Is the UFC Welterweight Championship Cursed?

On June 6, 2026, former UFC Welterweight Champion Belal Muhammad stepped into the Meta Apex at UFC Vegas 118 for what would be the second bout of his post-championship run. Seven months earlier, he had previously been bested by surging star Ian Machado Garry in the co-main event of UFC Fight Night 265 in Qatar, losing to the Irishman on the cards.

Standing across from him in the cage in Nevada was another burgeoning force in the 170-lb class that had embarked on his own blazing warpath to contendership: Gabriel Bonfim. Only 28-years old at the time of his match with Muhammad, Bonfim underwent a massive resurgence after suffering his first loss in the UFC to Nicolas Dalby back in 2023, winning four fights in a row, toppling the likes of Khaos Williams, Stephen Thompson, and Randy Brown.

Looking a step behind the young phenom for the entirety of the contest, Muhammad found himself getting outstruck for all five rounds, appearing almost lost in trying to achieve any ground against the Brazilian. By the end of it all, Bonfim had recorded a one-sided beating over the once-best fighter in the weight class, with the judges awarding him the unanimous decision victory with a trio of 50-45 scorecards.This brought Muhammad’s losing skid to two in a row since dropping his strap to Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 315 in 2025.

Although former promotional belt-holders going on extensive absences from the win column isn’t anything new, there seems to be a recurring theme for those who once had the UFC welterweight championship wrapped around their waist. For nearly the past 20 years, this particular piece of company gold has seemed to take away something from the men who once grasped it so tightly, leaving them unable to recover once it slipped away from them.

Which begs the question: is the UFC Welterweight Championship cursed?

UFC Welterweight Championship's Cursed Fighters: Matt Serra

Back in late 2006, New York Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu ace Matt Serra amazingly won the fourth season of the Ultimate Fighter’s welterweight tournament with a triumph over Chris Lytle. On top of a spectacular trophy, the Renzo Gracie pupil had earned a coveted title shot at the UFC welterweight championship. While Serra did perform well in the competition, and already had nine organizational bouts under belt at the time, many did not give him any chance of dethroning Georges St-Pierre, who sat atop the 170-lb rankings as one of the preeminent names in the entire sport.

Capturing the belt that previous year with a monumental upset over Matt Hughes, St-Pierre was regarded as a leading figure in the next wave of young up-and-coming talents. On his way to securing the belt, “GSP” had trounced a murderer’s row of contenders in Frank Trigg, Sean Sherk, and B.J. Penn in stupendous fashion before starching Hughes in two rounds to claim the strap.

Heading into his main event scrap with St-Pierre at UFC 69, Serra was counted out entirely by fans, pundits, and oddsmakers, with “The Terror” seen as nothing but a mere stepping stone for the dominant Canadian. However, in a legendary upset, Serra shocked the world by knocking out St-Pierre in just three minutes to become the new UFC Welterweight Champion, sending the Texas crowd into a deafening roar.

Although Serra had pulled off the Cinderella story of a lifetime, his time at the head of the pack was short-lived, as St-Pierre exacted brutal revenge in their rematch by stopping his nemesis in the second round to take back his title. From here, the New Yorker never achieved the same heights he did when he bested “GSP.” Going 1-2 in his next three fights, which included losses to Hughes and Lytle in a rematch, Serra retired in 2010 to become a full-time coach, with some of his students being future champions Chris Weidman and Aljamain Sterling.

Compared to other UFC Welterweight Champions that came after him, the curse of the belt didn’t seem to affect Serra’s post-championship stint too significantly, as he hung up his gloves before going on any kind of large skid. But for some future title-holders' exits from the throne, the hex would end up becoming much more apparent.

UFC Welterweight Championship: Cursed Fighters Johny Hendricks

Arriving in the UFC in 2009, undefeated Oklahoma native Johny Hendricks almost immediately announced himself as a hot prospect in the 170-lb division, starching Ultimate Fighter winner Amir Sadollah in his debut. Following an arduous four year climb up the ladder, which saw him topple fellow top contenders like Jon Fitch, Josh Koscheck, and Carlos Condit, “Bigg Rigg” had secured his opportunity to vie for the championship at UFC 167 in 2013. There, he faced off with long-time incumbent Georges St-Pierre, who had not lost a bout since his historic setback to Matt Serra in 2007.

Giving the Canadian the toughest contest of his career, Hendricks battered St-Pierre, leaving the champion’s face covered in cuts and bruises. Showcasing his ability to adapt, however, “GSP” demonstrated his elite striking game, outlanding “Bigg Rigg” in significant blows. The stats for the fight told a tale of a close clash between equals, with both men registering identical striking and takedown numbers. Despite the challenger getting the nod from every single media outlet, it was St-Pierre who won the tilt by split decision in what still stands as one of the most controversial victories in mixed martial arts history.

Following his victory in Las Vegas, St-Pierre ended up vacating his UFC Welterweight Championship before going on a four-year hiatus. This set the stage for Hendricks to fight for the belt once more in a much-anticipated collision with divisional knockout artist Robbie Lawler at UFC 171. In another razor-close spectacle, the Team Takedown product took home the triumph on the cards, becoming the seventh first-time champion in the weight classes' history.

Looking to have moved on from the ghost of St-Pierre, Hendricks was gearing up for what seemed to be a long reign atop the welterweight summit. This, sadly, didn’t end up happening, with him surrendering his title to Lawler in a runback nine months later at UFC 181. Although he did defeat Matt Brown in his next bout, Hendricks would never attain another meaningful victory for the rest of his UFC tenure, losing his next three matches at 170-lb.

Attempting to revive his career with a move to middleweight in 2017, Hendricks got his hand raised against Héctor Lombard in what became his first win in over two years. The delight from the result was only temporary, though, with “Bigg Rigg” going on to lose two more consecutive fights by stoppage to Tim Boetsch and Paulo Costa before hanging up his gloves.

UFC Welterweight Championship: Cursed Fighters: Tyron Woodley

Holding a decorated background in collegiate wrestling, including two All-American and Big 12 Conference championships, Tyron Woodley had all the makings of a formidable juggernaut when he delved into the realm of mixed martial arts in 2009. Gaining international prominence during his time in Strikeforce, “The Chosen One” secured notable victories over André Galvão and Paul Daley.

Joining the UFC in 2013 following the promotion’s purchase of Strikeforce, Woodley recorded a phenomenal 36 second knockout of Jay Hieron at UFC 156. Over the course of the next two years, he proved himself one of the premier combatants in the division with further wins against heavy-hitters such as Josh Koscheck, Carlos Condit, and Kelvin Gastelum to set himself up for a title opportunity at UFC 201, where he starched Robbie Lawler in brutal fashion with a first round stoppage.

Logging a superb reign as UFC welterweight champion, Woodley notched four defenses of his strap, which included two incredibly close contests with Karate specialist Stephen Thompson and a monstrous submission of Darren Till. Unfortunately, in his UFC 325 clash with Kamaru Usman, the Missouri native was utterly neutralized by the challenger's next-level wrestling game, losing his strap after a dominant unanimous decision by “The Nigerian Nightmare.”

The loss left a massive impact on the dethroned welterweight kingpin, as Woodley would never win another scrap for the rest of his combat sports career at the time of this writing. Going 0-3 in his final appearances in the UFC, the curse surrounding the belt followed “The Chosen One” in his ventures outside the promotion, losing three straight boxing bouts, falling twice to Jake Paul and to former middleweight icon Anderson Silva.

UFC Welterweight Championship: Cursed Fighters: Kamaru Usman

In 2013, soon-to-be mixed martial arts titan Kamaru Usman competed in his second ever professional bout at CFA 11. In what ended up becoming his last defeat for nearly the next ten years, he was forced to tap to a tight rear-naked choke finish at the hands of Jose Caceres.

Moving on from the loss, Usman got right back on track with a four-fight win streak, which ended up punching his ticket for a spot on the 21st season of the Ultimate Fighter in 2015. Making it all the way to the finale, “The Nigerian Nightmare” submitted American Top Team representative Hayder Hassan to capture both the TUF trophy and a Performance of the Night bonus.

Ascending in the rankings with a gradual but completely dominant rise, Usman proved he was a cut above the rest by winning his next eight tilts, taking down the likes of future and previous champions Leon Edwards, Sean Strickland, and Rafael dos Anjos. It was in 2019 that Usman became the apex of the welterweights after shutting down then incumbent Tyron Woodley at UFC 235 for 25 straight minutes to snag the belt after an immaculate performance.

It was that faithful night in Las Vegas that spawned one of the weight classes’ greatest championship runs, as Usman wound up accumulating five consecutive defenses over a three-year stretch, including highlight-reel stoppages of Colby Covington, Gilbert Burns, and Jorge Masvidal.

Holding the top spot on the UFC’s pound-for-pound rankings for a time during his reign, Usman appeared to be running out of meaningful challengers to his title. In fact, he even contemplated a move to light heavyweight to face off with then belt-holder Jan Błachowicz. Instead, he encountered previous opponent Leon Edwards in the headlining contest of UFC 278, making it a rematch seven years in the making. Despite dominating the majority of the fight, Edwards would flip the MMA world on its head by knocking out Usman with a stunning head kick that left the UFC Welterweight Champion motionless on the canvas.

Getting an immediate runback with Edwards that next spring at UFC 286 in 2023, Usman again came up short to the Englishman by decision, and in the coming years, he has yet to make his way into the title picture. In the time since the Edwards loss, he has fought only three times, going 1-2, with his only victory coming against Joaquin Buckley at 170-lb, as well as suffering two setbacks to Khamzat Chimaev and Dricus du Plessis at 185-lb. Although he has shown glimpses of his former self, it is evident that Usman lost something other than his title at the Vivint Arena back in 2022.

UFC Welterweight Championship: Cursed Fighters: Leon Edwards

After an impressive run on the English regional circuit, which included scoring the BAMMA welterweight strap and defending it once, Leon Edwards’s first year in the UFC did not present a lot of promise, with him going 2-2 in his first four tilts in the organization. That was until his defeat to Kamaru Usman at UFC on Fox 17 in 2015, because following the event, “Rocky” embarked on a magnificent run of success, winning his next nine scraps while collecting triumphs over Vicente Luque, Nate Diaz, and Rafael dos Anjos.

Getting the chance to right one of the biggest mistakes of his career at UFC 278 in 2022, Edwards locked horns with Usman for a second time, who held divisional gold at the time and had defended the belt five times previously. In front of more than 18,000 attendees in Salt Lake City, Utah, the European striker recorded an all-time upset win by starching Usman with a head kick heard around the world, ending “The Nigerian Nightmare”’s reign to become the new UFC Welterweight Champion.

Edwards would settle into his new role as the best 170-lb fighter on the planet in his next two contests, holding onto his coveted title with two defenses of his own against Usman in their trilogy fight and perennial contender Colby Covington. However, in his third outing as the incumbent at UFC 304 in 2024, the European found himself on the wrong end of a lop-sided decision loss to Belal Muhammad after being dominated by the Chicago native on the feet and on the ground.

At the time of this writing, Edwards has yet to reenter the winner’s circle after giving up his UFC welterweight championship. Fighting twice in 2025, the English competitor lost to both American grappling ace Sean Brady and Brazilian phenom Carlos Prates, with the latter handing Edwards the first knockout loss of his professional tenure at UFC 322.