A History of MMA's lineal Heavyweight Title

UltimateGround
21

You could be right, I’ve only watched the one.

Does he have any other videos where Ken is involved other than TUF – because that one doesn’t interest me.

Ken was pretty pissed about they was they covered him in that. Granted some of the criticism was probably justified – regardless I don’t feel like watching a video about it.

Disagree.
I think to an extent the fans likes the tournaments.
But realistically, Royce was a multiple time tournament winner. Severn a 2 time tournament winner. Oleg a tournament winner. Kimo not a tournament winner, but Royce was removed from a tournament after that fight.
I guess it depends on who you talk to, but Ken proved himself vs tournament winners.

I would also consider the way severn got the Super fight belt…

You mean the first KOP tournament?

Never thought of that. It was in '94 after UFC 3.
At that point Ken was clearly the best fighter in Pancrase, but could not claim best in the world because of the Royce loss.

Starting with Royce is valid IMO because these were open weight tournaments.

In either either case though, that lineal title goes through Ken at some point.

2 Likes
22

Copying and Pasting my post from the Old UG lol just for the visual history:

MMA’s Lineal HW Championship

1995 - Ken Shamrock defeats Dan Severn for the Inaugural UFC Superfight Championship

1996 - Dan Severn defeats Ken Shamrock

1997 - Mark Coleman defeats Dan Severn and wins the Inaugural UFC HW Championship (unified Superfight Title)

1997 - Maurice Smith defeats Mark Coleman

1997 - Randy Couture defeats Maurice Smith

1998 - Enson Inoue defeats Randy Couture (Reigning UFC Champ loses outside UFC)

1999 - Enson Inoue retains no fights that year

2000 - Mark Kerr defeats Enson Inoue

2000 - Kazuyuki Fujita defeats Mark Kerr

2000 - Mark Coleman defeats Kazuyuki Fujita (via forfeit mid tournament)

2001 - Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira defeats Mark Coleman

2002 - Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira retains

2003 - Fedor Emelianenko defeats Antonio Rodrigo Nogeuira

2004 - Fedor Emelianenko retains

2005 - Fedor Emelianenko retains

2006 - Fedor Emelianenko retains

2007 - Fedor Emelianenko retains

2008 - Fedor Emelianenko retains

2009 - Fedor Emelianenko retains

2010 - Fabricio Werdum defeats Fedor Emelianenko

2011 - Alistair Overeem defeats Fabricio Werdum

2012 - Alistair Overeem retains but doesn’t fight due to suspension

2013 - Antonio Bigfoot Silva defeats Alistair Overeem (Title returns to the UFC)

2013 - Cain Velasquez defeats Antonio Bigfoot Silva

2014 - Cain Velasquez retains no fights that year

2015 - Fabricio Werdum defeats Cain Velasquez

2016 - Stipe Miocic defeats Fabricio Werdum

2017 - Stipe Miocic retains

2018 - Daniel Cormier defeats Stipe Miocic

2019 - Stipe Miocic defeats Daniel Cormier

2020 - Stipe Miocic retains

2021 - Francis Ngannou defeats Stipe Miocic

2022 - Francis Ngannou retains

2023 - The Lineage leaves the UFC once again as they are unable to come to terms with their Champion and a Paper Champion is crowned breaking the chain just as it happened with Randy Couture decades prior

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23

I actually just meant that first match with Ken and Funaki before the KOP title existed, just before UFC 1. When Ken tapped Funaki in that main event I think he was probably the best HW in the world. He had beaten Takahashi before UFC 1 as well.

Shooto was really the only legit championship that preceded those, but I think they only had light heavyweight (185) until that one off heavyweight fight with Enson much later.

I see your point though. I have a lot of respect for Ken, and the fact that he was the King of Pancrase by the time he fought Dan at UFC 6 probably says it should start with him. But I think the general atmosphere of the Super Fight being kind of a side attraction to the tournaments at the time, plus two of the super fights being god awful boring is why most people consider the lineal starting at the unification of the tournament and superfight belts at UFC 12 is probably why he started there.

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24

Honestly there is probably a good case to be made for a few other random orgs by the time UFC 12 happens in 96.

Mikhail Illoukine tapped Igor Vovchanchyn in the finals of a tournament in 95, I think either of those guys could probably have won any of the UFC tournaments that year and probably beaten Severn.

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25

That wasn’t the finals.

The finals was against TEH MUTANT Ricardo Morais.

He lost. Teh Mutant took out 5 in one night like Dan Quinn outside Juanita’s in 1987

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26

Holy shit you’re right. I didn’t realize that was the same night. I just remember Igor losing his fourth of the night and assumed it was the finals

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27

Yea Ricardo always stuck out to the and the fact he picked up this badass tournament win.

But between his absolute destruction from Aleks insane Street Fighter esque combination. Plus his hilariously sloppy fight with Lee Tay Hyun, or whatever that sacrificial lambs name was.

Ricardo was a legend to me and an old friend. We were so high on edibles back in the day watching that sloppy Lee Hyun fight and we were dying of laughter.

Long live Teh Mutante.

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28

Yeah, what a monster Morias was.

I remember thinking he was going to be a bigger deal than he ended up being.

1 Like
29

Yea he was a bit before his time.

If we had prime Ricardo have a run in PRIDE FC, that would have been very interesting

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