UFC Hall of Fame

The UFC Hall of Fame is a hall of fame which honors mixed martial artists and MMA personalities, established and maintained by the U.S.-based mixed martial arts promotion Ultimate Fighting Championship. In addition to the Ultimate Fighting Championship, the UFC Hall of Fame recognizes accomplishments from Pride Fighting Championships, World Extreme Cagefighting and Strikeforce; all of which are former mixed martial arts promotions that have been bought-out by the UFC and its parent corporations.

UFC Hall of Fame
EstablishedNovember 21, 2003
FounderUltimate Fighting Championship
Inductees17 pioneers
7 modern-era
6 contributors
6 Fights
(38 total inductees)
(3 double inductees)

History

It was officially established in Las Vegas on November 21, 2003 at UFC 45 with the inaugural inductees being UFC Originals Royce Gracie and Ken Shamrock.[1]

In 2015, the UFC announced a significant reboot of its Hall of Fame. The Hall was split into four categories, or wings, and a new class of legends would henceforth be inducted every July at a gala event during the UFC's annual International Fight Week in Las Vegas.[2]

The new wings are: Modern Era Wing – for fighters who turned professional after the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts were introduced at UFC 28. The Pioneer Era Wing – for fighters who turned professional before the Unified Rules of MMA were introduced at UFC 28. The Contributors Wing – for non-participants who made significant contributions to the sport outside of competition. The Fight Wing – honoring specific legendary bouts.

The new Hall of Fame was a passion project of former UFC executive Anthony Evans, who pitched UFC President Dana White on the four-wing structure several times before finally getting White's permission in 2015.[3]

It was also announced in 2015 the UFC would create a physical Hall but, as of 2020, that has not happened.

Since 2015, the UFC Hall of Fame has somewhat gained in prominence and credibility. The company has inducted several more legends who were not on the best of terms with the UFC, including Don Frye and UFC co-creator Art Davie.

Inductees

Pioneer wing

Name Date of Induction
(event)
UFC recognized accolades
Royce Gracie November 21, 2003 (UFC 45) UFC 1 Tournament Winner, UFC 2 Tournament Winner and UFC 4 Tournament Winner.
Ken Shamrock November 21, 2003 (UFC 45) One-time UFC Superfight Champion, two UFC Superfight Championship defenses, UFC 3 Tournament Finalist, one-time Pancrase Openweight Champion, one Pancrase Openweight Championship defense and King of Pancrase Tournament Winner.
Dan Severn April 16, 2005 (UFC 52) One-time UFC Superfight Champion, UFC 5 Tournament Winner and Ultimate Ultimate 1995 Tournament Winner.
Randy Couture June 24, 2006 (The Ultimate Fighter: Team Ortiz vs. Team Shamrock Finale) Three-time UFC Heavyweight Champion, three UFC Heavyweight Championship defenses, two-time UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, one-time Interim UFC Light Heavyweight champion and UFC 13 Heavyweight Tournament Champion. First fighter to hold two UFC championship titles in two different divisions.
Mark Coleman March 1, 2008 (UFC 82) One-time UFC Heavyweight Champion (first Heavyweight Champion in UFC history), UFC 10 Tournament Champion, UFC 11 Tournament Champion and Pride Grand Prix 2000 Finals Tournament Champion.
Chuck Liddell July 11, 2009 (UFC 100) One-time UFC Light Heavyweight Champion and four UFC Light Heavyweight Championship defenses.
Matt Hughes May 29, 2010 (UFC 114) Two-time UFC Welterweight Champion and seven UFC Welterweight Championship defenses.
Tito Ortiz July 7, 2012 (UFC 148) One-time UFC Light Heavyweight Champion and five UFC Light Heavyweight Championship defenses.
Pat Miletich July 5, 2014 (UFC 175) One-time UFC Welterweight Champion (first Welterweight Champion in UFC history), four UFC Welterweight Championship defenses and UFC 16 Welterweight Tournament Winner: later opened Miletich Fighting Systems and became a successful trainer.
Bas Rutten July 11, 2015 (UFC 189) One-time UFC Heavyweight Champion, one-time Pancrase Openweight Champion, and two Pancrase Openweight Championship defenses.
Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira July 10, 2016 (UFC Fan Expo) One-time Pride Heavyweight Champion, one-time Interim Pride Heavyweight Champion and one-time Interim UFC Heavyweight Champion.
Don Frye July 10, 2016 (UFC Fan Expo) UFC 8 Tournament Winner, UFC 10 Tournament Finalist and UFC Ultimate Ultimate 1996 Tournament Winner.
Maurice Smith July 6, 2017 (UFC Fan Expo) One-time UFC Heavyweight Champion, one UFC Heavyweight Championship defense, one-time Extreme Fighting Heavyweight Championship and one Extreme Fighting Heavyweight Championship defense.
Kazushi Sakuraba July 6, 2017 (UFC Hall of Fame Ceremony, 2017) UFC Japan Heavyweight Tournament Winner, most submission wins in Pride FC history, competed in longest fight in Pride FC history, and first fighter to defeat Royce Gracie.
Matt Serra July 5, 2018 (UFC Hall of Fame Ceremony, 2018) One-time UFC Welterweight Champion, The Ultimate Fighter 4 Welterweight Tournament Winner and first fighter to win both a The Ultimate Fighter Tournament and UFC Championship
Rich Franklin July 5, 2019 (UFC Hall of Fame Ceremony, 2019) One-time UFC Middleweight Champion, two UFC Middleweight Championship defenses.
Kevin Randleman Date TBD (UFC Hall of Fame Ceremony, 2020) One-time UFC Heavyweight Champion, one UFC Heavyweight Championship defense.

Modern-era wing

Name Date of Induction
(event)
UFC recognized accolades
Forrest Griffin July 6, 2013 (UFC 162) One-time UFC Light Heavyweight Champion and The Ultimate Fighter 1: Light Heavyweight Tournament Winner.
B.J. Penn July 11, 2015 (UFC 189) One-time UFC Welterweight Champion, one-time UFC Lightweight Champion with three UFC Lightweight Championship defenses, and UFC 41 Lightweight Tournament Co-Champion.
Urijah Faber July 6, 2017 (UFC Hall of Fame Ceremony, 2017) One-time WEC Featherweight Champion with five WEC Featherweight Championship defenses. First bantamweight inductee.
Ronda Rousey July 5, 2018 (UFC Hall of Fame Ceremony, 2018) First Women's UFC Champion, UFC Bantamweight Champion from 2012-2015 with 6 defenses. First female inductee, second bantamweight inductee.
Michael Bisping July 5, 2019 (UFC Hall of Fame Ceremony, 2019) One-Time UFC Middleweight Champion with one UFC Middleweight Championship defense, The Ultimate Fighter 3 Light Heavyweight winner, first inductee from England
Rashad Evans July 5, 2019 (UFC Hall of Fame Ceremony, 2019) One-time UFC Light Heavyweight Champion and The Ultimate Fighter 2 Heavyweight Winner.
Georges St-Pierre Date TBD (UFC Hall of Fame Ceremony, 2020) Three-time former UFC Welterweight Champion with 9 defenses, One-time UFC Middleweight Champion, first inductee from Canada


Contributors

Name Date of Induction
(event)
Contributions
Charles Lewis Jr.
(Mask)
July 11, 2009 (UFC 100) Founded the first major mixed martial arts clothing line Tapout.
Jeff Blatnick July 11, 2015 (UFC 189) Commentator, UFC commissioner and was instrumental in helping the UFC get regulated by athletic commissions.
Bob Meyrowitz July 10, 2016 (UFC Fan Expo) UFC co-creator and owner from UFC 6 until it was sold to Zuffa in January 2001.
Joe Silva July 6, 2017 (UFC Hall of Fame Ceremony, 2017) UFC matchmaker from 1997 to 2016.
Bruce Connal July 5, 2018 (UFC Hall of Fame Ceremony, 2018) UFC television producer from 1997-2018.
Art Davie July 5, 2018 (UFC Hall of Fame Ceremony, 2018) UFC co-creator, co-owner from UFC 1 to UFC 5 and first UFC matchmaker.

Fights

Fight Date of Induction
(event)
Notes
Forrest Griffin vs. Stephan Bonnar I July 6, 2013 Regarded as the one of the greatest fights in UFC history. Marked a turning point for the UFC in terms of its journey to mainstream acceptance of MMA as a popular, legitimate sport. Forrest Griffin def. Stephan Bonnar by unanimous decision at The Ultimate Fighter 1 Finale.
Matt Hughes vs. Frank Trigg II July 11, 2015 For the UFC Welterweight Championship. Matt Hughes def. Frank Trigg by submission in Round 1 at UFC 52.
Mark Coleman vs. Pete Williams July 10, 2016 Pete Williams def. Mark Coleman by head-kick KO, the second head-kick KO in UFC history after Gordeau vs Tuli (UFC 1) at UFC 17. One of the biggest upsets in early UFC history.
Maurício Rua vs. Dan Henderson I[4] July 5, 2018 (UFC Hall of Fame Ceremony) Dan Henderson def. Maurício Rua by unanimous decision in a back-and-forth fight at UFC 139. Second five-round non-title fight in UFC history and first to go the distance.
Diego Sanchez vs. Clay Guida July 5, 2019 (UFC Hall of Fame Ceremony) Diego Sanchez def. Clay Guida by split decision in a three round, back-and-forth fight in the lightweight division at The Ultimate Fighter: United States vs. United Kingdom Finale.
Jon Jones vs. Alexander Gustafsson Date TBD (UFC Hall of Fame Ceremony) Jon Jones def. Alexander Gustafsson by unanimous decision in closely fought five-round fight for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship at UFC 165. Fight of the Night.
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References

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