Hello there lineal title fans! This Saturday, the UFC puts on another PPV event chalk full with lineal title action. You’ll hear a lot about the unification of the UFC belts: Champion vs Champion – there can be only one! (Okay, I was a big Highlander fan, so sue me). But, the truth is that there’s only one lineal UFC belt and that belongs to Cain Velasquez. The title of lineal Heavyweight King, on the other hand, is a distinction that both competitors can boast as part of their distinguished resumes. In fact, the real story behind this battle for the lineal crown is the opportunity for Werdum to become the first Heavyweight in history to hold the crown twice in his career.
As it turns out, this is a very special installment because I will be in Mexico City for UFC 188 to enjoy Heavyweight lineal King Cain Velasquez defend his 37 titles live! (I’ll pause to allow the jealousy to set in)…
That’s right, I’ve spent the better part of 2 months praying to the MMA gods that Cain could hold it together long enough to make the trip to the Octagon after a year and a half on the bench. So far, it’s worked and I’m pumped for the live lineal action that awaits. I’ve detailed Cain’s lineal success in the past, but here’s a quick reminder of his greatness:
· 37 lineal titles currently ranks 1st on the Lineal Title leaderboard across all weight classes
· 49 career lineal titles ranks 1st on the list of Career Lineal Title holders across all weight classes
· Only fighter in history to successfully unify all ten "Big 10" lineal titles in his weight class - Collection of the 10 most important titles in the history of the HW division:
1. UFC (Open) - Royce Gracie (1993)
2. Pancrase (Open) - Masakatsu Funaki (1996)
3. World Vale Tudo - Richard Heard (1996)
4. IFC - Igor Vovchanchyn (1996)
5. UFC (265 lb) - Mark Coleman (1997)
6. IVC (Open) - Gary Goodridge (1997)
7. Pride FC - Minotauro Nogueira (2001)
8. Strikeforce - Alistair Overeem (2007)
9. IFL - Roy Nelson (2007)
10. EliteXC - Bigfoot Silva (2008)
· In 2013, Cain came the closest of any male fighter in history to unifying 100% of all active lineal titles in his weight class (37 of 49 or 76%). And, he remains the closest to total unification today (37 of 52 or 71%)
Very impressive, indeed. But, I would still argue that the real story behind this battle for the lineal crown is the opportunity for Werdum to make history as the only man to ever regain the title after losing it…
I’ll detail the awesomeness below, but before we jump into the details of Werdum’s incredible opportunity, here’s a quick reminder of the rules I follow when tracing these lineages.
Rules:
1. All titles trace back to the given promotion's inaugural championship, unless specifically noted
2. Only bouts contested within the weight class for which the belt was created are counted in the lineage. (See Rule 3 for exceptions)
3. WMMA belts will be allowed to "migrate" to different weight classes due to more frequent weight class changes by female fighters
4. If a title dead ends due to change of weight class or retirement, the next title issued by the promotion will be considered. I will refer to each issued title as an "iteration" of the belt (1st iteration, 2nd iterations, etc.)
5. No Contest rulings will always be respected (i.e. Diaz vs Gomi: Diaz tested positive for marijuana, so the fight does not effect the lineage)
6. TUF fights are exhibitions and will generally not count in the lineage of a title. TUF 20 for the Strawweight title is an exception to this rule considering the stakes
Lineal Accomplishments of Fabricio Werdum
We’ve heard about the champion, but what about the "Interim" champ? Werdum is no slouch when it comes to lineal title success, but it all stems from a single victory. You probably guessed that when Werdum submitted the seemingly unbeatable Fedor Emelianenko, he also stamped his name into the lineal title history books. The collection of titles he earned with this lone victory included 17 belts, 7 of which are counted among Cain Velasquez’s "Big 10" lineal titles. This is good for a tie for the 5th most career Big Ten titles in history across all weight classes (puts him alongside Fedor, Anderson Silva, Dan Henderson, Forrest Griffin, Chris Weidman, Mighty Mouse, and Sarah Kaufman) It also crowned him the lineal king of the Heavyweight division, a distinction Fedor had held for 18 defenses over 7 years (All-time record).
Werdum would go on to lose the crown to Alistair Overeem in Strikeforce, but it was a competitive affair that will be remembered mostly for Werdum’s insistence on making it a ground fight despite surprising success in the stand-up exchanges against, at the time, the recently crowned K-1 Grand Prix champion.
Lineal History Lesson: Heavyweight Edition
Here’s a look at all Heavyweight Lineal Kings throughout the history of the division (Super Heavweight, Heavyweight, & Open Weight) from Cain Velasquez all the way back to Royce Gracie.
| History of Heavyweight Lineal Kings | |||
| Champion | Titles | % Unify | |
| Cain Velasquez | 37 | 71% | 2015 |
| Cain Velasquez | 37 | 74% | 2014 |
| Cain Velasquez | 37 | 76% | 2013 |
| Cain Velasquez | 36 | 73% | 2013 |
| Bigfoot Silva | 22 | 46% | 2013 |
| Alistair Overeem | 18 | 39% | 2011 |
| Fabricio Werdum | 17 | 38% | 2010 |
| Fedor Emelianenko | 17 | 45% | 2009 |
| Fedor Emelianenko | 16 | 44% | 2008 |
| Fedor Emelianenko | 15 | 60% | 2005 |
| Mirko Cro Cop | 8 | 32% | 2005 |
| Fedor Emelianenko | 7 | 28% | 2004 |
| Fedor Emelianenko | 6 | 26% | 2003 |
| Minotauro Nogueira | 6 | 43% | 2001 |
| Minotauro Nogueira | 5 | 36% | 2001 |
| Mark Coleman | 4 | 29% | 2001 |
| Igor Vovchanchyn | 3 | 30% | 2000 |
| Bobalu Sobral | 3 | 30% | 2000 |
| Kiyoshi Tamura | 3 | 30% | 2000 |
| Royce Gracie | UFC 1 | - | 1993 (Earliest Active) |
You’ll notice that no Heayweight in history has ever held the crown more than once. One portion of the timeline that is a bit confusing is a period of about 1 month when Cro Cop briefly held 8 lineal titles to Fedor’s 7. Technically, you could call Cro Cop the lineal king during this time, but he never beat Fedor for the crown. Instead, they fought head to head in Pride FC where Fedor cemented his status as the true lineal king of the division.
Here’s a more complete look at the lineal repercussions of a Werdum victory this Saturday:
· Werdum would hold the all-time record for career lineal titles with 54
· Werdum would hold the all-time record for career "Big 10" titles with 17
· Werdum would be the 2nd male fighter in history to hold all ten divisional "Big 10" titles
· Werdum would become the first Heayweight in history to hold the lineal crown twice in his career (He would join GSP (3 time WW), Takanori Gomi (3 time LW), Randy Couture (LHW), Chael Sonnen (MW), Miguel Torres (BW) as the only fighters to ever re-gain the lineal crown after losing it)
Would this make Fabricio Werdum, the slayer of Fedor himself, the greatest Heavyweight in history? There’s certainly an argument to be made…
Cain Velasquez vs Fabricio Werdum (37 lineal titles)
The following details the lineal history of the belts that are on the line this Saturday. They are presented in chronological order according to the year in which they were installed. Enjoy!
1. UFC (1st Tournament Title)
Lineal History: Royce Gracie (1993) → Kazushi Sakuraba → Igor Vovchanchyn → Mark Coleman → Minotauro Nogueira → Fedor Emelianenko → Fabricio Werdum → Alistair Overeem → Bigfoot Silva → Cain Velasquez
2. Lumax Cup
Lineal History: Tsuyoshi Kosaka (1995) → Magomedkhan Gamzatkhanov → Kiyoshi Tamura → Tariel Bitsadze → Kiyoshi Tamura → Babalu Sobral → Dan Henderson → Wanderlei Silva → Mark Hunt → Josh Barnett → Mirko Cro Cop → Gabriel Gonzaga → Randy Couture → Brock Lesnar → Cain Velasquez → Junior Dos Santos → Cain Velasquez
· 2nd iteration, first tournament in '94 was won by Yoshinori Nishi, but the belt ends up in the hands of Rickson Gracie who retired undefeated
3. Pancrase (Open)
Lineal History: Masakatsu Funaki (1996) → Yuki Kondo → Jason Godsey → Masakatsu Funaki → Guy Mezger → Semmy Schilt → Yuki Kondo → Semmy Schilt → Josh Barnett → Mirko Cro Cop → Fedor Emelianenko → Fabricio Werdum → Alistair Overeem → Bigfoot Silva → Cain Velasquez
· This is the 2nd iteration of the Open weight title, the 1st dead ends at Bas Rutten due to retirement. Cain also holds the Super Heavy Weight title issued in 2004 and won by Kosaka
4. World Vale Tudo
Lineal History: Richard Heard (1996) → Pedro Rizzo → Kevin Randleman → Randy Couture → Valentijn Overeem → Minotauro Nogueira → Fedor Emelianenko → Fabricio Werdum → Alistair Overeem → Bigfoot Silva → Cain Velasquez
5. IFC
Lineal History: Igor Vovchanchyn (1996) → Mark Coleman → Minotauro Nogueira → Fedor Emelianenko → Fabricio Werdum → Alistair Overeem → Bigfoot Silva → Cain Velasquez
6. UFC (World Title)
Lineal History: Mark Coleman (1997) → Maurice Smith → Randy Couture → Enson Inoue → Mark Kerr → Kazuyuki Fujita → Mark Coleman → Minotauro Nogueira → Fedor Emelianenko → Fabricio Werdum → Alistair Overeem → Bigfoot Silva → Cain Velasquez
7. M-1 (Open)
Lineal History: Bob Schrijber (1997) → Gilbert Yvel → Bob Schrijber → Mikhail Avetisyan → Hugo Duarte → Bob Schrijber → Semmy Schilt → Josh Barnett → Mirko Cro Cop → Fedor Emelianenko → Fabricio Werdum → Alistair Overeem → Bigfoot Silva → Cain Velasquez
8. IVC (Open)
Lineal History: Gary Goodridge (1997) → Marco Ruas → Alexander Otsuka → Renzo Gracie → Kiyoshi Tamura → Babalu Sobral → Dan Henderson → Wanderlei Silva → Mark Hunt → Josh Barnett → Mirko Cro Cop → Gabriel Gonzaga → Randy Couture → Brock Lesnar → Cain Velasquez → Junior Dos Santos → Cain Velasquez
9. Rings (Open)
Lineal History: Kiyoshi Tamura (1998) → Tariel Bitsadze → Kiyoshi Tamura → Babalu Sobral → Dan Henderson → Wanderlei Silva → Mark Hunt → Josh Barnett → Mirko Cro Cop → Gabriel Gonzaga → Randy Couture → Brock Lesnar → Cain Velasquez → Junior Dos Santos → Cain Velasquez
10. IVC (HW)
Lineal History: Carlos Barreto (1999) → Igor Vovchanchyn → Mark Coleman → Minotauro Nogueira → Fedor Emelianenko → Fabricio Werdum → Alistair Overeem → Bigfoot Silva → Cain Velasquez
11. Pancrase (HW)
Lineal History: Kazuo Takahashi (2001) → Josh Barnett → Mirko Cro Cop → Fedor Emelianenko → Fabricio Werdum → Alistair Overeem → Bigfoot Silva → Cain Velasquez
12. King of the Cage (Super HW)
Lineal History: Bobby Hoffman (2001) → Josh Barnett → Mirko Cro Cop → Fedor Emelianenko → Fabricio Werdum → Alistair Overeem → Bigfoot Silva → Cain Velasquez
· 2nd iteration originally held by Bobby Hoffman, 1st dead ends where Marvin Eastman moves down to 205 lbs
13. Pride FC
Lineal History: Minotauro Nogueira (2001) → Fedor Emelianenko → Fabricio Werdum → Alistair Overeem → Bigfoot Silva → Cain Velasquez
14. Gladiator Challenge (HW)
Lineal History: Jason Lambert (2001) → Tim Sylvia → Frank Mir → Marcio Cruz → Jeff Monson → Tim Sylvia → Randy Couture → Brock Lesnar → Cain Velasquez → Junior Dos Santos → Cain Velasquez
15. Cage Warriors
Lineal History: Steve Thomas (2002) → Mal Foki → Anthony Perosh → Jeff Monson → Tim Sylvia → Randy Couture → Brock Lesnar → Cain Velasquez → Junior Dos Santos → Cain Velasquez
Lineal History: Ben Rothwell (2002) → Mike Whitehead → Tim Sylvia → Frank Mir → Marcio Cruz → Jeff Monson → Tim Sylvia → Randy Couture → Brock Lesnar → Cain Velasquez → Junior Dos Santos → Cain Velasquez
17. Icon Sport (aka Super Brawl)
Lineal History: Wesley Cabbage (2002) → Tim Sylvia → Frank Mir → Marcio Cruz → Jeff Monson → Tim Sylvia → Randy Couture → Brock Lesnar → Cain Velasquez → Junior Dos Santos → Cain Velasquez
18. TKO
Lineal History: Sean Alvarez (2002) → Wesley Cabbage → Andrei Arlovski → Tim Sylvia → Randy Couture → Brock Lesnar → Cain Velasquez → Junior Dos Santos → Cain Velasquez
19. Ironheart Crown
Lineal History: Jason Godsey (2002) → Bobby Hoffman → Paul Buentello → Andrei Arlovski → Tim Sylvia → Randy Couture → Brock Lesnar → Cain Velasquez → Junior Dos Santos → Cain Velasquez
20. King of the Cage (HW)
Lineal History: Bobby Hoffman (2003) → Paul Buentello → Andrei Arlovski → Tim Sylvia → Randy Couture → Brock Lesnar → Cain Velasquez → Junior Dos Santos → Cain Velasquez
21. Reality Fighting (HW)
Lineal History: Glen Sandull (2003) → Brian Olsen → Ibragim Magomedov → Mirko Cro Cop → Fedor Emelianenko → Fabricio Werdum → Alistair Overeem → Bigfoot Silva → Cain Velasquez
22. WEC (Super HW)
Lineal History: Ron Waterman (2003) → Mirko Cro Cop → Kevin Randleman → Fedor Emelianenko → Fabricio Werdum → Alistair Overeem → Bigfoot Silva → Cain Velasquez
23. Reality Fighting (Super HW)
Lineal History: Carlos Cline (2003)→ Glen Sandull → Brian Olsen → Ibragim Magomedov → Mirko Cro Cop → Fedor Emelianenko → Fabricio Werdum → Alistair Overeem → Bigfoot Silva → Cain Velasquez
· It appears Cline was crowned inaugural champion without actually fighting because two potential opponents backed out
24. M-1 (HW)
Lineal History: Ibragim Megomedov (2004) → Mirko Cro Cop → Fedor Emelianenko → Fabricio Werdum → Alistair Overeem → Bigfoot Silva → Cain Velasquez
25. Cage Rage
Lineal History: Tengiz Tedoradze (2006) → Edson Vieira → Pawel Nastula → Josh Barnett → Minotauro Nogueira → Frank Mir → Brock Lesnar → Cain Velasquez → Junior Dos Santos → Cain Velasquez
· This lineage traces the British version of HW title. The World Title version of the belt was contested more at 205 lbs. Ignoring weight class, it dead ends at Daniel Cormier
26. Cage Fury Fighting Championship
Lineal History: Carmelo Marrero (2006) → Gabriel Gonzaga → Randy Couture → Brock Lesnar → Cain Velasquez → Junior Dos Santos → Cain Velasquez
27. Strikeforce
Lineal History: Alistair Overeem (2007) → Bigfoot Silva → Cain Velasquez
28. IFL
Lineal History: Roy Nelson (2007) → Andrei Arlovski → Fedor Emelianenko → Fabricio Werdum → Alistair Overeem → Bigfoot Silva → Cain Velasquez
29. MFC
Lineal History: Scott Junk (2007) → Christian Wellisch → Shane Carwin → Brock Lesnar → Cain Velasquez → Junior Dos Santos → Cain Velasquez
30. Ring of Fire
Lineal History: Shane Carwin (2007) → Brock Lesnar → Cain Velasquez → Junior Dos Santos → Cain Velasquez
· 2nd iteration, first was won by Travis Wiuff who moved down to LHW for a stretch and lost it to Devin Cole upon his return to the HW division. Cole went on to loss the title to Allan Goes who never competed at HW again
31. Elite XC
Lineal History: Bigfoot Silva (2008) → Fabricio Werdum → Alistair Overeem → Bigfoot Silva → Cain Velasquez
32. WAMMA
Lineal History: Fedor Emelianenko (2008) → Fabricio Werdum → Alistair Overeem → Bigfoot Silva → Cain Velasquez
33. Shark Fights
Lineal History: Darrill Schoonover (2009) → James McSweeney → Travis Browne → Bigfoot Silva → Cain Velasquez
34. Fight To Win
Lineal History: Abe Wagner (2009) → Travis Browne → Bigfoot Silva → Cain Velasquez
35. Dream
Lineal History: Alistair Overeem (2010) → Bigfoot Silva → Cain Velasquez
36. Ring of Combat
Lineal History: Gian Villante (2010) → Chadd Griggs → Travis Browne → Bigfoot Silva → Cain Velasquez
· 3rd iteration, First champ Kohan retires undefeated, second champ Romero moves down to LHW. Lineage ignores one loss by Vilante at LHW
37. PWP (Super HW)
Lineal History: Tim Sylia (2010) → Abe Wagner → Aaron Rosa → Joey Beltran → Stipe Miocic → Stefan Struve → Mark Hunt → Junior Dos Santos → Cain Velasquez
· Listed as SHW because when Sylvia won it he weighed 275 lbs
· Power House World Promotions held just 1 event in 2010 but crowned 3 champions that night. I track them because they all ended up in hands of good fighters
Lineal Pie
Lineal Dashboard: Heavyweight
Lineal Leaderboard
| # | Name | # of Titles | Unify | Big 10 |
| 1 | Cain Velasquez | 37 | 71% | 100% |
| 2 | Chris Weidman | 31 | 60% | 90% |
| 2 | Georges St. Piere | 31 | 55% | 80% |
| 3 | Rafael dos Anjos | 29 | 46% | 60% |
| 4 | Jon Jones | 21 | 51% | 90% |
| 5 | Ronda Rousey | 20 | 74% | 90% |
| 5 | Jose Aldo | 20 | 41% | 60% |
| 6 | Donald Cerrone | 11 | 17% | 40% |
| 7 | Dominick Cruz | 9 | 22% | 40% |
| 8 | Mighty Mouse | 8 | 31% | 70% |
| 8 | Patricio Freire | 8 | 16% | 20% |
| 8 | Joanna Jędrzejczyk | 8 | 42% | 80% |
| 9 | Bibiano Fernandes | 7 | 17% | 20% |
| 10 | Jacare Souza | 6 | 12% | 10% |
| 11 | Cyborg Justino | 5 | 100% | - |
| 11 | Ben Askren | 5 | 9% | 20% |
| 11 | Daniel Cormier | 5 | 12% | 10% |
| 12 | Jessica Aguilar | 4 | 21% | 10% |
| 12 | Miesha Tate | 4 | 15% | 10% |
| 12 | Gegard Mousasi | 4 | 10% | 0% |
| 12 | Liam McGeary | 4 | 10% | 0% |
| 12 | Vitaly Minakov | 4 | 8% | 0% |
| 12 | Lance Palmer | 4 | 8% | 0% |
| 13 | Herica Tiburcio | 3 | 75% | - |
| 13 | Conor McGregor | 3 | 6% | 20% |
| 13 | Marlon Moraes | 3 | 7% | 10% |
| 13 | Khabib Nurmegomedov | 3 | 5% | 10% |
| 13 | Tyron Woodley | 3 | 5% | 0% |
| 14 | Eleven tied with 2 each | 2 | - | - |
Upcoming Lineal Title Action
| Unification Bouts | # | Date | |
| Jose Aldo vs Conor McGregor | 23 titles | 11-Jul | |
| Robbie Lawler vs Rory MacDonald | 3 titles | 11-Jul | |
| Holly Holm vs Marion Reneau | 3 titles | 15-Jul | |
| Marlon Moraes vs Sheyom Moraes | 4 titles | 1-Aug | |
| Rafael dos Anjos vs Donald Cerrone | 40 titles | TBD | |
| Other Titles on the Line | # | Date | |
| Matt Bessette vs Khama Worthy | 1 title | 12-Jun | |
| Cain Velasquez vs Fabricio Werdum | 37 titles | 13-Jun | |
| Patricio Freire vs Daniel Weichel | 8 titles | 19-Jun | |
| Joanna Jędrzejczyk vs Jessica Penne | 8 titles | 20-Jun | |
| Alan Patrick vs Mairbek Taisumov | 1 title | 20-Jun | |
| Liu Wenbo vs Adil Boranbayev | 1 title | 27-Jun | |
| Yoel Romero vs Lyoto Machida | 1 title | 27-Jun | |
| Herica Tiburcio vs Ayaka Hamasaki | 3 titles | 10-Jul | |
| Stephen Thompson vs Jake Ellenberger | 1 title | 11-Jul | |
| Thomas Almeida vs Brad Pickett | 1 title | 11-Jul | |
| Tim Means vs Matt Brown | 1 title | 11-Jul | |
| Tony Ferguson vs Josh Thomson | 2 titles | 15-Jul | |
| Kevin Casey vs Ildemar Alcântara | 1 title | 15-Jul | |
| Thales Leites vs Michael Bisping | 1 title | 18-Jul | |
| Miesha Tate vs Jessica Eye | 4 titles | 25-Jul | |
| TJ Dillashaw vs Renan Barao | 2 titles | 25-Jul | |
| Ronda Rousey vs Bethe Correira | 20 titles | 1-Aug | |
| Rousimar Palhares vs Jake Shields | 3 titles | 1-Aug | |
| Tyrone Spong vs Mike Kyle | 1 title | 1-Aug | |
| Magomed Bibulatov vs Donavon Frelow | 1 title | 1-Aug | |
| Yosef Mohammad vs Fernando Rodrigues | 1 title | 29-Aug | |
| Borys Mańkowski vs Michail Tsarev | 1 title | 3-Oct | |
