Who is the youngest UFC champion in history?

Jon Jones is the youngest UFC champion in history. He won the light heavyweight title at UFC 128 on March 19, 2011, when he was 23 years and eight months old.

Jones became champion after defeating Maurício “Shogun” Rua by third-round technical knockout. The opportunity arose when Jones accepted the fight on short notice after Rashad Evans withdrew with an injury. Rather than merely surviving the challenge, Jones dominated the reigning champion and stopped him with ground strikes.

The record concerns becoming a UFC champion, not winning a UFC fight at the youngest age or becoming the youngest title challenger. Jones was also unusually young relative to the experience of many champions, beginning his UFC career in 2008 and reaching the belt after only a handful of UFC appearances.

Jones later became one of the promotion’s most decorated champions, defending the light heavyweight title repeatedly before eventually moving to heavyweight and winning that division’s vacant championship at UFC 285 in 2023. His age record remains separate from those later achievements.