/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/62868278/Screen_Shot_2019_01_18_at_9.56.24_AM.0.png)
A new era, a new belt.
After recently teasing the announcement of a new title, the UFC made it official on Friday, putting out a video to introduce the UFC Legacy Championship Belt that will debut Saturday night at UFC Brooklyn.
This one's for Legacy.
— UFC (@ufc) January 18, 2019
The NEW UFC Legacy Championship Belt will debut Saturday night! #UFCBrooklyn pic.twitter.com/cZwuwkT3qz
In the short clip, some of the UFC’s most famous champions are featured including Georges St-Pierre, Conor McGregor, Ronda Rousey, Chuck Liddell, Anderson Silva, Brock Lesnar, Joanna Jedrzejczyk, Jon Jones, and Daniel Cormier. At the end, the new Legacy title can be seen. It replaces the original UFC title which has been in use since 2001.
The first Legacy belt will be handed to the winner of Saturday’s flyweight championship main event between defending titleholder Henry Cejudo and T.J. Dillashaw.
“As we go into this next generation with ESPN, it was time for us to change up the belt,” UFC president Dana White said on Get Up. “These guys are fighting for the first brand-new championship belt.”
See a breakdown of the new hardware below:
Check out the new editions to the UFC Legacy Belt pic.twitter.com/2pSDoMpaiv
— UFC (@ufc) January 18, 2019
Per UFC.com, each belt “is uniquely customized for each individual champion by the athlete’s country, weight class and number of title defenses.” Red stones will be added to the side plates to mark successful title defenses, which means the days of simply piling up new belts are over.
Eight countries that produced UFC champions will be represented on the Legacy belt, with flags from the U.S.A., Canada, Brazil, the Netherlands, Poland, Belarus, the U.K., and Ireland, on the front plate.
The announcement piqued the interest of McGregor, a former UFC lightweight and featherweight champion.
Ok I’m back. https://t.co/ogw6m4ZeGE
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) January 18, 2019