The new UFC champions in 2023
Sean O’Malley defeated Aljamain Sterling in a bantamweight title fight at UFC 292 On Aug. 19, 2023 at the TD Garden in Boston, Mass. Credit: Jeffrey Basinger
Every year, there's a handful or two of new champions in the UFC. Here's the 2023 edition of tracking those new UFC champions, listed in chronological orders and will include interim champions.
UFC flyweight champion: Brandon Moreno
The fourth installment of Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Brandon Moreno maintained its natural order of Moreno winning every other fight. Moreno regained the flyweight title with a doctor's stoppage after round three of their bout at UFC 283 on Jan. 21. Moreno landed a powerful show that caused major swelling and a cut near Figueiredo's eye. A doctor examined Figueiredo's eye after the third round and stopped the bout.
UFC light heavyweight champion: Jamahal Hill
Jamahal Hill became the champion at UFC 283 on Jan. 21 with a clear and decisive win over Glover Teixeira. Hill shut down the grappling attempts of Teixeira, a former champion, and outstruck him with his hands and legs, leading to a 50-44 unanimous decision all three judges' scorecards.
UFC women's flyweight champion: Alexa Grasso
Valentina Shevchenko had won eight straight title bouts and looked to be en route to a ninth at UFC 285 on March 4. She controlled the first three rounds, but in the fourth round, Alexa Grass found her opening. Shevchenko went for a back kick, and Grass was able to get her to the ground and submit her at the 4:34 mark.
UFC heavyweight champion: Jon Jones
Ciryl Gane missed on two strike attempts, and the latter proved to be his downfall at UFC 285 on March 4. Jon "Bones" Jones, returning from a three-year absence and moving up to heavyweight after dominating the light heavyweight division for a decade, slipped a punch from Gane and turned it into a takedown a minute into the fight. About 65 seconds later, Jones had Gane seated up against the cage and stuck inside his guillotine choke. Gane tapped and Jones claimed the heavyweight title vacated with Francis Ngannou left the UFC.
UFC middleweight champion: Israel Adesanya
Israel Adesanya finally conquered his boogeyman at UFC 287 on April 8. Adesanya entered the middleweight title bout as the challenger, something he hadn't been for several years, and left as the champion after knocking out Alex Pereira in the second round. Adesanya was 0-2 against Pereira in kickboxing and 0-1 against him in MMA. A pair of rights from Adesanya changed those numbers and the narrative.
UFC flyweight champion: Alex Pantoja
This flyweight title fight at UFC 290 on July 8 was what we've come to expect from this division's championship bouts: instant classic. This time, Pantoja earned the split-decision win to take the title from Brandon Moreno, with two judges scoring it for 48-47 for the new champ and 49-46 for the former champ. Both fighters landed more than 160 strikes, but it was Pantoja's ground game that proved to be the difference for him.
UFC bantamweight champion: Sean O'Malley
In a classic striker vs. grappler matchup, the striker emerged. Sean O'Malley landed a step-back counter right punch to drop reigning champion Aljamain Sterling in the second round at UFC 292 on Aug. 19. "Suga" then moved in with strikes to force the TKO at 51 seconds, ending the longest run of a champion in UFC bantamweight history (Sterling had three consecutive title defenses).
Mark La Monica is a deputy sports editor at Newsday. He also covers mixed martial arts.
