UFC Hall of Fame
The UFC Hall of Fame was officially established in Las Vegas on November 21, 2003 at UFC 45 with the inaugural inductees being UFC legends Royce Gracie and Ken Shamrock.
It was set up to honour mixed martial artists and MMA personalities, established and maintained by the U.S.-based mixed martial arts promotion Ultimate Fighting Championship. UFC President Dana White said: “The UFC Hall of Fame has an important job – it not only celebrates greatness but it helps pass stories of the greatest athletes and fights in UFC history on to the next generation of fight fans.”
The inductees for fighters are broken up into 2 sections, The Pioneer Era and the Modern Era.
The Pioneer Era
Royce Gracie (Brazil) – UFC 1 Tournament Winner, UFC 2 Tournament Winner and UFC 4 Tournament Winner.
Ken Shamrock (USA) – One-time UFC Superfight Champion, two UFC Superfight Championship defences, UFC 3 Tournament Finalist, one-time Pancrase Openweight Champion, one Pancrase Openweight Championship defense and King of Pancrase Tournament Winner.
Dan Severn (USA) – One-time UFC Superfight Champion, UFC 5 Tournament Winner and Ultimate Ultimate 1995 Tournament Winner.
The history of the UFC 1993-2001
Randy Couture (USA) – Three-time UFC Heavyweight Champion, three UFC Heavyweight Championship defences, two-time UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, one-time Interim UFC Light Heavyweight champion and UFC 13 Heavyweight Tournament Champion. And now an actor!
Mark Coleman (USA) – 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 Lidell (USA) – One-time UFC Light Heavyweight Champion and four UFC Light Heavyweight Championship defences.
Mark Hughes (USA) – Two-time UFC Welterweight Champion and seven UFC Welterweight Championship defences.
Tito Oriz (USA) – One-time UFC Light Heavyweight Champion and five UFC Light Heavyweight Championship defences.
The Greatest UFC Fighters of all time
Pat Miletich (USA) – One-time UFC Welterweight Champion (first Welterweight Champion in UFC history), four UFC Welterweight Championship defenses and UFC 16 Welterweight Tournament Winner.
Bas Rutten (Netherlands) – One-time UFC Heavyweight Champion, one-time Pancrase Openweight Champion, and two Pancrase Openweight Championship defenses.
Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira (Brazil) – One-time Pride Heavyweight Champion, one-time Interim Pride Heavyweight Champion and one-time Interim UFC Heavyweight Champion.
MMA makes it on too our list of Toughest Sports
Don Frye (USA) – UFC 8 Tournament Winner, UFC 10 Tournament Finalist and UFC Ultimate Ultimate 1996 Tournament Winner.
Maurice Smith (USA) – 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 (Japan) – 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 Serria (USA) – 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
The Modern Era UFC Hall of Fame Fighters
Forrest Griffin (USA) – One-time UFC Light Heavyweight Champion and The Ultimate Fighter 1: Light Heavyweight Tournament Winner.
BJ Penn (USA) – 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 (USA) – One-time WEC Featherweight Champion and five WEC Featherweight Championship defenses. First ever bantamweight inductee.
Rhonda Rousey (USA) – First ever Women’s UFC Champion, UFC Bantamweight Champion from 2012-2015. First ever female inductee, second ever bantamweight inductee.
There is also a section in the UFC Hall of Fame for contributors to the UFC and Greatest Fights.
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