Sherdog’s Top 10: Greatest Title Reigns

Welcome again folks, this time to Sherdog's list of the greatest title reigns in MMA history. This was compiled based on a weighted poll of Sherdog contributors, and I will note where my own views deviated considerably. Personally though, the appeal of any such list isn't the exact order or who was included or excluded, but the actual discussion of each entry. Anyone can come up with a list with no further commentary and it's no more “right” than another. However, the best such lists have entertaining and informative explanations, which is the goal I hope to accomplish.

A few words about criteria: My main measure for this list was greatness for one’s era and how long that era lasted. I believe the majority of other contributors used a similar rubric. Ranking historical fighters based on who would beat whom doesn’t make sense, since divisions as a whole keep improving and evolving. Nevertheless, fighters from earlier eras may be penalized for competitive their division was or was not. There were fewer decent fighters in the 90s when compared to even the 00s, let alone today. Also, this is a list of title reigns, not champions; for fighters who held belts more than once—or who held more than one at the same time—only the longest or most impressive individual divisional title run was considered.

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