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Bantamweight

Weight class in combat sports

Bantamweight is a weight class in combat sports and weightlifting. For boxing, the range is above 115 lb and up to 118 lb. In kickboxing, a bantamweight fighter generally weighs between 53 and. In MMA, bantamweight is 126 -.

The name for the class is derived from bantam chickens. Brazilian jiu-jitsu has an equivalent Rooster weight.

Boxing

The first gloved world title fight in this division was fought between George Dixon and Nunc Wallace on June 27, 1890, with Dixon winning and thus becoming the inaugural world bantamweight champion. At the time, the limit for this weight class was 110 pounds. In 1910, however, the British settled on a limit of 118.{{cite book

From 2018 to 2019, an eight-man tournament called the World Boxing Super Series was held to determine the best bantamweight in the world. The tournament was won by Naoya Inoue, who defeated Nonito Donaire in the final.

On December 13, 2022, Naoya Inoue became the first undisputed champion of the division in the four-belt era.

Current world champions

Main article: List of world bantamweight boxing champions

Sanctioning body	Reign began	Champion	Record	Defenses
WBA	Dec 1, 2025	Seiya Tsutsumi	12–0–3 (8 KO)	1
WBC	November 24, 2025	Takuma Inoue	21–2 (5 KO)	0
IBF	December 13, 2025	José Salas	17–0 (11 KO)	0
WBO	May 6, 2024	Christian Medina	26–4 (19 KO)	0

Current ''The Ring'' world rankings

As of September 24, 2025.

Keys: : Current The Ring world champion

Rank	Name	Record	Title(s)
C
1	Seiya Tsutsumi	12–0–3 (8 KO)
2	Christian Medina	26–4 (19 KO)	WBO
3	Ryosuke Nishida	10–1 (2 KO)
4	Takuma Inoue	20–2 (5 KO)
5	Daigo Higa	21–3–3 (19 KO)
6	Antonio Vargas	19–1–1–1 (11 KO)	WBA
7	Yoshiki Takei	11–1 (9 KO)
8	Tenshin Nasukawa	7–0 (2 KO)
9	Jason Moloney	27–4 (19 KO)
10	Jeyvier Cintrón	13–1–0–1 (6 KO)

Longest reigning world bantamweight champions

Below is a list of longest reigning bantamweight champions in boxing measured by the individual's longest reign. Career total time as champion (for multiple time champions) does not apply.

Name	Title reign	Title recognition	Successful defenses	Beaten opponents	Fights
1.	Anselmo Moreno	6 years, 3 months, 26 days	WBA	12	11
2.	Veeraphol Sahaprom	6 years, 3 months, 17 days	WBC	14	11
3.	Orlando Canizales	6 years, 3 months, 16 days	IBF	16	15
4.	Shinsuke Yamanaka	5 years, 9 months, 9 days	WBC	12	11
5.	Tim Austin	5 years, 6 months, 26 days	IBF	9	9
6.	Hozumi Hasegawa	5 years, 14 days	WBC	10	10
7.	Panama Al Brown	4 years, 9 months, 28 days	NYSAC, NBA, IBU	10	8
8.	Naoya Inoue	4 years, 7 months, 13 days	WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO	8	7
9.	Eder Jofre	4 years, 6 months	NBA, WBA, WBC	8	8
10.	Manuel Ortiz	4 years, 4 months, 29 days	World	15	11

: Active Title Reign : Reign has ended

Lineal Champions

CAN George Dixon (1890) Vacated
USA Jimmy Barry (1897–1899) Retired
USA Terry McGovern (1899) Vacated
USA Harry Harris (1901) Vacated
USA Harry Forbes (1901–1903)
USA Frankie Neil (1903–1904)
UK Joe Bowker (1904–1905) Vacated
USA Jimmy Walsh (1905–1909)
USA Jimmy Reagan (1909)
USA Monte Attell (1909–1910)
USA Frankie Conley (1910–1911)
USA Johnny Coulon (1911–1914)
USA Kid Williams (1914–1917)
USA Pete Herman (1917–20)
USA Joe Lynch (1920-21)
USA Pete Herman (1921) (2)
USA Johnny Buff (1921-1922)
USA Joe Lynch (1922-1924)
USA Abe Goldstein (1924)
USA Eddie Martin (1924-1925)
USA Charley Phil Rosenberg (1925-1927) Vacated
PAN Al Brown (1931-1935)
ESP Baltasar Sangchili (1935-1936)
USA Tony Marino (1936)
PRI Sixto Escobar (1936-1937)
USA Harry Jeffra (1937-1938)
PRI Sixto Escobar (1938-1939) (2) Vacated
USA Lou Salica (1940-1942)
USA Manuel Ortiz (1942-1947)
USA Harold Dade (1947)
USA Manuel Ortiz (1947-1950)
ZAF Vic Toweel (1950-1952) South Africa
AUS Jimmy Carruthers (1952-1954) Retired
FRA Robert Cohen (1954-1956)
ITA Mario D'agata (1956-1957)
FRA Alphonse Halimi (1957-1959)
MEX Jose Becerra (1959-1960) Retired
BRA Eder Jofre (1961-1965)
JPN Masahiko Harada (1965-1968)
AUS Lionel Rose (1968-1969)
MEX Ruben Olivares (1969-1970)
MEX Jesus Castillo (1970-1971)
MEX Ruben Olivares (1971-1972) (2)
MEX Rafael Herrera (1972)
PAN Enrique Pinder (1972-1973)
MEX Romeo Anaya (1973)
ZAF Arnold Taylor (1973-1974)
KOR Soo-Hwan Hong (1974-1975)
MEX Alfonso Zamora (1975-1977)
PAN Jorge Luján (1977-1980)
PRI Julian Solis (1980)
USA Jeff Chandler (1980-1984)
USA Richard Sandoval (1984-1986)
USA Jose Canizales (1986)
VEN Bernardo Piñango (1986-1987) Vacated
JPN Naoya Inoue (2022-2023) Vacated

Olympic Champions

1904: Oliver Kirk
1908: Henry Thomas
1920: Clarence Walker
1924: William Smith
1928: Vittorio Tamagnini
1932: Horace Gwynne
1936: Ulderico Sergo
1948: Tibor Csík
1952: Pentti Hämäläinen
1956: Wolfgang Behrendt
1960: Oleg Grigoryev
1964: Takao Sakurai
1968: Valeriy Sokolov
1972: Orlando Martínez
1976: Gu Yong-Ju
1980: Juan Hernández
1984: Maurizio Stecca
1988: Kennedy McKinney
1992: Joel Casamayor
1996: István Kovács
2000: Guillermo Rigondeaux
2004: Guillermo Rigondeaux
2008: Enkhbatyn Badar-Uugan
2012: Luke Campbell
2016: Robeisy Ramírez

World Champions

1974: PUR Wilfredo Gómez (PUR)
1978: CUB Adolfo Horta (CUB)
1982: USA Floyd Favors (USA)
1986: KOR Sung-Kil Moon (KOR)
1989: CUB Enrique Carrión (CUB)
1991: BULSerafim Todorov (BUL)
1993: BUL Aleksandar Khristov (BUL)
1995: RUS Raimkul Malakhbekov (RUS)
1997: RUS Raimkul Malakhbekov (RUS)
1999: ROU George Olteanu (ROU)
2001: CUB Guillermo Rigondeaux (CUB)
2003: AZE Aghasi Mammadov (AZE)
2005: CUB Guillermo Rigondeaux (CUB)
2007: RUS Sergey Vodopyanov (RUS)
2009: BUL Detelin Dalakliev (BUL)
2011: CUB Lázaro Álvarez (CUB)
2013: AZE Javid Chalabiyev (AZE)
2015: IRL Michael Conlan (IRL)
2017: KAZ Kairat Yeraliyev (KAZ)
2021: JPN Tomoya Tsuboi (JPN)

Pan American Champions

1951: ARG Ricardo Gonzales (ARG)
1955: VEN Salvador Enriquez (VEN)
1959: BRA Waldo Claudiano (BRA)
1963: ARG Abel Almaraz (ARG)
1967: MEX Juvencio Martínez (MEX)
1971: MEX Pedro Flores (MEX)
1975: CUB Orlando Martínez (CUB)
1979: USA Jackie Beard (USA)
1983: VEN Manuel Vilchez (VEN)
1987: CUB Manuel Martínez (CUB)
1991: CUB Enrique Carrion (CUB)
1995: CUB Juan Despaigne (CUB)
1999: USA Gerald Tucker (USA)
2003: CUB Daniel Chyutin (CUB)
2007: MEX Carlos Cuadras (MEX)
2011: CUB Lázaro Álvarez (CUB)

European Champions

1924: FRA Jean Ces
1925: ENG Archie Rule
1927: GER Kurt Dalchow
1928: ITA Vittorio Tamagnini
1930: HUN János Széles
1932: GER Hans Ziglarski
1934: HUN István Enekes
1937: ITA Ulderico Sergo
1939: ITA Ulderico Sergo
1942: ITA Arturo Paoletti
1947: HUN László Bogacs
1949: ITA Giovanni Zuddas
1951: ITA Vincenzo dall'Osso
1953: POL Zenon Stefaniuk
1955: POL Zenon Stefaniuk
1957: URS Oleg Grigoryev
1959: FRG Horst Rascher
1961: URS Sergey Sivko
1963: URS Oleg Grigoryev
1965: URS Oleg Grigoryev
1967: ROM Nicolae Gîju
1969: ROM Aurel Dumitrescu
1971: HUN Tibor Badari
1973: FRA Aldo Cosentino
1975: URS Viktor Rybakov
1977: GDR Stefan Förster
1979: URS Nikolay Chrapzov
1981: URS Viktor Miroshnichenko
1983: URS Yuri Alexandrov
1985: YUG Ljubiša Simić
1987: BUL Aleksandar Khristov
1989: BUL Serafim Todorov
1991: BUL Serafim Todorov
1993: RUS Raimkul Malakhbekov
1996: HUN István Kovács
1998: UKR Serhiy Danylchenko
2000: TUR Agasi Agaguloglu
2002: BLR Khavazhi Khatsigov
2004: RUS Gennady Kovalev
2006: RUS Ali Aliyev
2008: ENG Luke Campbell
2010: RUS Eduard Abzalimov
2011: MDA Veaceslav Gojan
2013: IRL John Joe Nevin
2015: IRL Michael Conlan
2017: ENG Peter McGrail
2019: IRL Kurt Walker
2022:

Kickboxing

In kickboxing, a bantamweight fighter generally weighs between 53 kg (116 lb) and 55 kg (120 lb). However, some governing bodies have slightly different classes. For example, the International Kickboxing Federation (IKF) Bantamweight division (professional and amateur) is 117.1 lbs.–122 lbs. or 53.22 kg–55.45 kg.

In ONE Championship, the bantamweight division limit is 65.8 kg.

Bare-knuckle boxing

The bantamweight division limit generally differs among bare-knuckle boxing promotions:

In Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship, the bantamweight division has an upper limit of 135 lb.
In BKB, the bantamweight division has an upper limit of 73 kg.

Lethwei

In International Lethwei Federation Japan, the bantamweight division is up to 60 kg. In International Lethwei Federation Japan, Yuta Hamamoto is the Bantamweight Champion.

The World Lethwei Championship recognizes the bantamweight division with an upper limit of 54 kg. In World Lethwei Championship, Souris Manfredi is the Bantamweight Champion.

Mixed martial arts

Main article: Bantamweight (MMA)

In MMA, bantamweight is usually 126–135 pounds (57.2–61.2 kg). In ONE Championship, the bantamweight division limit is 65.8 kg. In Shooto, the limit is 56 kg (123.4 lb).

Current champions

These tables were last updated in December of 2025. : Active title reign : Active title reign (interim) Men:

Organization	Reign Began	Champion	Record	Defenses
UFC	December 6, 2025	RUS Petr Yan	20-5-0 (7KO 1SUB)	0
ONE Championship	December 6, 2025	MGL Enkh-Orgil Baatarkhuu	14-3-0 (3KO 6SUB)	0
Rizin FF	September 29, 2024	JPN Naoki Inoue	20-4-0 (2KO 9SUB)	2
Absolute Championship Akhmat	February 28, 2025	BRA Josiel Silva	23-7-0 (12KO 2SUB)	1
Brave Combat Federation	November 7, 2025	Serbia Borislav Nikolić	15-2-0 (6KO 8SUB)	0
Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki	January 25, 2025	Poland Sebastian Przybysz	14-4-0 (1) (5KO 5SUB)	1
CFFC	July 18, 2025	Cuba Sean Mora	7-1-0 (1KO 2SUB)	0
Cage Warriors	November 25, 2023	United Kingdom Liam Gittins	13-5-0 (7KO 3SUB)	2
Pancrase	December 24, 2023	JPN Tokitaka Nakanishi	12-4-0 (1KO 5SUB)	0
Jungle Fight	June 24, 2023	BRA Tiago Pereira	9-0-0 (3KO 3SUB)	3
Legacy Fighting Alliance	November 14, 2025	KAZ Artem Belakh	11-2-0 (2KO 7SUB)	0
Shooto	September 21, 2025	JPN Kanata Nagai	9-0-1 (3KO 1SUB)	0
Oktagon MMA	N/A	Vacant	N/A	N/A
DEEP	March 29, 2024	JPN Ryuka Fukuda	25-9-1 (12KO 1SUB)	1

Women:

Organization	Reign Began	Champion	Record	Defenses
UFC	June 7, 2025	USA Kayla Harrison	19–1–0 (6KO 8SUB)	0
Invicta FC	December 13, 2024	BRA Jennifer Maia	23-10-0 (1) (4KO 5SUB)	0
CFFC	July 18, 2025	BRA Emily Martins	4-1-0 (0KO 4SUB)	0
Deep Jewels	N/A	Vacant	N/A	N/A
Legacy Fighting Alliance	N/A	Vacant	N/A	N/A
Jungle Fight	N/A	Vacant	N/A	N/A
Oktagon MMA	August 9, 2025	Slovakia Lucia Szabová	10-0-0 (3KO 5SUB)	0

Muay Thai

In Muay Thai, bantamweight is 115–118 pounds (52.2-53.5 kg). A notable Muai Thai bantamweight fighter is Randy Thong Phoun Phim.

Wrestling

Wrestling also has similar weight classes including bantamweight.

References

"Bantamweight and Featherweight, New Pinoy Niche Weight Classes?".
"The Ring Bantamweight Ratings".
"Professional boxing record: Anselmo Moreno".
"Professional boxing record: Veeraphol Sahaprom".
"Orlando Canizales, p. 366". [[International Boxing Hall Of Fame]].
"Professional boxing record: Shinsuke Yamanaka".
"Professional boxing record: Tim Austin".
"Professional boxing record: Hozumi Hasegawa".
"Professional boxing record: Panama Al Brown".
"Panama Al Brown, p. 84". [[International Boxing Hall Of Fame]].
"Professional boxing record: Naoya Inoue".
"Professional boxing record: Eder Jofre".
"Manuel Ortiz, p. 648". [[International Boxing Hall Of Fame]].

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