Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling.
A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, this limit fluctuated. The British have generally always recognized the limit at 126 pounds, but in America the weight limit was at first 114 pounds. An early champion, George Dixon, moved the limit to 120 and then 122 pounds. Finally, in 1920 the United States fixed the limit at 126 pounds.
The 1860 fight between Nobby Clark and Jim Elliott is sometimes called the first featherweight championship. However, the division only gained wide acceptance in 1889 after the Ike WeirâÂÂFrank Murphy fight.
Since the end of the 2000s and early 2010s the featherweight division is one of the most active in boxing with fighters such as Orlando Salido, Chris John, Juan Manuel López, Celestino Caballero, Yuriorkis Gamboa, Elio Rojas, Israel Vazquez, Cristobal Cruz, Rafael Márquez, Rocky Juarez, Steven Luevano, Naseem Hamed, Marco Antonio Barrera and Manny Pacquiao.
As of August 16, 2025.
Keys:
Below is a list of longest reigning featherweight champions in boxing measured by the individual's longest reign. Career total time as champion (for multiple time champions) does not apply.
In kickboxing, a featherweight fighter generally weighs between . However, some governing bodies have slightly different classes. For example, the International Kickboxing Federation (IKF) featherweight division (professional and amateur) is between .
In Glory promotion, a featherweight division is up to .
In Bellator Kickboxing promotion, a featherweight division is up to .
In ONE Championship, the featherweight division limit is .
The limit for featherweight generally differs among promotions in bare-knuckle boxing:
International Lethwei Federation Japan has a featherweight division with an upper limit of . In International Lethwei Federation Japan, Thar A Thae Ta Pwint is the Featherweight Champion.
In World Lethwei Championship, the featherweight division has an upper limit of .
In MMA, within the UFC company and most other MMA companies the featherweight range is from .
These tables were last updated in July 2025.
Men:
Women: