The year 2015 was the 23rd year in the history of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States.
2015 UFC.com awards
2015 UFC.COM AwardsNoBest FighterThe UpsetsThe SubmissionsThe NewcomersThe KnockoutsThe Fights1Conor McGregorHolly Holm defeats Ronda Rousey UFC 193Ronda Rousey defeats Cat Zingano UFC 184Holly HolmHolly Holm defeats Ronda Rousey UFC 193Robbie Lawler defeats Rory MacDonald 2 UFC 1892Rafael dos AnjosRafael dos Anjos defeats Anthony Pettis UFC 185Godofredo Pepey defeats Andre Fili UFC Fight Night: Maia vs. LaFlareTom BreeseConor McGregor defeats José Aldo UFC 194Daniel Cormier defeats Alexander Gustafsson UFC 1923Joanna JędrzejczykRyan Benoit defeats Sergio Pettis UFC 185Gilbert Burns defeats Alex Oliveira UFC Fight Night: Maia vs. LaFlare Sage NorthcuttThiago Santos defeats Steve Bossé UFC Fight Night: Machida vs. RomeroTony Ferguson defeats Edson Barboza The Ultimate Fighter: Team McGregor vs. Team Faber Finale4Holly HolmLeonardo Santos defeats Kevin Lee UFC 194Thales Leites defeats Tim Boetsch UFC 183Joe DuffyPaul Felder defeats Danny Castillo UFC 182Andrei Arlovski defeats Travis Browne UFC 1875Daniel CormierUriah Hall defeats Gegard Mousasi UFC Fight Night: Barnett vs. NelsonTony Ferguson defeats Edson Barboza The Ultimate Fighter: Team McGregor vs. Team Faber FinaleMakwan AmirkhaniFrankie Edgar defeats Chad Mendes The Ultimate Fighter: Team McGregor vs. Team Faber FinaleJohn Lineker defeats Francisco Rivera UFC 1916Luke RockholdMaryna Moroz defeats Joanne Calderwood UFC Fight Night: Gonzaga vs. Cro Cop 2Alex Chambers defeats Kailin Curran UFC Fight Night: Miocic vs. HuntKamaru UsmanStephen Thompson defeats Jake Ellenberger The Ultimate Fighter: American Top Team vs. Blackzilians Finale Brian Ortega defeats Thiago Tavares UFC Fight Night: Boetsch vs. Henderson7Demetrious JohnsonJames Vick defeats Jake Matthews UFC Fight Night: Miocic vs. HuntJoe Duffy defeats Ivan Jorge UFC Fight Night: Bisping vs. LeitesMagomed MustafaevAndrei Arlovski defeats Travis Browne UFC 187Yair Rodríguez defeats Charles Rosa UFC 1888Max HollowayDan Hooker defeats Hatsu Hioki UFC Fight Night: Miocic vs. HuntKeita Nakamura defeats Li Jingliang UFC Fight Night: Barnett vs. NelsonStevie RayUriah Hall defeats Gegard Mousasi 1 UFC Fight Night: Barnett vs. NelsonEdson Barboza defeats Paul Felder 1 UFC on Fox: Dillashaw vs. Barão 29Tony FergusonAndrew Holbrook defeats Jake Matthews UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs. BrunsonGunnar Nelson defeats Brandon Thatch UFC 189Alex OliveiraThomas Almeida defeats Brad Pickett UFC 189Nicolas Dalby defeats Darren Till UFC Fight Night: Holohan vs. Smolka10Neil MagnyPatrick Cummins defeats Rafael Cavalcante UFC 190Aljamain Sterling defeats Takeya Mizugaki UFC on Fox: Machida vs. RockholdBen NguyenMatt Dwyer defeats William Macário UFC Fight Night: Bigfoot vs. MirGian Villante defeats Corey Anderson UFC on Fox: Machida vs. RockholdRef 2015 by the numbers
The numbers below records the events, fights, techniques, champions and fighters held or performed for the year of 2015 in UFC. EventsNumber of EventsPPVContinentsCountriesCitiesFight Night Bonuses411351332163 Total $8,150,000Longest EventShortest EventHighest Income Live GateLowest Income Live GateHighest AttendanceLowest AttendanceThe Ultimate Fighter Latin America 2 Finale: Magny vs. Gastelum 2:41:51UFC 184 1:19:22UFC 194 $10,100,000UFC Fight Night: Namajunas vs. VanZant $234,725UFC 193 56,214UFC Fight Night: Namajunas vs. VanZant 1,643Title FightsUndisputed Title FightsTitle ChangesChampions Remained in Their DivisionsNumber of ChampionsNumber of Interim ChampionsNumber of Title Defenses1943FLW – Demetrious JohnsonBW – T.J. DillashawWW – Robbie Lawler11112ChampionsDivisionBeginning of The YearEnd of The YearDivisionBeginning of The YearEnd of The YearHeavyweightCain VelasquezFabrício WerdumBantamweightT.J. DillashawT.J. DillashawLight HeavyweightJon JonesDaniel CormierFlyweightDemetrious JohnsonDemetrious JohnsonMiddleweightChris WeidmanLuke RockholdWomen's BantamweightRonda RouseyHolly HolmWelterweightRobbie LawlerRobbie LawlerWomen's StrawweightCarla EsparzaJoanna JędrzejczykLightweightAnthony PettisRafael dos AnjosFeatherweightJosé AldoConor McGregorFightsMost Knockouts at A Single EventMost submissions at A Single EventMost Decisions at A Single EventTotal Number of FightsTotal Number of Cage TimeUFC 185UFC Fight Night: Boetsch vs. Henderson 7UFC Fight Night: Maia vs. LaFlareUFC Fight Night: Namajunas vs. VanZant 6UFC Fight Night: Mir vs. DuffeeThe Ultimate Fighter Latin America 2 Finale: Magny vs. Gastelum 947483:33:40FightersNumber of FightersUFC DebutantsReleases / RetiredFighters SuspendedNumber of Fighters Missed weight(At the end of Dec 31, 2015) 94694N/AN/A16Champion feats Ronda Rousey's 14-second submission at UFC 184 set the record for the fastest submission in a UFC title fight. Ronda Rousey's bout with Cat Zingano is the first title fight that resulted in no strikes landed by either opponent. Rafael dos Anjos became the first Brazilian-born lightweight champion. Joanna Jędrzejczyk became the first Polish-born UFC champion. Ronda Rousey became the first fighter in UFC/Strikeforce/PRIDE/WEC history to win four title fights in under a minute. Ronda Rousey's six consecutive finishes in title fights are the most in UFC history. Ronda Rousey's five first-round finishes in title fights are the most in UFC history. Conor McGregor became the first Irish-born UFC champion. Conor McGregor's 13 second knockout at UFC 194 is the fastest finish in title fight history. Rafael dos Anjos's 66-second knockout is the fastest finish in UFC lightweight championship history.Fighter feats Gleison Tibau competed in his seventh career split decision, the most in UFC history at the time, before Clay Guida surpassed the mark in December 2022 with eight. Charles Rosa recorded the latest submission in a three‑round featherweight bout when he submitted Sean Soriano at 4:43 of the third round. Makwan Amirkhani's eight‑second knockout was the fastest by a debuting featherweight and tied for the second‑fastest knockout in UFC/WEC featherweight history. Ronda Rousey's 14-second submission at UFC 184 set the record for the fastest submission in modern UFC history. Ronda Rousey's seven armbar victories are the most in UFC history and tie her with Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira for the most in UFC/Strikeforce/PRIDE/WEC combined history. Jim Miller attempted his 34th submission which set the new record for the most in company history. Demetrious Johnson's submission at 4:59 in the fifth round of UFC 186 set a new record for the latest submission in UFC history. Valérie Létourneau became the first female to win in two weight divisions with her victory at UFC 186. Joe Proctor's submission at 4:58 of the third round set the record for the latest submission in a three-round lightweight bout. Patrick Williams' 23 second submission is the fastest in UFC/WEC bantamweight history. With his submission victory at UFC Fight Night 69, Makwan Amirkhani became the first featherweight to earn a win without throwing or landing a strike. At age 23, Max Holloway became the youngest fighter in UFC history to reach 10 career wins. Josh Barnett's 75 significant clinch strikes are the most ever recorded in a UFC bout. Holly Holm's head‑kick victory at UFC 193 was the first of its kind by a woman in UFC history. Neil Magny became the first fighter in modern UFC history to compete five times twice in two consecutive calendar years. Antônio Carlos Júnior and Kevin Casey competed in the shortest bout to end in a no‑contest when their fight was stopped 11 seconds into the first round at UFC Fight Night 80. Rose Namajunas's fifth‑round submission at the 2:25 mark set the record for the latest submission victory in a women's strawweight bout. Conor McGregor became the first fighter to earn five consecutive "Performance of the Night" bonus awards.
Debut UFC fighters
The following fighters fought their first UFC fight in 2015: Fighter Division Abner Lloveras Lightweight Aleksandra Albu Women's Strawweight Álvaro Herrera Lightweight Alex Torres Lightweight Alex Oliveira Welterweight Andrew Holbrook Lightweight Anthony Christodoulou Lightweight Anton Zafir Welterweight Arnold Allen Featherweight Artem Lobov Featherweight Bartosz Fabinski Welterweight Bentley Syler Middleweight Bruno Rodrigues Lightweight Cesar Arzamendia Lightweight Chris de la Rocha Heavyweight Chris Gruetzemacher Lightweight Cody Garbrandt Bantamweight Cody Pfister Lightweight Cortney Casey Women's Strawweight Damian Stasiak Bantamweight Daniel Jolly Light Heavyweight Danny Roberts Welterweight Darren Till Welterweight Dileno Lopes Bantamweight Dominic Waters Welterweight Dong Hyun Kim Welterweight Dominique Steele Welterweight Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos Welterweight Enrique Barzola Featherweight Erick Montaño Welterweight Ericka Almeida Women's Strawweight Fernando Bruno Lightweight Frankie Perez Lightweight
Fighter Division Francis Ngannou Heavyweight Fredy Serrano Flyweight Garreth McLellan Middleweight Geane Herrera Flyweight Glaico França Lightweight Hayder Hassan Welterweight Horacio Gutierrez Lightweight Holly Holm Women's Bantamweight Islam Makhachev Lightweight Izabela Badurek Women's Strawweight Jared Cannonier Heavyweight Jason Knight Featherweight Jessica Aguilar Women's Strawweight Jimmie Rivera Bantamweight Joaquim Silva Lightweight Jocelyn Jones-Lybarger Women's Strawweight Joe Merritt Welterweight Jonavin Webb Welterweight Joseph Duffy Lightweight Julian Erosa Featherweight Kamaru Usman Welterweight Karolina Kowalkiewicz Women's Strawweight Konstantin Erokhin Heavyweight Leo Kuntz Lightweight Levan Makashvili Featherweight Lewis Gonzalez Lightweight Łukasz Sajewski Lightweight Luis Henrique Heavyweight Magomed Mustafaev Lightweight Makwan Amirkhani Featherweight Polo Reyes Lightweight Marcin Wrzosek Featherweight Marion Reneau Women's Bantamweight
Fighter Division Maryna Moroz Women's Strawweight Masio Fullen Featherweight Matheus Nicolau Flyweight Michael Graves Welterweight Mickael Lebout Lightweight Misha Cirkunov Light Heavyweight Nazareno Malegarie Featherweight Nicolas Dalby Welterweight Oluwale Bamgbose Middleweight Paul Redmond Featherweight Reginaldo Vieira Bantamweight Rocky Lee Featherweight Roger Zapata Middleweight Ron Stallings Middleweight Ryan Hall Featherweight Sage Northcutt Lightweight Scott Holtzman Lightweight Shamil Abdurakhimov Heavyweight Sirwan Kakai Bantamweight Shane Campbell Lightweight Steve Bossé Light Heavyweight Steve Kennedy Welterweight Steve Montgomery Welterweight Stevie Ray Lightweight Sultan Aliev Welterweight Taylor Lapilus Bantamweight Teemu Packalen Lightweight Teruto Ishihara Featherweight Timothy Johnson Heavyweight Tom Breese Welterweight Tony Sims Lightweight Valentina Shevchenko Women's Bantamweight Vernon Ramos Lightweight Vicente Luque Welterweight Yusuke Kasuya Lightweight
The Ultimate Fighter The following The Ultimate Fighter seasons are scheduled for broadcast in 2015: SeasonFinaleDivisionWinnerRunner-upTUF 21: American Top Team vs. BlackziliansJuly 12, 2015WelterweightKamaru UsmanHayder HassanTUF: Brazil 4August 1, 2015LightweightGlaico FrançaFernando BrunoBantamweightReginaldo VieiraDileno LopesTUF: Latin America 2November 21, 2015WelterweightErick MontañoEnrique MarinLightweightEnrique BarzolaHoracio GutiérrezTUF 22: Team McGregor vs. Team FaberDecember 11, 2015LightweightRyan HallArtem Lobov
Title fights
Events list