Former UFC Double Champion Declares the End of an Era Following UFC 322 Revelations
It looks like a major shift is happening in the world of mixed martial arts, and at the heart of it is the UFC’s double-champ era. This period, defined by the spectacular achievements of fighters ruling two divisions at once, may have finally reached its endpoint. The conversation heated up following revelations tied to the highly anticipated UFC 322 event, and even former champions are chiming in about what comes next.
Setting the Stage: The Double-Champ Phenomenon
In UFC history, only ten fighters have managed to climb to the top of two different divisions. But holding both titles simultaneously? That’s a feat only a select few—like Conor McGregor, Daniel Cormier, Henry Cejudo, and Amanda Nunes—have pulled off. It was McGregor who kicked off the era in 2016, grabbing lightweight gold just months after winning featherweight. These moments drove fans wild and set the stage for a new generation of contenders aiming high.
Recently, though, that magic seems to be fading. Champs like Ilia Topuria and Islam Makhachev both vacated their belts to chase glory in higher weight classes, signaling what many see as a changing of the guard. Meanwhile, Zhang Weili stepped down from her strawweight throne to take on flyweight queen Valentina Shevchenko, further spinning the narrative.
For more on the evolving journey of MMA titleholders, check out this piece on undefeated MMA champions and their title pursuits.
Expert Takes: Daniel Cormier Calls It
Enter Daniel Cormier, a former champ-champ himself, who’s never been shy with his opinions. Weighing in after the latest announcements, Cormier let it rip on his popular show Good Guy / Bad Guy: “When Ilia gave up his belt, you started to sense that the champ-champ era might be coming to an end. Like the simultaneous champ—the Conor McGregor, DC, Henry [Cejudo], Amanda Nunes— it seemed like that era, it might be coming to an end.”
Cormier points to UFC 322 as the tipping point, where for the first time ever, both title challengers are former champs stepping up in weight after vacating their own belts. “This news solidifies that for me,” he explains. “Islam having to give up the belt because Ilia was gonna fight—I understood that more. But making [Zhang] give up her title too… tells me that era is over.”
Different Perspectives and What Comes Next
Not everyone agrees the story has to end here. Some fans argue that the pursuit of two belts comes down to timing and opportunity. Others point to the UFC’s evolving matchmaking style and how only a handful of fighters have clear, dominant runs in multiple weight classes.
Critics of the new approach suggest it could dampen excitement: “There’s just something special about seeing someone rule two divisions at once, kind of like what we saw with McGregor in New York,” one analyst remarked. Stats don’t lie though—since 2019, every attempted cross-division title run (think TJ Dillashaw vs. Henry Cejudo or Max Holloway vs. Dustin Poirier) has come up short.
Looking ahead to UFC 322, all eyes turn to Makhachev vs. Jack Della Maddalena for the welterweight crown and Zhang Weili’s bid for flyweight glory against Shevchenko. But both Topuria and Makhachev had to drop their original titles for those shots, shifting the stakes and optically closing the page on simultaneous dominators.
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Reflecting on the Impact
The end of the simultaneous double-champ chapter marks a turn in UFC history. While some see it as a way to give divisions more stability, others mourn the loss of those wild, legacy-etching nights. No one really knows if we’ll ever see someone dominate multiple weight classes again under the current rules.
The future may hold surprises—maybe an underdog battling through injuries will rise up, like those covered in recent combat sports comebacks. For now, though, it looks like the era of the UFC’s simultaneous double champs is, at least for the time being, officially in the rearview.
Source: bloodyelbow.com