For the third time in his career, Cooper Webb will defend a Monster Energy Supercross championship.
Following his 2019 championship, he finished second to Eli Tomac in 2020 by 25 points.
Webb won his second championship in 2021, causing NBC Sports to describe him as the ‘odd man in,’ and to wonder how his 2022 defense would go.
It did not go well.
“I think the last [title defense] was a lot of PTSD,” Webb said during SuperMotocross’ pre-season media sessions. “That was a terrible year, 2022, and we ironically had a new bike that same year. So it’s why I have a lot of pressure on myself right now: I do not want to relive that year.”
Webb finished a distant seventh in the 2022 championship battle, 81 points behind Tomac, who scored his second, and most recent, Supercross title.
Webb was still riding for the factory Red Bull KTM team in the final year of that contract, but the bike was substantially different.
Moving to Star Yamaha in 2023, he was in contention again. Webb finished third in the championship that season and was second in 2024. His streak of odd-year championships ended, but Webb was up front again in 2025 and scored the title over Chase Sexton, who battled him until the final race.
“I definitely am one that I think I can turn the corner pretty fast in the sense that if I don’t qualify well or if I have a bad heat or even maybe sometimes halfway through the main, if I’m not right, I’m able to adjust,” Webb said. “Through trial and tribulation, you have a lot of great years, but then you learn a lot in your bad years, in my opinion, or being injured and just the trials with this sport. I think for me it’s something that comes with maybe race craft or my mentality of ‘I’m never out of it.’ I truly believe that until the checker flag is waving that it’s never over. I’ve been able to make a career out of having that mentality.”
Winning a third championship made him one of seven riders to do so.
The legendary Jeremy McGrath won seven titles; Ricky Carmichael won five. Two others, Ryan Dungey and Ryan Villopoto, won four championships, so a successful defense by Webb would put him in even more rarified air.
“I don’t think there’s anyone out there that puts more pressure on themselves than me, and I don’t take that lightly,” Webb said. “I’m going to do the best I can and see where it puts me. I’ve been in this position before, three times now, having the No. 1 plate. A goal of mine is to try to repeat, but also learn from those mistakes that I made as a past champ, trying to repeat.
“There’s a fine line of putting too much pressure on yourself and not enough.”
No other active rider has successfully defended his title.
Sexton won in 2023 before losing the honor to Jett Lawrence in 2024. Lawrence was injured early in 2025 and could not defend.
Tomac’s two Supercross championships, in 2020 and 2022, were interrupted by Webb in 2021, and Webb then handed the trophy to Sexton in 2023 after Tomac suffered an Achilles tendon injury in the penultimate round at Denver.
Jason Anderson won his title in 2018 before relinquishing it to Webb the following season.
“This year I’m like, ‘You know what? I want to go out and show why I won,’ ” Webb said. “Obviously, there were guys that got injured last year, as we know, and I think a big motivator for me this year is that hopefully we all stay healthy and I get to go up against the best in the world and put my stamp on that championship.”
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