Las Vegas – UFC®, the world’s premier mixed martial arts organization, today announced the unveiling of its new UFC Legacy Championship Belt to mark a new era for the company. The UFC Legacy Championship Belt, valued at three times more than its predecessor, replaces the UFC Classic Championship Belt, which had been used since 2001, when Zuffa, Inc. originally purchased the organization.
The UFC Legacy Championship Belt will be uniquely customized for each individual champion by the athlete’s country, weight class, and number of title defenses. Each belt will be assigned its own serial number and will feature UFC President Dana White’s engraved signature for authenticity.
The UFC Legacy Championship Belt will be awarded for the first time to the winner of the main event superfight between UFC flyweight champion Henry Cejudo and UFC bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw at UFC FIGHT NIGHT®: CEJUDO vs. DILLASHAW, which takes place this Saturday, January 19, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
“This Saturday begins a new era for UFC, and it’s a perfect time to unveil our new UFC Legacy Championship Belt,” UFC President Dana White said. “The belt honors UFC’s past, while recognizing the amazing accomplishments of our current champions.”
The UFC Legacy Championship Belt, a design collaboration between UFC, belt designer Brad Flaherty, and Jae El Manufacturing, measures 50 inches in length and 12 inches in height, with an overall weight of 10.45 lbs. Made from genuine leather, the belt has a custom Octagon® pattern embossed on its trim with gold Octagon-shaped snaps that include UFC’s logo.
The belt’s main plate is highlighted by the UFC logo. Made from high-polished gold, the logo is centered on a pattern comprising squares and octagons. The octagon contains 25 lines that represent UFC’s silver anniversary, which it celebrated in 2018. Each square has eight lines that represent the eight sides of the Octagon.
The belt’s flag iconography is highlighted throughout the design as a way to honor the first eight countries to have a UFC champion:
· Belarus (Andrei Arlovski)
· Brazil (Murilo Bustamante)
· Canada (Carlos Newton)
· Ireland (Conor McGregor)
· Netherlands (Bas Rutten)
· Poland (Joanna Jedrzejczyk)
· United Kingdom (Michael Bisping)
· United States (Mark Coleman)
The belt’s left-side plate will recognize the titleholder’s name and weight class, with their native country showcased with flag iconography. Eight stones border the plate, and for each victory in a championship bout, one of the stones will be replaced with a red ruby. The date and location of the win will be engraved adjacent to the stone. If an athlete successfully defends their belt more than eight times, red stones will be added to the right-side plate to continually acknowledge the accomplishment. The belt’s right-side plate is adorned by a gold UFC World Champion logo and bordered by eight stones. UFC’s jewelry partner, Bixler, will donate all stones and engravings.
The women’s championship belt will be identical in every detail, except for size and weight. Athletes who win titles across multiple weight classes will be awarded one belt per division.
About UFC®
UFC® is a premium global sports brand and the largest Pay-Per-View event provider in the world. UFC boasts more than 284 million fans worldwide and has produced over 460 events in 24 countries since its inception in 1993. Acquired in 2016 by global sports, entertainment and fashion leader Endeavor (formerly WME | IMG), together with strategic partners Silver Lake Partners and KKR, UFC is headquartered in Las Vegas with a network of employees around the world. UFC produces more than 40 live events annually that consistently sell out some of the most prestigious arenas around the globe, while programming is broadcast in over 165 countries and territories to 1.1 billion TV households worldwide in 40 different languages. UFC FIGHT PASS®, a digital subscription service, delivers exclusive live events, thousands of fights on-demand and original content to fans around the world. For more information, visit UFC.com and follow UFC at Facebook.com/UFC, Twitter, Snapchat and Instagram: @UFC.
