The 10 greatest title defenses in MMA history, ranked

Winning a major championship in mixed martial arts isn’t easy, but some say you’re not really the champion until you’ve defended your title.

Although many fighters claim to live by this belief, defending titles remains one of the most consistently difficult tasks to accomplish in this sport.

MMA fans who came around during the Conor McGregor era are seemingly more enamored with how many belts in different weight classes you have, while more old-school fans, such as myself, might be more impressed with the long reign of champions like Georges St-Pierre and Jose Aldo given both the quality and quantity of killers they had to fend off.

Each is impressive in my book, but there’s definitely something special about being able to show up when the lights shine brightest and still be able to hold serve.

So, with that in mind, I thought it would be fun to take a stroll down memory lane and list some of my favorite title defenses in MMA.

As usual, these lists reflect my personal tastes and biases and are not meant to serve as some ultimate authority. That said, I feel very strongly about not only my list but also my honorable mentions at the end — which are more than strong enough to serve as their own top 10.

So, without further ado …