3, 2023 | 0 |
N/A | Vacant | FNG | N/A | N/A |
![]() Guam | Roque Martinez (Known as Megatonweight / over 205 lb, 93 kg) | Deep | July 15, 2017 | 3 |
N/A | Vacant | Jungle Fight | N/A | N/A |
![]() American | Bailey Schoenfelder | CFFC | April 12, 2024 | 0 |
![]() Congolese | Matunga Djikasa | EFC | October 6, 2022 | 0 |
N/A | Vacant | Road FC | N/A | N/A |
N/A | Vacant | Titan | N/A | N/A |
N/A | Vacant | Eagle FC | N/A | N/A |
![]() Cape Verdean | Yorgan De Castro | CES | May 3, 2024 | 0 |
Name | Organization | Date | No. of title defenses | |
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() Russian | Anatoly Malykhin (Known as Light Heavyweight) | One | December 3, 2022 | 0 |
Name | Organization | Date | No. of title defenses | |
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() Brazilian | Alex Pereira | UFC | November 11, 2023 | 2 |
![]() American | Corey Anderson | Bellator | March 22, 2024 | 0 |
![]() Russian | Anatoly Malykhin (Known as Middleweight) | One | March 1, 2024 | 0 |
N/A | Vacant | ACA | N/A | N/A |
N/A | Vacant | Rizin FF | N/A | N/A |
![]() Polish | Rafał Haratyk | KSW | February 24, 2024 | 0 |
![]() English | Andy Clamp | CWFC | March 16, 2024 | 0 |
N/A | Vacant | Brave CF | N/A | N/A |
![]() Czech | Karlos Vemola | Oktagon | July 23, 2022 | 1 |
![]() Brazilian | Bruno Lopes | LFA | September 30, 2022 | 1 |
![]() Russian | Vagab Vagabov | FNG | October 16, 2021 | 1 |
N/A | Vacant | Pancrase | N/A | N/A |
N/A | Vacant | Deep | N/A | N/A |
![]() American | Luke Fernandez | CFFC | December 15, 2023 | 0 |
![]() South African | JC Lamprecht | EFC | August 10, 2023 | 0 |
![]() South Korean | Kim Tae-in | Road FC | December 18, 2022 | 0 |
N/A | Vacant | Titan FC | N/A | N/A |
![]() Kazakhstani | Diyar Nurgozhay | Eagle FC | August 21, 2022 | 0 |
![]() Syrian | Tarek Suleiman | UAE Warriors | May 3, 2019 | 0 |
![]() Algerian | Mohamed Said Maalem | MMA GP | Sep 16, 2023 | 0 |
Name | Organization | Date | No. of title defenses | |
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() South African | Dricus du Plessis | UFC | January 20, 2024 | 0 |
![]() American | Johnny Eblen | Bellator | June 24, 2022 | 2 |
![]() American | Christian Lee (Known as Welterweight) | One | November 19, 2022 | 0 |
![]() Russian | Magomedrasul Gasanov | ACA | April 9, 2021 | 4 |
![]() Polish | Paweł Pawlak | KSW | June 3, 2023 | 2 |
![]() Italian | Dario Bellandi | CWFC | November 25, 2023 | 0 |
N/A | Vacant | Brave CF | N/A | N/A |
![]() Czech | Patrick Kincl | Oktagon | February 26, 2022 | 3 |
![]() Russian | Azamat Bekoev | LFA | December 15, 2023 | 0 |
![]() Russian | Vladimir Mineev | FNG | September 9, 2020 | 1 |
![]() Japanese | Yura Naito | Pancrase | March 21, 2022 | 0 |
![]() Brazilian | João Batista Yoshimura | Deep | July 4, 2021 | 0 |
N/A | Vacant | Shooto | N/A | N/A |
![]() Brazilian | Vitor Costa | Jungle Fight | September 30, 2023 | 1 |
![]() American | Kyle Daukaus | CFFC | September 2, 2023 | 2 |
![]() South African | Luke Michael | EFC | March 5, 2022 | 0 |
![]() South Korean | In Su Hwang | Road FC | July 3, 2021 | 0 |
![]() Brazilian | Bruno Assis | Titan | July 2, 2021 | 0 |
N/A | Vacant | Eagle FC | N/A | N/A |
![]() American | Gary Balletto Jr. | CES | July 29, 2023 | 0 |
![]() Iranian | Amir Fazli | UAE Warriors | May 20, 2023 | 0 |
Name | Organization | Date | No. of title defenses | |
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() American | Belal Muhammad | UFC | July 27, 2024 | 0 |
![]() Russian | Ramazan Kuramagomedov | Bellator | June 22, 2024 | 0 |
![]() American | Christian Lee (Known as Lightweight) | One | August 26, 2022 | 2 |
![]() Russian | Albert Tumenov | ACA | December 24, 2023 | 0 |
![]() Polish | Adrian Bartosiński | KSW | April 22, 2023 | 2 |
![]() Irish | James Sheehan | CWFC | April 6, 2024 | 0' |
![]() Russian | Kamal Magomedov (175 lb, 79 kg) | Brave CF | December 5, 2023 | 0 |
N/A | Vacant | Oktagon | N/A | N/A |
![]() Brazilian | Vanilto Antunes | LFA | March 23, 2024 | 0 |
![]() Russian | Dmitry Bikrev | FNG | April 6, 2019 | 4 |
![]() Japanese | Ryuichiro Sumimura | Pancrase | December 24, 2023 | 0 |
![]() Japanese | Yoichiro Sato | Deep | July 14, 2024 | 0 |
N/A | Vacant (Known as Middleweight) | Shooto | N/A | N/A |
![]() Brazilian | Anderson Nascimento | Jungle Fight | March 16, 2024 | 0 |
N/A | Vacant | CFFC | N/A | N/A |
![]() South African | Mark Hulme | EFC | April 13, 2023 | 1 |
![]() American | Will Brooks | Titan | June 2, 2023 | 0 |
N/A | Vacant (175 lb, 79 kg) | Eagle FC | N/A | N/A |
N/A | Vacant | CES | N/A | N/A |
![]() Azerbaijani | Tahir Abdullaev | UAE Warriors | May 18, 2024 | 0 |
![]() Kyrgyz | Darkhanbek Ergeshev | Matrix Fight Night | March 31, 2023 | 1 |
Name | Organization | Date | No. of title defenses | |
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() Bahraini | Eldar Eldarov | Brave CF | April 19, 2019 | 1 |
Name | Organization | Date | No. of title defenses | |
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() Russian | Islam Makhachev | UFC | October 22, 2022 | 3 |
![]() Russian | Usman Nurmagomedov | Bellator | November 18, 2022 | 2 |
![]() Chinese | Tang Kai (Known as Featherweight) | One | August 26, 2022 | 1 |
![]() Russian | Abdul-Aziz Abdulvakhabov | ACA | September 19, 2020 | 2 |
![]() Brazilian | Roberto Satoshi Souza | Rizin FF | June 13, 2021 | 2 |
![]() French | Salahdine Parnasse | KSW | June 3, 2023 | 1 |
![]() English | George Hardwick | CWFC | July 22, 2022 | 2 |
![]() Kyrgyzstani | Abdisalam Kubanychbek | Brave CF | February 18, 2023 | 1 |
![]() Slovak | Ronald Paradeiser | Oktagon | December 9, 2023 | 0 |
![]() American | Kegan Gennrich | LFA | January 12, 2024 | 0 |
![]() Russian | Alexander Sarnavskiy | FNG | February 23, 2024 | 0 |
![]() Japanese | Tatsuya Saika | Pancrase | March 31, 2024 | 0 |
![]() Japanese | Kimihiro Eto | Deep | March 9, 2024 | 0 |
N/A | Vacant(Known as Welterweight) | Shooto | N/A | N/A |
![]() Brazilian | Arcangelo Oliveira | Jungle Fight | August 26, 2023 | 1 |
![]() American | Robert Watley | CFFC | July 20, 2023 | 1 |
N/A | Vacant | EFC | N/A | N/A |
![]() Korean | Park Si-won | Road FC | July 23, 2022 | 1 |
N/A | Vacant | Combate Global | N/A | N/A |
![]() American | Richie Lewis | Titan | July 21, 2023 | 0 |
![]() Azerbaijani | Ramin Sultanov | Eagle FC | November 11, 2023 | 0' |
![]() American | Charles Rosa | CES | May 3, 2024 | 0 |
![]() Russian | Amru Magomedov | UAE Warriors | October 17, 2023 | 1 |
![]() Brazilian | Keweney Lopes | MMA GP | Jan 27, 2024 | 0 |
Name | Organization | Date | No. of title defenses | |
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() Georgian | Ilia Topuria | UFC | February 17, 2024 | 0 |
![]() Brazilian | Patrício Pitbull | Bellator | April 15, 2022 | 2 |
![]() Brazilian | Fabrício Andrade (Known as Bantamweight) | ONE | February 25, 2023 | 0 |
![]() Russian | Islam Omarov | ACA | July 21, 2023 | 1 |
![]() Japanese | Chihiro Suzuki | Rizin FF | November 4, 2023 | 1 |
![]() French | Salahdine Parnasse | KSW | December 18, 2021 | 2 |
![]() English | Harry Hardwick | CWFC | May 25, 2024 | 0 |
![]() Kyrgyzstani | Nemat Abdrashitov | Brave CF | June 23, 2023 | 0 |
![]() Belgian | Losene Keita | Oktagon | December 9, 2023 | 0 |
![]() American | Elijah Johns | LFA | February 9, 2024 | 0 |
N/A | Vacant | FNG | N/A | N/A |
![]() Japanese | Suguru Nii | Pancrase | September 24, 2023 | 0 |
![]() Japanese | Jin Aoi | Deep | March 9, 2024 | 0 |
![]() Japanese | Keisuke Sasu (Known as Lightweight) | Shooto | July 25, 2021 | 1 |
![]() Brazilian | Willian Souza | Jungle Fight | July 29, 2023 | 1 |
![]() American | Jose Perez | CFFC | August 26, 2022 | 1 |
![]() Congolese | Igeu Kabesa | EFC | November 3, 2022 | 3 |
![]() Jordanian | Ali AlQaisi | Titan | August 6, 2021 | 0 |
N/A | Vacant | Combate Global | N/A | N/A |
![]() South Korean | Hae Jin Park | Road FC | December 18, 2022 | 0 |
N/A | Vacant | Eagle FC | N/A | N/A |
![]() American | Dan Dubuque | CES | September 9, 2022 | 0 |
![]() Swedish | Samuel Bark | UAE Warriors | May 18, 2024 | 0 |
N/A | Vacant | Matrix Fight Night | N/A | N/A |
N/A | Vacant | MMA GP | N/A | N/A |
Name | Organization | Date | No. of title defenses | |
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() American | Sean O'Malley | UFC | August 19, 2023 | 1 |
![]() American | Patchy Mix | Bellator | November 17, 2023 | 2 |
![]() American | Demetrious Johnson (Known as Flyweight) | One | August 27, 2022 | 1 |
![]() Russian | Pavel Vitruk | ACA | April 19, 2024 | 0 |
N/A | Vacant | Rizin FF | N/A | N/A |
![]() Polish | Jakub Wikłacz | KSW | December 17, 2022 | 3 |
![]() English | Liam Gittins | CWFC | November 25, 2023 | 1 |
![]() South African | Nkosi Ndebele | Brave CF | December 15, 2023 | 0 |
N/A | Vacant | Oktagon | N/A | N/A |
![]() American | John Sweeney | LFA | June 16, 2023 | 0 |
![]() Kazakhstani | Sabit Zhusupov | FNG | October 14, 2022 | 1 |
![]() Japanese | Tokitaka Nakanishi | Pancrase | December 24, 2023 | 0 |
![]() South Korean | Yoo Soo-young | Deep | September 18, 2023 | 0 |
![]() Japanese | Tatsuya Ando (Known as Featherweight) | Shooto | March 21, 2022 | 0 |
![]() Brazilian | Tiago Pereira | Jungle Fight | June 24, 2023 | 1 |
![]() Albanian | Vilson Ndregjoni | CFFC | April 1, 2023 | 1 |
![]() South African | Nkazimulo Zulu | EFC | July 13, 2023 | 0 |
![]() Dominican | Tommy Garcia | Titan | April 14, 2023 | 0 |
N/A | Vacant | Road FC | N/A | N/A |
![]() Mexican | David Martinez | Combate Global | May 29, 2021 | 2 |
![]() Russian | Renat Khavalov | Eagle FC | March 19, 2021 | 3 |
![]() American | Ashiek Ajim | CES | June 17, 2022 | 0 |
![]() Pakistani | Uloomi Karim | Matrix Fight Night | November 18, 2022 | 0 |
![]() French | Alfan Rocher-Labes | MMA GP | Sep 16, 2023 | 0 |
Name | Organization | Date | No. of title defenses | |
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() Brazilian | Alexandre Pantoja | UFC | July 8, 2023 | 2 |
N/A | Vacant | Bellator | N/A | N/A |
![]() Filipino | Joshua Pacio (Known as Strawweight) | One | March 1, 2024 | 0 |
![]() Russian | Kurban Gadzhiev | ACA | February 25, 2023 | 0 |
![]() Japanese | Kyoji Horiguchi | Rizin FF | December 31, 2023 | 0 |
![]() Bangladeshi | Shajidul Haque | CWFC | December 31, 2022 | 1 |
![]() English | Sam Creasey | Oktagon | April 20, 2024 | 0 |
![]() Brazilian | Eduardo Henrique | LFA | November 17, 2023 | 0 |
![]() Russian | Vartan Asatryan | FNG | February 23, 2022 | 0 |
![]() Japanese | Makoto Takahashi | Deep | March 1, 2020 | 1 |
![]() Japanese | Seiichiro Ito | Pancrase | April 3, 2024 | 1 |
![]() Japanese | Jo Arai (Known as Bantamweight) | Shooto | November 19, 2023 | 0 |
![]() Brazilian | Wagner Reis | Jungle Fight | November 25, 2023 | 1 |
![]() American | Israel Galvan | CFFC | March 8, 2024 | 0 |
![]() South African | Nkazimulo Zulu | EFC | March 7, 2024 | 0 |
![]() Brazilian | Victor Dias | Titan | March 26, 2021 | 1 |
N/A | Vacant | Road FC | N/A | N/A |
![]() Russian | Irgit Oveenchi | Eagle FC | August 10, 2022 | 0 |
![]() American | Mitch Raposo | CES | November 17, 2020 | 0 |
![]() Brazilian | Iago Ribeiro | UAE Warriors | May 18, 2024 | 0 |
![]() Indian | Angad Bisht | Matrix Fight Night | November 18, 2022 | 0 |
![]() French | Michael Aljarouj | MMA GP | Mar 4, 2023 | 1 |
Name | Organization | Date | No. of title defenses | |
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() Japanese | Keito Yamakita | Pancrase | July 18, 2022 | 0 |
![]() Japanese | Haruo Ochi | Deep | May 26, 2024 | 0 |
![]() Japanese | Jo Arai (Known as Flyweight) | Shooto | September 19, 2022 | 1 |
Women athletes are generally smaller than, and compete at lower weights than their male counterparts. [6]
Name | Organization | Date | No. of title defenses | |
---|---|---|---|---|
N/A | Vacant | UFC | N/A | N/A |
![]() Brazilian | Cris Cyborg | Bellator | January 25, 2020 | 5 |
N/A | Vacant | Invicta FC | N/A | N/A |
![]() Japanese | Yoko Higashi | Deep Jewels | May 8, 2022 | 0 |
Name | Organization | Date | No. of title defenses | |
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() American | Raquel Pennington | UFC | January 20, 2024 | 0 |
![]() Brazilian | Talita Bernardo | Invicta FC | January 18, 2023 | 1 |
N/A | Vacant | FNG | N/A | N/A |
N/A | Vacant | LFA | N/A | N/A |
N/A | Vacant | Deep Jewels | N/A | N/A |
N/A | Vacant | Pancrase | N/A | N/A |
![]() Brazilian | Kelly Ottoni | Jungle Fight | July 31, 2022 | 0 |
N/A | Vacant | CFFC | N/A | N/A |
N/A | Vacant | EFC | N/A | N/A |
Name | Organization | Date | No. of title defenses | |
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() Mexican | Alexa Grasso | UFC | March 4, 2023 | 1 |
![]() American | Liz Carmouche | Bellator | April 22, 2022 | 3 |
![]() Chinese | Xiong Jing Nan (Known as Strawweight) | One | January 20, 2018 | 7 |
N/A | Vacant | Invicta FC | January 18, 2023 | N/A |
![]() Canadian | Shannon Clark | LFA | February 23, 2024 | 0 |
![]() Japanese | Rin Nakai | Deep Jewels | May 8, 2022 | 0 |
![]() Japanese | Shizuka Sugiyama | Pancrase | July 21, 2024 | 0 |
![]() Brazilian | Elora Dana | Jungle Fight | March 26, 2023 | 2 |
![]() American | Fatima Kline | CFFC | November 3, 2023 | 0 |
N/A | Vacant | EFC | N/A | N/A |
![]() Canadian | Corinne Laframboise | UAE Warriors | March 26, 2022 | 0 |
Name | Organization | Date | No. of title defenses | |
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() Chinese | Zhang Weili | UFC | November 12, 2022 | 2 |
![]() Thai | Stamp Fairtex (Known as Atomweight) | One | September 30, 2023 | 0 |
![]() Irish | Danni McCormack | Invicta FC | March 15, 2023 | 1 |
![]() German | Katharina Dalisda | Oktagon | September 16, 2023 | 1 |
![]() Brazilian | Rose Conceição | LFA | July 7, 2023 | 0 |
![]() Japanese | Seika Izawa | Deep Jewels | March 15, 2022 | 0 |
![]() Japanese | Haruka Hasegawa | Pancrase | April 30, 2023 | 0 |
![]() Japanese | Emi Fujino | Shooto | May 18, 2024 | 0 |
![]() Brazilian | Laura Vasconcelos | Jungle Fight | July 20, 2024 | 0 |
![]() American | Fatima Kline | CFFC | February 9, 2024 | 0 |
![]() Romanian | Alice Ardelean | EFC | March 2, 2023 | 0 |
N/A | Vacant | Combate Global | N/A | N/A |
N/A | Vacant | Matrix Fight Night | N/A | N/A |
Name | Organization | Date | No. of title defenses | |
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() Japanese | Seika Izawa | Rizin FF | April 17, 2022 | 1 |
![]() Japanese | Ayaka Watanabe (110 lb, 50 kg) | Shooto | May 21, 2023 | 0 |
Name | Organization | Date | No. of title defenses | |
---|---|---|---|---|
N/A | Vacant | Invicta FC | N/A | N/A |
![]() Japanese | Seika Izawa | Deep Jewels | March 24, 2024 | 0 |
![]() Japanese | Satomi Takano | Pancrase | March 31, 2024 | 0 |
![]() Japanese | Chihiro Sawada | Shooto | November 27, 2022 | 1 |
![]() South Korean | Shim Yu-ri | Road FC | September 4, 2021 | 0 |
riaz | Organization | Date | No. of title defenses | |
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() Japanese | Saori Oshima | Deep | September 20, 2020 | 2 |
![]() Japanese | Saori Oshima | Deep Jewels | May 26, 2024 | 0 |
Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. The first documented use of the term mixed martial arts was in a review of UFC 1 by television critic Howard Rosenberg in 1993.
PRIDE Fighting Championships was a Japanese mixed martial arts promotion company. Its inaugural event was held at the Tokyo Dome on October 11, 1997. Pride held more than sixty mixed martial arts events, broadcast to about 40 countries worldwide. PRIDE was owned by the holding company Dream Stage Entertainment (DSE).
Ken Shamrock is an American retired professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. He is best known for his time in Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), WWE and other combat sports. An inaugural inductee into the UFC Hall of Fame, Shamrock is widely regarded as an icon and pioneer of the sport. He has headlined over 15 main events and co-main events in the UFC and Pride FC and set numerous MMA pay-per-view records. In the early part of his UFC career, Shamrock was named "The World's Most Dangerous Man" by ABC News in a special called "The World's Most Dangerous Things". The moniker has stuck as his nickname.
Shooto is a combat sport and mixed martial arts organization that is governed by the Shooto Association and the International Shooto Commission (ISC). Shooto was originally formed in 1985, first as a particular fighting system and then in 1989 as a mixed martial arts promotion. It is considered one of the first true mixed martial arts competitions, with its Vale Tudo Japan events being essential to the rise of Pride Fighting Championships and the development of modern MMA. Many Japanese MMA fighters had their start at Shooto and the organization still holds both professional and amateur tournaments.
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Sanae Kikuta is a Japanese mixed martial artist currently competing in the Welterweight division. A professional competitor since 1996, he has competed for the UFC, PRIDE Fighting Championships, Pancrase, DREAM, World Victory Road, DEEP, Shooto, and Vale Tudo Japan. He is the former Pancrase Light Heavyweight Champion (2001–2003) and the winner of the ADCC 88 kg class in 2001.
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Sebastiaan "Bas" Rutten is a Dutch-American actor, former mixed martial artist, kickboxer and professional wrestler. As a kickboxer, he fought 16 times, winning the first 14 matches by knockout, 13 in the first round, and losing his final two fights, one of them against Frank Lobman for the European Muay Thai title in 1991, with Rutten losing by knockout in the first round. In MMA, he was a UFC Heavyweight Champion and a three-time King of Pancrase world champion. After his loss to Ken Shamrock in 1995, he finished his MMA career on a 22 fight unbeaten streak.
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