5 oldest fighters to win a UFC title for the first time

This weekend sees Glover Teixeira fight Jan Blachowicz for the UFC light-heavyweight title in the main event of UFC 267. The fighters have a combined age of 80, making this the oldest title fight in UFC history.

If Glover Teixeira can unseat Jan Blachowicz at UFC 267, at the age of 42, he’ll become the oldest fighter to ever win a UFC title for the first time.

Currently, the oldest fighter to win a UFC title is Randy Couture, who captured the UFC light-heavyweight title for the second time at the age of 43. However, ‘The Natural’ had won his first title at the age of 34.

Of course, it’s much trickier to ascend to the top of the mountain for the first time as an older fighter. That means if Teixeira pulls off a win this weekend, it’ll make his accomplishment all the more monumental.

For now though, here are the five oldest fighters to win a UFC title for the first time:

#5. Maurice Smith – won the UFC heavyweight title at 35 years, 7 months

The UFC’s second-ever heavyweight champion, Maurice Smith, was no spring chicken when he captured the title from Mark Coleman in the promotion’s early days.

Smith defeated Coleman – who had previously dominated every opponent he’d ever faced – by unanimous decision in a major upset at UFC 14.

Incredibly, not that it was obvious from the fight, ‘Mo’ was actually three years older than Coleman at the time. He was 35 years and seven months when he won the gold.

Before beginning his MMA career, Smith was a highly credentialed kickboxer. He began his martial arts journey at the age of 13, and became a professional kickboxer in the early 1980s. He fought the likes of Don Wilson, Stan Longinidis and Ernesto Hoost in the years that followed.

Smith was already in his early 30’s by the time he began his MMA career, taking fights in Japan for the Pancrase and RINGS promotions. Success in the Extreme Fighting promotion – an early competitor of the UFC – was enough for him to net an instant title shot on his octagon debut, and the rest is history.

‘Mo’ would only hold onto the UFC heavyweight title for a short period, five months to be exact. He dropped it to Randy Couture in his first official defense. However, ‘The Natural’, who would go on to become arguably the most beloved older fighter in UFC history, was just 34 at the time. He was a spring chicken compared to the 36-year-old Smith!