The UFC champion’s belt is one of the most recognizable pieces of hardware in martial arts and sports in general. The traditional UFC belt was made of gold-plated metal, but nowadays, the belt has been upgraded and even consists of precious stones that only add up with title defenses. Naturally, many fans wonder how much is a real UFC belt worth?
A real UFC championship belt is worth approximately $330,000. Its value rises depending on the number of title defenses the champion has (precious stones are added for each defense) and who the champion is. For instance, Israel Adesanya’s belt would be worth more than Petr Yan’s.
The UFC also sells luxurious replicas for around $1000, but the real belts are worth a whole lot more. Keep reading to learn everything about how much the belts are worth, who’s making them, how h they weigh, and more.
How Much Does the UFC Belt Cost?
It’s hard to determine exactly how much a UFC belt costs if you want the real belt from a UFC champion. You can buy a luxury replica for around $1000, but real belts only come at special auctions if the (former) champion is willing to sell it.
Approximately every belt is worth around $330 000. The belts plates on the new UFC Legacy belt are made out of solid gold. The belt itself is made out of leather, but each belt has around two pounds of precious metal on them, so the price goes up quite quickly.
Although the materials themselves are worth a lot of money, the story behind the belt gets the price way up. If it’s an original belt that has never been handed to a champion, the price will be a lot smaller than a belt once held by a real UFC champ.
Also, the same belt can sell for various prices depending on who the buyer is and where it’s sold. If you get it at the right auction with the right buyers, it can go even higher than the $330k approximation.
Finally, when the new UFC Legacy belt came to light, the UFC said in a news release that the belt is worth at least three times more than the old belts. So, if you want the real deal, you’ll have to cash out big time.
Who Makes the UFC Belt?
Before the UFC Legacy belt rolled out, the standard gold-plated UFC championship belt was designed and made by Dave Millican Belts. The new design used today got a fresh start, though.
The UFC coordinated the design and manufacturing process themselves. Brad Flaherty is the designer of the UFC Legacy belt, while Jae El Manufacturing is the company responsible for making the belts.
The new design features a more individualistic look, meaning each champion has a unique, personalized belt, with his native country’s flag, precious stones highlighting the title defenses (instead of getting a new belt for each defense), etc.
Do UFC Fighters Keep Their Belts?
Every UFC champion gets to keep their belt after winning a title. That is how Demetrious Johnson has that famous photo with his twelve belts (11 title defenses plus the initial win).
However, since the new UFC Legacy belt has been introduced, the champions don’t get a new belt for every title defense anymore. Instead, the belt they already have gets upgraded, adding a precious stone to one of the plates on the belt, symbolizing the title defense.
Of course, they get a new belt if they just became the champion or lost their title but then regained it after a few fights.
How Much Does the UFC Belt Weigh?
As I mentioned, since the UFC Legacy belt has been introduced, champions keep their belts, and the belt they have gets “upgraded” with a precious stone (ruby) for each title defense instead of getting a new belt every time. That makes UFC belts less frequent, and hence more valuable. That also means that virtually every belt weighs differently.
The old Classic UFC belts weighed only around 5.5 lbs each, and they were all the same. However, the Legacy belt is a lot more decorated and has far more add-ons, so they also weigh more. Every Legacy belt weighs 10.45 lbs, and that number changes ever so slightly with every title defense.
Are All UFC Belts the Same?
If I had answered this question before 2019, the answer would be yes, plain and simple, because every Classic UFC belt was identical; same length, same weight, same design.
However, the UFC Legacy belt is a lot more personalized for each fighter. For instance, they will have the flag of their native country on the belt, and they’ll get rubies on the plates for each title defense.
Also, the left-side plate even features the fighter’s name and the weight class he won the belt in. That means that every UFC Legacy belt is unique, making them even more valuable. Especially if we’re talking about huge names such as Israel Adesanya, Stipe Miocic, etc. (not that they ever suggested their belts were on sale, though).
So, the Classic UFC belts were all the same, but they differ from the UFC Legacy belts. Also, every UFC Legacy belt is different from one another. However, there’s one more belt introduced recently, but only once – the BMF (Baddest Mother F***er) belt, introduced for the fight between Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal at UFC 244.
How Much Is the BMF Belt Worth?
The BMF belt wasn’t a real UFC championship belt, but rather a symbolic belt introduced for a fight between two UFC welterweight fan-favorite bad boys, Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal. Masvidal won the fight and the belt after the octagon doctor stopped the fight, and the belt was never introduced again.
The belt is black with dark silver plates with Dana White’s signature and a 500 on one of the side plates (representing the 500th live UFC event). That has to mean the BMF belt is worth a whole lot, right? Well, not really. Although it is unique and one-of-a-kind, it still doesn’t come near a single UFC Legacy belt price.
As White said himself, the BMF belt is priced at $50 000. Of course, if it ever were to become available (meaning, if Masvidal decides to sell it), it would probably get a much higher price at an auction due to it being one of a kind. A die-hard fan might pay upward of $500k for it, but we can’t really know since it has never been sold.
So, we can only work with the numbers we have, and that’s $50k compared to upwards of $300k for the “new” Legacy belts.