Vitor Belfort and the 4 Best Multi-Division Fighters of All Time

Throughout UFC history, there have been many fighters who have competed in more than one weight class and succeeded.

Some of these men are legends of the sport, who became champions of not only one but two weight classes.

That is a tremendous accomplishment for any fighter.

Here are five UFC fighters who have been very successful in more than one division.

Vitor Belfort

UFC Divisions Fought In: Heavyweight, Light Heavyweight, Middleweight

Belfort won the UFC 12 heavyweight tournament way back in 1997.

He then dropped weight and made his light heavyweight debut against Wanderlei Silva at UFC Brazil in 1998.

At UFC 46, he won the light heavyweight belt by defeating Randy Couture by technical knockout. One fight later, he lost that title, as Couture came back with a vengeance and reclaimed it.

Belfort fought for the UFC middleweight championship at UFC 126. He lost to Anderson Silva via the now famous front-kick to the face.

Belfort's most recent fight was against light heavyweight champion Jon Jones. Belfort had Jones in a deep armbar, but the champion survived and ended up beating Belfort by submission later in the fight.

Randy Couture

UFC Divisions Fought In: Heavyweight, Light Heavyweight

Couture made his UFC debut in 1997.

By his fourth fight, he had already claimed the UFC heavyweight belt. Couture then left the UFC following a contract dispute, but returned and won the UFC heavyweight belt again by defeating Kevin Randleman.

After a couple of losses, Couture decided to drop to light heavyweight. His first fight was against Chuck Liddell. He beat Liddell by third-round knockout to take the interim division title.

This set him up in a match against light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz. He dominated Ortiz for five rounds to claim the belt.

With this win, he became the first fighter to win a UFC championship in two different weight classes.

Anderson Silva

UFC Divisions Fought In: Middleweight, Light Heavyweight

Silva won the middleweight title from Rich Franklin in his second UFC fight at UFC 64.

He reigned as king of the middleweights until he decided he wanted a bit more of a challenge. At that point, he moved up to light heavyweight and took on James Irvin.

It took Silva just over a minute to put his opponent away.

A couple of wins later, he moved up in weight again and this time faced Forrest Griffin. Silva put on an amazing performance and finished Griffin in the first round.

He went back to defending the middleweight title until the UFC needed him to step up and save 153. He did just that by taking a light heavyweight fight against Stephan Bonnar.

He won that fight as well—by technical knockout in the first round.

Despite going up a weight class three times, Silva is still undefeated in the UFC.

Rich Franklin

UFC Divisions Fought In: Middleweight, Light Heavyweight

Franklin was a dominant presence in the middleweight division until Silva came along.

He made his light heavyweight debut at The Ultimate Fighter finale way back in 2005.

For the rest of his UFC career, he jumped between weight classes, fighting Anderson Silva and Travis Lutter before jumping back to light heavyweight to fight names such as Dan Henderson, Chuck Liddell and Forrest Griffin.

Oddly enough, Franklin's skills have seemingly translated better at light heavyweight that at middleweight.

BJ Penn

UFC Divisions Fought In: Lightweight, Welterweight

Penn went 6-1-1 before he decided to go up a weight class and test his mettle.

Penn stepped up and fought welterweight champion Matt Hughes a UFC 46. Despite giving up a sizable advantage, he ended up submitting Hughes in the first round.

A contract dispute then stopped Penn from fighting in the UFC for a couple of years. When he returned to the UFC, he was quick to challenge Georges St-Pierre.

He ended up losing both fights to St-Pierre, and after losing his title and subsequent fight to Frankie Edgar, he moved up to welterweight again where it seems he will be retiring.

Penn will always be remembered as one of the best multi-division UFC fighters of all time.

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