To trace the lineage of the UFC lightweight title is to follow a crooked line. In a sport like MMA, in which fans are used to definitive transitions of power, there have been surprisingly few of those at 155lb.
When Ilia Topuria and Charles Oliveira share the ring on Saturday, a new lightweight champion will be crowned. Yet while the title has been won in the Octagon consistently, it has not been lost in the cage for nine years.