UFC Hall of Fame
UFC Hall of Fame | |
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Established | November 21, 2003 |
Founder | Ultimate Fighting Championship |
Inductees | Pioneer wing (20) Modern wing (14) Contributors wing (7) Fight wing (9) Forrest Griffin Community Award (5) (55 total inductees) |
Website | 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 (UFC). 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.
History
[edit]It was officially established on November 21, 2003 at UFC 45 with its home being Las Vegas, and the first inductees being inaugural UFC competitors 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 wings are:[3]
- Pioneer Wing – commemorating the original innovators of MMA, who competed in professional bouts before the adoption of the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts, which went into effect at UFC 28, November 28, 2000.
- Modern Wing – celebrating fighters who made their pro-debuts in the age of the Unified Rules.
- Contributors Wing – recognizing outstanding contributions outside of active competition.
- Fight Wing – recognizing the greatest, most memorable, and historically important bouts.
- Forrest Griffin Community Award – recognizing athletes for their volunteer and charity work and the impact their efforts have on the community.
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.[4]
The UFC Hall of Fame is located in the UFC Performance Institute on the walls of the first and second floor staircase.[5]
Inductees
[edit]Pioneer wing
[edit]Modern wing
[edit]Image | ISO | Name | Date of Induction | Ref. | Event of Induction | UFC recognized accolades |
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Forrest Griffin | July 6, 2013 | [25] | UFC 162 | One-time UFC Light Heavyweight Champion The Ultimate Fighter 1 Light Heavyweight Tournament Winner. |
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B.J. Penn | July 11, 2015 | [26] | UFC 189 | One-time UFC Welterweight Champion One-time UFC Lightweight Champion with three defenses UFC 41 Lightweight Tournament Co-Champion. |
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Urijah Faber | July 6, 2017 | [27] | UFC Hall of Fame Ceremony, 2017 | One-time WEC Featherweight Champion with five defenses Four-time UFC Bantamweight Championship challenger. |
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Ronda Rousey | July 5, 2018 | [28] | UFC Hall of Fame Ceremony, 2018 | Inaugural and one-time UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion with six defenses One-time Strikeforce Women's Bantamweight Champion with one defense. |
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Michael Bisping | July 5, 2019 | [29] | UFC Hall of Fame Ceremony, 2019 | One-time UFC Middleweight Champion with one defense The Ultimate Fighter 3 Light Heavyweight Tournament Winner. |
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Rashad Evans | July 5, 2019 | [30] | UFC Hall of Fame Ceremony, 2019 | One-time UFC Light Heavyweight Champion The Ultimate Fighter 2 Heavyweight Tournament Winner |
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Georges St-Pierre | September 23, 2021 | [21] | UFC Hall of Fame Ceremony, 2020 | One-time UFC Middleweight Champion Two-time UFC Welterweight Champion with nine defenses One-time Interim UFC Welterweight Champion. |
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Khabib Nurmagomedov | June 30, 2022 | [31] | UFC Hall of Fame Ceremony, 2022 | One-time UFC Lightweight Champion with three defenses Headlined the highest-selling UFC pay-per-view event at UFC 229 with 2.4 million PPV buys.[32] |
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Daniel Cormier | June 30, 2022 | [33] | UFC Hall of Fame Ceremony, 2022 | One-time UFC Heavyweight Champion with one defense One-time UFC Light Heavyweight Champion with three defenses Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix Winner. |
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José Aldo | July 6, 2023 | [34] | UFC Hall of Fame Ceremony, 2023 | Inaugural and two-time UFC Featherweight Champion with seven defenses One-time Interim UFC Featherweight Champion One-time WEC Featherweight Champion with two defenses. |
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Donald Cerrone | July 6, 2023 | [35] | UFC Hall of Fame Ceremony, 2023 | One-time UFC Lightweight Championship challenger Two-time WEC Lightweight Championship challenger One-time Interim WEC Lightweight Championship challenger Most knockdowns in UFC history (20). |
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Maurício Rua | June 27, 2024 | [36] | UFC Hall of Fame Ceremony, 2024 | One-time UFC Light Heavyweight Champion 2005 Pride Middleweight Grand Prix Winner |
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Joanna Jędrzejczyk | June 27, 2024 | [37] | UFC Hall of Fame Ceremony, 2024 | One-time UFC Women's Strawweight Champion with five defenses. |
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Frankie Edgar | June 27, 2024 | [38] | UFC Hall of Fame Ceremony, 2024 | One-time UFC Lightweight Champion with three defenses. |
Contributors wing
[edit]Image | ISO | Name | Date of Induction | Ref. | Event of Induction | Contributions |
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Charles Lewis Jr. (Mask) |
July 11, 2009 | [10] | UFC 100 | Founded the first major mixed martial arts clothing line Tapout. | |
Jeff Blatnick | July 11, 2015 | [39] | UFC 189 | Commentator, UFC commissioner and was instrumental in helping the UFC get regulated by athletic commissions. | ||
Bob Meyrowitz | July 10, 2016 | [40] | 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 | [41] | UFC Hall of Fame Ceremony, 2017 | UFC matchmaker from 1997 to 2016. | ||
Bruce Connal | July 5, 2018 | [42] | UFC Hall of Fame Ceremony, 2018 | UFC television producer from 1997 to 2018. | ||
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Art Davie | July 5, 2018 | [43] | UFC Hall of Fame Ceremony, 2018 | UFC co-creator, co-owner from UFC 1 to UFC 5 and first UFC matchmaker. | |
Marc Ratner | September 23, 2021 | [21] | UFC Hall of Fame Ceremony, 2020 | Former Executive Director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission, current Vice President of Regulatory Affairs of UFC and credited to legalized MMA in all 50 states and abroad. |
Fight wing
[edit]Fight | Date of Induction | Ref. | Event of Induction | Notes |
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Forrest Griffin vs. Stephan Bonnar I | July 6, 2013 | [25] | UFC 162 | Regarded as 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 | [39] | UFC 189 | For the UFC Welterweight Championship. Matt Hughes def. Frank Trigg by submission in Round 1 at UFC 52. Submission of the Year (2005). |
Mark Coleman vs. Pete Williams | July 10, 2016 | [44] | UFC Fan Expo | 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 | July 5, 2018 | [45] | UFC Hall of Fame Ceremony, 2018 | 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. Fight of the Night. Fight of the Year (2011). |
Diego Sanchez vs. Clay Guida | July 5, 2019 | [46] | UFC Hall of Fame Ceremony, 2019 | 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 I | September 23, 2021 | [47] | UFC Hall of Fame Ceremony, 2020 | 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. Fight of the Year (2013). |
Cub Swanson vs. Doo Ho Choi | June 30, 2022 | [48] | UFC Hall of Fame Ceremony, 2022 | Cub Swanson def. Dooho Choi by unanimous decision in a three round, back-and-forth fight in the featherweight division at UFC 206. Fight of the Night. Fight of the Year (2016). |
Robbie Lawler vs. Rory MacDonald II | July 6, 2023 | [49] | UFC Hall of Fame Ceremony, 2023 | Robbie Lawler def. Rory MacDonald by technical knockout in the fifth round, MacDonald had been ahead 39-37 on all three judges scorecards. This fight was for the UFC Welterweight Championship at UFC 189. Fight of the Night. Fight of the Year (2015). |
Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen I | June 27, 2024 | [50] | UFC Hall of Fame Ceremony, 2024 | Anderson Silva def. Chael Sonnen in the fifth round by triangle-armbar submission after being controlled on the ground for the majority of the fight. This fight was for the UFC Middleweight Championship at UFC 117. Fight of the Night. Fight of the Year (2010). |
Forrest Griffin Community Award
[edit]Image | ISO | Name | Date of Induction | Ref. | Event of Induction | Community contributions |
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Dustin Poirier | September 23, 2021 | [21] | UFC Hall of Fame Ceremony, 2020 | Founded The Good Fight Foundation and supported other charity work in his hometown of Lafayette. |
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Max Holloway | June 30, 2022 | [51] | UFC Hall of Fame Ceremony, 2022 | Supported his local community in Hawaii and raised money for charity work. |
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Giga Chikadze | June 30, 2022 | [52] | UFC Hall of Fame Ceremony, 2022 | Founded The Knockout Cancer Foundation and raised funds for families who needed financial support. |
Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira (pictured) |
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Nogueira Brothers (Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira and Antônio Rogério Nogueira) |
July 6, 2023 | [53] | UFC Hall of Fame Ceremony, 2023 | Giving back to their communities in Brazil and have made a positive impact on the lives of thousands of kids throughout the country |
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Beneil Dariush | June 27, 2024 | [54] | UFC Hall of Fame Ceremony, 2024 | Partnered with the Shlama Foundation to raise funds and awareness. Helped fund two orphanages in Haiti in partnership with Promise Child Ministries. |
References
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- ^ Dundas, Chad. "Talking UFC Hall of Fame's evolution with longtime staffer Ant Evans". The Athletic. Retrieved 2021-01-28.
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