In the UFC 262 headline main game that ended on May 16, Beijing time, Charles Oliveira defeated Michael Chandler in the second leg to become the new UFC lightweight champion. No champion in UFC history has come a much longer way than Oliveira – he joined UFC on August 1, 2010 and played 28 games after nearly 11 years of hard work to become champions.
In contrast, Oliveira's opponent Chandler, who only entered the UFC in 2020, won the championship challenge after only playing one game, and the situation of the two can be described as very different.
Here are the ten UFC players who played the most games before becoming champions (including interim champions):
Tenth place: "Kitty" Habib Numagomydov played 10 games
UFC debut: On January 20, 2012, he beat Kamal Sarolus at UFC on FX 1
Become the champion: On April 17, 2018, defeated "Fang Ge" AI-Yakunta at UFC 223
Ninth place: "Night Devil" Tony Ferguson played 14 games (provisional champion)
UFC debut: On 4 June 2011, he defeated Ramsey Nijam in the TUF 13 final
Become a champion: Beat Kevin Lee at UFC 216 on October 7, 2017
Eighth place: Robbie Lawler played 14 games
UFC debut: May 10, 2002, beating Aaron Riley at UFC 37
Become a champion: Defeated Johnny Hendricks at UFC 181 on December 6, 2014
Seventh place: Algameen Sterling played 15 games
UFC debut: On February 22, 2014, he beat Cody Gibson at UFC 170
Become a champion: On March 6, 2021, at UFC 259, he was sentenced to lose because of the violation of opponent Peter Yan and won the gold belt
Sixth place: "Polish Sledgehammer" Jan Blačović played 15 games
UFC debut: On October 4, 2014, he defeated Illyr Latifi on UFC Fighting Night 53
Become the champion: On September 27, 2020, he beat Dominique Reyes at UFC 253
Fifth place: "God bless" Max Holloway played 16 games
UFC debut: On February 4, 2012, he lost to "Diamond" Dustin Povarier at UFC 143
Become a champion: On December 10, 2016, he defeated "Flying Kick" Anthony Pettis at UFC 206 to become the interim champion, and on June 3, 2017, he defeated "King" José Aldo at UFC 212 to become the champion
Fourth place: "Afo" Raphael Dos Anjos played 18 games
UFC debut: On November 15, 2008, he lost to Jeremy Stephens at UFC 91
Become a champion: On March 14, 2015, defeated "Fly kick" Anthony Pettis at UFC 185
Third place: "Diamond" Dustin Poir played 22 games (provisional champion)
UFC debut: On 1 January 2011, he beat Josh Griespi at UFC 125
Become a champion: On April 13, 2019, beat "God Bless" Max Holloway at UFC 236
Second place: Michael Bispin played 26 games
UFC debut: On 24 June 2006, he defeated Josh Haynes in the TIF 3 final
Become a champion: On June 4, 2016, he defeated Luke Lockholder at UFC 199
First place: Charles Oliveira played 28 games
UFC debut: On August 1, 2010, he beat Darren Elgins at UFC on Versus 2
Become a champion: Beat Michael Chandler at UFC 262 on May 15, 2021