SUMMARY
- Many UFC fighters have fought in multiple divisions.
- Take a look at four fighters who have fought at featherweight and succeeded after moving to the lightweight division.
UFC has a history of fighters fighting in multiple divisions. There have been nine two-division champions in the promotion as well. Featherweight and lightweight are two divisions in which many fighters regularly shift between.
The Featherweight division has a weight limit of 145 lbs and the lightweight division has a weight limit of 155 lbs. Fighters deem it easier to shift between these two divisions as they are very close to each other in weight limits. In this article, we take a look at the featherweight fighters who achieved success in the UFC lightweight division.
Conor McGregor
Even though many fighters have taken to the Octagon in both divisions, there has been only one two-division undisputed champion. Conor McGregor held both the UFC Featherweight and UFC Lightweight Titles at the peak of his career.
On this day in 2016: Conor McGregor became the double champ at UFC 205. 🏆🇮🇪
— SPORTbible (@sportbible) November 12, 2020
Before entering the UFC, McGregor had already been shifting between featherweight and lightweight. He made his UFC debut in the 145 lb division and went on to win the interim title before defeating Jose Aldo with a 13-second KO to unify and become the undisputed champion.
Following his featherweight title success, McGregor fought Nate Diaz in two welterweight bouts winning one and losing one. Next, he moved to lightweight to fight for the title against Eddie Alvarez. The Irish fighter defeated Alvarez to become the two-division champion.
Dustin Poirier
Dustin Poirier began his MMA career as a lightweight fighter. However, he made his UFC debut as a featherweight. The American fighter continued in the division for 11 fights before moving back to 155 lbs.
At 155 lbs, Poirier was unstoppable. He lost only once in 11 fights and earned the interim lightweight title. He earned an opportunity to fight for the undisputed title and took on Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 242. However, he could not defeat the UFC legend who went undefeated in his career. Poirier went on to become a lightweight veteran and holds the tied record (9) for the most KOs in the division’s history.
Charles Oliveira
Charles Oliveira began his career as a welterweight fighter who moved to lightweight and made his UFC debut at 155 lbs. He made his featherweight debut soon after. After missing weight several times in his featherweight career, Oliveira moved to lightweight for good.
Do Bronx’s move to lightweight was his best decision. He went on to hold an 11-fight win streak where he won the title and defended it against Poirier. He even defeated Justin Gaethje and Tony Ferguson in his win streak.
Oliveira holds several records in the lightweight division. These records include the second most finishes in UFC lightweight division history (14), the tied (Jim Miller) most submission wins in UFC lightweight division history (10), and the fourth longest win streak in UFC lightweight division history (11).
Renato Moicano
The only non-title holder on the list, Moicano has earned several wins in both divisions. He began his career as a featherweight fighter before making his UFC debut in the same division. He faced defeat against Jung Chan-sung ‘The Korean Zombie’ before moving to the lightweight division.
The Brazilian made his lightweight debut in March 2020 and earned a win against Damir Hadžović. As of February 2024, Moicano has an impressive 5-2 record in the UFC lightweight division.
Featherweight fighters who could not make it in the lightweight division
Several featherweight fighters tried to move up to the lightweight division but could not gather the same momentum. Max Holloway racked wins-after-wins and records-after-records in the featherweight division. He won the interim title and unified it soon after. He defended his undisputed featherweight title twice before moving up to lightweight to earn double-champ status.
Holloway fought Poirier for the UFC Interim Lightweight Title at UFC 236. ‘Blessed’ could not replicate his featherweight success as he was defeated by a unanimous decision. He will be moving to lightweight again at UFC 300 to face Justin Gaethje for the BMF title.
Another name on the list is Alexander Volkanovski. One of the most dominant featherweight champions of recent times, Volkanovski has fought at welterweight, featherweight, and lightweight. He won the UFC Featherweight Championship and defended it four times before moving up to face Islam Makhachev for the lightweight title at UFC 284. The Aussie fought bravely but tasted defeat via unanimous decision.
He defended his featherweight title again before facing Makhachev once more at UFC 294. Volk lost convincingly this time via head-kick KO before losing his featherweight title to Ilia Topuria.
