Quick Definition
A champ-champ is a fighter who holds two UFC championship belts in two different weight classes at the same time. Conor McGregor coined the term in 2016 after becoming the first fighter to pull it off.
What is a champ-champ?
The word is a shortened, doubled-up version of “champion champion,” and it means what it sounds like: someone who is champion in one division and champion in another, both at once. The catch is the “at once” part. A fighter who wins a title at featherweight, drops it, then later wins a title at lightweight has been champion in two weight classes, but was never a champ-champ. The two belts have to sit on the same fighter’s shoulders during the same stretch of time.
McGregor invented the label after UFC 205 in November 2016, when he beat Eddie Alvarez for the lightweight title while still holding the featherweight belt. He wanted a word that set his achievement apart, and “champ-champ” stuck. Fans now use it as shorthand for one of the rarest feats in the sport.
Why so rare? Holding two belts means answering to two divisions full of contenders and defending twice as much territory, all while managing two separate weight cuts. Most champions have their hands full with one division. Reaching the top of two at the same time signals a level of skill and versatility that only a handful of fighters have shown.
How does someone become a champ-champ?
The path always starts with an existing champion. A fighter wins a title in one division, then challenges for a second belt in a heavier or lighter class without giving up the first. Win that second fight, and both belts belong to the same person.
The second division is usually adjacent, one step up or one step down, because moving too far in either direction changes a fighter’s physique and matchups too drastically. McGregor went up from 145 to 155 pounds. Daniel Cormier went up from 205 to heavyweight. Amanda Nunes moved up from bantamweight to featherweight.
One wrinkle matters here. The belt on the line has to be an undisputed title, not an interim one. An interim belt is a placeholder created when the real champion is injured or inactive, so winning it does not make someone a genuine two-division titleholder. A champ-champ holds two undisputed championships.
Champ-champ vs. two-division champion
This is where most confusion lives. The two phrases get used interchangeably, but they describe different things.
A two-division champion, also called a double champion, is anyone who has won a title in two separate weight classes at any point in a career. The two reigns can be years apart. A champ-champ is narrower: the two reigns have to overlap.
| Champ-champ | Two-division champion | |
|---|---|---|
| Belts held | Two, at the same time | Two, at any point |
| Timing | Reigns overlap | Reigns can be years apart |
| Example | Amanda Nunes (bantamweight and featherweight together) | Randy Couture (heavyweight, then light heavyweight, never together) |
| How many in the UFC | Four | Eleven (as of late 2025) |
That gap explains a common misunderstanding. When Islam Makhachev beat Jack Della Maddalena in November 2025, outlets called him the “11th double champion” in UFC history. True, but he had already vacated his lightweight belt months earlier, so he was never a champ-champ. Randy Couture and Georges St-Pierre sit in the same bucket: multi-division champions who never held both belts together. Only four fighters have actually been champ-champs.
The four UFC champ-champs
Four fighters have held two undisputed UFC belts at the same time. Here they are, in order.
| Fighter | Divisions | Title-winning event | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conor McGregor | Featherweight and lightweight | UFC 205 | Nov 2016 |
| Daniel Cormier | Light heavyweight and heavyweight | UFC 226 | Jul 2018 |
| Amanda Nunes | Bantamweight and featherweight (women’s) | UFC 232 | Dec 2018 |
| Henry Cejudo | Flyweight and bantamweight | UFC 238 | Jun 2019 |
McGregor was the first, and he never defended either title. Cormier, who knocked out Stipe Miocic to add the heavyweight belt, became the first champ-champ to defend one of his two titles when he beat Derrick Lewis at UFC 230. Nunes stopped Cris Cyborg in under a minute to become the first, and so far only, woman to reach champ-champ status, and the only one of the four to defend both of her belts. Cejudo, who calls himself “Triple C,” rounded out the group by adding the bantamweight title to his flyweight crown.
Is the champ-champ era over?
For now, it has gone quiet. Since 2025, the UFC has leaned on champions to vacate a belt before chasing a second one, which keeps divisions from stalling behind an inactive titleholder.
Ilia Topuria gave up the featherweight title before winning the lightweight belt in 2025. Makhachev vacated lightweight before moving to welterweight later that year. In both cases, the fighter ended up a two-division champion, but never a champ-champ, because the first belt was already gone.
Dana White has said there is no outright ban and that he would judge it case by case, telling reporters he would allow a fighter to hold both belts but “you’re going to be busy.” Whether anyone takes on that workload remains to be seen. Until one does, the club stays at four.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who was the first champ-champ in the UFC?
Conor McGregor, at UFC 205 in November 2016, when he beat Eddie Alvarez for the lightweight title while holding the featherweight belt. He also coined the term.
How many champ-champs have there been?
Four: McGregor, Daniel Cormier, Amanda Nunes and Henry Cejudo. Each held two undisputed belts at the same time.
Is a two-division champion the same as a champ-champ?
No. A two-division champion has won titles in two weight classes at any point. A champ-champ holds both belts at once. Every champ-champ is a two-division champion, but not the other way around.
Has a woman ever been a champ-champ?
Yes. Amanda Nunes held the women’s bantamweight and featherweight titles together, and she remains the only woman to do it.
Can a fighter hold two belts at the same time now?
It is currently discouraged. Since 2025, champions moving divisions have vacated their first belt, so no fighter holds two at once today.
Sources
- UFC. “A History of Two-Division Champions.” ufc.com. Accessed August 2026.
https://www.ufc.com/news/history-two-division-champions-part-1-ufc-freedom-250 - ESPN. “UFC 322 preview: Without the allure of double champs, superfights feel less super.” espn.com. Accessed August 2026.
https://www.espn.com/mma/story/_/id/46940192/ufc-322-preview-allure-double-champs-mcgregor-superfights-feel-less-super - Sportskeeda. “When Dana White dismissed the idea of UFC fighters holding two belts simultaneously.” Accessed August 2026.
https://www.sportskeeda.com/mma/news-ufc-news-when-dana-white-dismissed-idea-fighters-holding-two-belts-simultaneously - Bloody Elbow. “Dana White reacts to rumor UFC will no longer allow double champions.” Accessed August 2026.
https://bloodyelbow.com/2025/02/23/dana-white-reacts-to-rumor-ufc-will-no-longer-allow-double-champions-after-ilia-topuria-vacated-his-title/ - UFC. “Islam Makhachev.” Athlete profile, ufc.com. Accessed August 2026.
https://www.ufc.com/athlete/islam-makhachev
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