UFC Hall of Fame
EstablishedNovember 21, 2003
FounderUltimate Fighting Championship
Inductees19 pioneers
11 modern-era
7 contributors
7 Fights
3 Community Awards
(50 total inductees)
(3 double inductees)
WebsiteUFC 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

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]

  • Modern Wing – celebrating fighters who made their pro-debuts in the age of the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts, which went into effect at UFC 28, November 28, 2000.
  • Pioneers Wing – commemorating the original innovators of MMA, who competed in professional bouts before the adoption of the Unified Rules.
  • Fight Wing – recognizing the greatest, most memorable, and historically important bouts.
  • Contributors Wing – recognizing outstanding contributions outside of active competition.
  • Forrest Griffin Community Award – recognizing a UFC athlete 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

Pioneers wing

Image ISO Name Date of Induction Ref. Event of Induction UFC recognized accolades
Brazil Royce Gracie November 21, 2003 [6] UFC 45 UFC 1 Tournament Winner
UFC 2 Tournament Winner
UFC 4 Tournament Winner.
United States Ken Shamrock November 21, 2003 [7] UFC 45 One-time UFC Superfight Champion with 2 defenses
UFC 3 Tournament Finalist
One-time Pancrase Openweight Champion with 1 defense
King of Pancrase Tournament Winner.
United States Dan Severn April 16, 2005 [8] UFC 52 One-time UFC Superfight Champion
UFC 5 Tournament Winner
Ultimate Ultimate 1995 Tournament Winner.
United States Randy Couture June 24, 2006 [9] The Ultimate Fighter: Team Ortiz vs. Team Shamrock Finale Three-time UFC Heavyweight Champion with 3 defenses
Two-time UFC Light Heavyweight Champion
One-time Interim UFC Light Heavyweight champion
UFC 13 Heavyweight Tournament Champion
First fighter to hold two UFC championship titles in two different divisions.
United States Mark Coleman March 1, 2008 [10] UFC 82 Inaugural and one-time UFC Heavyweight Champion
UFC 10 Tournament Champion
UFC 11 Tournament Champion
Pride Grand Prix 2000 Finals Tournament Champion.
United States Chuck Liddell July 11, 2009 [11] UFC 100 One-time UFC Light Heavyweight Champion with 4 defenses.
United States Matt Hughes May 29, 2010 [12] UFC 114 Two-time UFC Welterweight Champion with 7 defenses.
United States Tito Ortiz July 7, 2012 [13] UFC 148 One-time UFC Light Heavyweight Champion with 5 defenses.
United States Pat Miletich July 5, 2014 [14] UFC 175 Inaugural and one-time UFC Welterweight Champion with 4 defenses
UFC 16 Welterweight Tournament Winner
Later opened Miletich Fighting Systems and became a successful trainer.
Netherlands Bas Rutten July 11, 2015 [15] UFC 189 One-time UFC Heavyweight Champion
One-time Pancrase Openweight Champion with 2 defenses.
Brazil Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira July 10, 2016 [16] UFC Fan Expo One-time Pride Heavyweight Champion
One-time Interim Pride Heavyweight Champion
One-time Interim UFC Heavyweight Champion.
United States Don Frye July 10, 2016 [17] UFC Fan Expo UFC 8 Tournament Winner
UFC 10 Tournament Finalist
UFC Ultimate Ultimate 1996 Tournament Winner.
United States Maurice Smith July 6, 2017 [18] UFC Fan Expo One-time UFC Heavyweight Champion with 1 defense
One-time Extreme Fighting Heavyweight Championship with 1 defense.
Japan Kazushi Sakuraba July 6, 2017 [19] 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
First fighter to defeat Royce Gracie.
United States Matt Serra July 5, 2018 [20] UFC Hall of Fame Ceremony, 2018 One-time UFC Welterweight Champion
The Ultimate Fighter 4 Welterweight Tournament Winner
First fighter to win both a The Ultimate Fighter Tournament and UFC Championship
United States Rich Franklin July 5, 2019 [21] UFC Hall of Fame Ceremony, 2019 One-time UFC Middleweight Champion with 2 defenses.
United States Kevin Randleman September 23, 2021 [22] UFC Hall of Fame Ceremony, 2020 One-time UFC Heavyweight Champion with 1 defense.
United States Jens Pulver July 6, 2023 [23] UFC Hall of Fame Ceremony, 2023 Inaugural and one-time UFC Lightweight Champion with 2 defenses.
Brazil Anderson Silva July 6, 2023 [24] UFC Hall of Fame Ceremony, 2023 One-time UFC Middleweight Champion with 10 defenses.
Holds the record for the longest individual title reign in UFC history (2,457 days).
Holds the record for the most consecutive wins in UFC history (16).

Modern wing

Image ISO Name Date of Induction Ref. Event of Induction UFC recognized accolades
United States Forrest Griffin July 6, 2013 [25] UFC 162 One-time UFC Light Heavyweight Champion
The Ultimate Fighter 1: Light Heavyweight Tournament Winner.
United States B.J. Penn July 11, 2015 [26] UFC 189 One-time UFC Welterweight Champion
One-time UFC Lightweight Champion with 3 defenses
UFC 41 Lightweight Tournament Co-Champion.
United States Urijah Faber July 6, 2017 [27] UFC Hall of Fame Ceremony, 2017 One-time WEC Featherweight Champion with 5 defenses
First bantamweight inductee.
United States Ronda Rousey July 5, 2018 [28] UFC Hall of Fame Ceremony, 2018 Inaugural and one-time UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion with 6 defenses
One-time Strikeforce Women's Bantamweight Champion with 1 defense
First Women's UFC Champion
First female inductee.
England Michael Bisping July 5, 2019 [29] UFC Hall of Fame Ceremony, 2019 One-time UFC Middleweight Champion with 1 defense
The Ultimate Fighter 3 Light Heavyweight winner
First inductee from England.
 United States Rashad Evans July 5, 2019 [30] UFC Hall of Fame Ceremony, 2019 One-time UFC Light Heavyweight Champion
The Ultimate Fighter 2 Heavyweight Winner.
 Canada Georges St-Pierre September 23, 2021 [22] UFC Hall of Fame Ceremony, 2020 One-time UFC Middleweight Champion
Two-time UFC Welterweight Champion with 9 defenses
One-time interim UFC Welterweight Champion
First inductee from Canada.
 Russia Khabib Nurmagomedov June 30, 2022 [31] UFC Hall of Fame Ceremony, 2022 One-time UFC Lightweight Champion with 3 defenses
Headlined the highest-selling UFC pay-per-view event at UFC 229 with 2.4 million PPV buys.[32]
Retired undefeated with a 29–0 record
First inductee from Russia.
Daniel_Cormier
 United States Daniel Cormier June 30, 2022 [33] UFC Hall of Fame Ceremony, 2022 One-time UFC Heavyweight Champion with 1 defense
One-time UFC Light Heavyweight Champion with 3 defenses
Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix Champion.
Brazil José Aldo July 6, 2023 [34] UFC Hall of Fame Ceremony, 2023 Inaugural and two-time UFC Featherweight Champion with 7 defenses
One-time interim UFC Featherweight Champion
One-time WEC Featherweight Champion with 2 defenses.
United States Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone July 6, 2023 [35] UFC Hall of Fame Ceremony, 2023 Former UFC Lightweight Championship challenger
Most post-fight bonus awards in UFC history (18)
Most knockdowns in UFC history (20).


Contributors wing

Image ISO Name Date of Induction Ref. Event of Induction Contributions
Charles Lewis Jr.
(Mask)		 July 11, 2009 [11] UFC 100 Founded the first major mixed martial arts clothing line Tapout.
Jeff Blatnick July 11, 2015 [36] UFC 189 Commentator, UFC commissioner and was instrumental in helping the UFC get regulated by athletic commissions.
Bob Meyrowitz July 10, 2016 [37] 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 [38] UFC Hall of Fame Ceremony, 2017 UFC matchmaker from 1997 to 2016.
Bruce Connal July 5, 2018 [39] UFC Hall of Fame Ceremony, 2018 UFC television producer from 1997-2018.
Art Davie July 5, 2018 [40] 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 [22] 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

Fight Date of Induction Ref. Event of Induction Notes
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 [36] UFC 189 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 [41] 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 [42] 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.
Diego Sanchez vs. Clay Guida July 5, 2019 [43] 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 [44] 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.
Cub Swanson vs. Doo Ho Choi June 30, 2022 [45] 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 [46] 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.

Forrest Griffin Community Award

Image ISO Name Date of Induction Ref. Event of Induction Community contributions
United States Dustin Poirier September 23, 2021 [22] UFC Hall of Fame Ceremony, 2020 Founded The Good Fight Foundation and supported other charity work in his hometown of Lafayette.
United States Max Holloway June 30, 2022 [47] UFC Hall of Fame Ceremony, 2022 Supported his local community in Hawaii and raised money for charity work.
Georgia (country) Giga Chikadze June 30, 2022 [47] UFC Hall of Fame Ceremony, 2022 Founded The Knockout Cancer Foundation and raised funds for families who needed financial support.

Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira (pictured)		 Brazil Nogueira Brothers
(Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira and Antônio Rogério Nogueira)		 July 6, 2023 [47] 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

References

  1. ↑ "Zuffa Creates "Hall of Fame" with Shamrock, Gracie Charters". Sherdog.com. 2003-11-05. Retrieved 2014-04-04.
  2. ↑ Meltzer, Dave (2015-05-05). "UFC revamping its Hall of Fame". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2021-01-28.
  3. ↑ Harris, Scott. "UFC Hall of Fame: UFC Officials Announce New System for Induction". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 2022-03-11.
  4. ↑ Dundas, Chad. "Talking UFC Hall of Fame's evolution with longtime staffer Ant Evans". The Athletic. Retrieved 2021-01-28.
  5. ↑ Silver, Michael (26 September 2018). "Inside The Octagon: UFC's Performance Institute". Front Office Sports. Retrieved 2021-09-23.
  6. ↑ "UFC HALL OF FAME | UFC". www.ufc.com. 2018-11-06. Retrieved 2022-03-11.
  7. ↑ "UFC HALL OF FAME | UFC". www.ufc.com. 2018-11-06. Retrieved 2022-03-11.
  8. ↑ "UFC Hall of Famer Dan Severn Retires from MMA at 54-Years of Age | MMAWeekly.com". 2013-01-02. Retrieved 2022-03-11.
  9. ↑ "UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture, girlfriend Mindy Robinson injured in ATV accident at Arizona ranch". au.finance.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2022-03-11.
  10. ↑ "Mark Coleman Set for UFC Hall of Fame Induction at UFC 82". MMA Junkie. 2008-02-20. Retrieved 2022-03-11.
  11. 1 2 Wagner, Adam (2009-07-12). "Chuck Liddell and Charles 'Mask' Lewis inducted into UFC Hall of Fame". MMAmania.com. Retrieved 2022-03-11.
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  14. ↑ "Engineer Lisa Poyneer inducted into Women's Hall of Fame". Physics Today. 2010-04-15. doi:10.1063/pt.4.1373. ISSN 1945-0699.
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  16. ↑ Burke, Tim (2016-05-16). "Big Nog to be inducted into UFC Hall of Fame". Bloody Elbow. Retrieved 2022-03-11.
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  18. ↑ "Former heavyweight champ Maurice Smith joins 2017 UFC Hall of Fame class". MMA Junkie. 2017-04-23. Retrieved 2022-03-11.
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  20. ↑ Hiergesell, Dan (2018-04-21). "Serra To Be Inducted Into UFC Hall Of Fame This July". MMAmania.com. Retrieved 2022-03-11.
  21. ↑ Raimondi, Marc (2019-04-13). "Rich Franklin to be inducted into UFC Hall of Fame". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2022-03-11.
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  24. ↑ Alexander K. Lee (2023-03-18). "Anderson Silva announced for 2023 UFC Hall of Fame". MMAFighting.com. Retrieved 2023-03-18.
  25. 1 2 Doyle, Dave (2013-07-06). "Griffin, Bonnar inducted into UFC Hall of Fame". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2022-03-11.
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  27. ↑ "Urijah Faber joins UFC Hall of Fame class of 2017". FOX Sports. Retrieved 2022-03-11.
  28. ↑ Chiappetta, Mike (2018-07-06). "Ronda Rousey inducted Into UFC Hall of Fame". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2022-03-11.
  29. ↑ "After paying in blood his entire career, Michael Bisping is a UFC Hall of Famer". MMA Junkie. 2019-03-19. Retrieved 2022-03-11.
  30. ↑ "Rashad Evans to be inducted into UFC Hall of Fame". MMA Junkie. 2019-05-19. Retrieved 2022-03-11.
  31. ↑ Anderson, Jay (2022-03-05). "Khabib Nurmagomedov Announced As UFC Hall of Fame Class of 2022 Inductee". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2022-03-06.
  32. ↑ "Event buys". Tapology.com. Retrieved 21 October 2018.
  33. ↑ "Former heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier to be inducted into 2022 UFC Hall of Fame class". CBS Sports. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
  34. ↑ "Jose Aldo announced for 2023 UFC Hall of Fame induction". MMA Fighting. 21 January 2023. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
  35. ↑ "Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone named to UFC Hall of Fame class of 2023". Ultimate Fighting Championship. 2023-03-25. Retrieved 2023-03-25.
  36. 1 2 Meltzer, Dave (2015-05-20). "UFC announces half of 2015 Hall of Fame class". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2022-03-11.
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  38. ↑ Meltzer, Dave (2017-05-14). "Longtime matchmaker Joe Silva to be inducted into UFC Hall of Fame". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2022-03-11.
  39. ↑ Meshew, Jed (2018-04-08). "Longtime producer Bruce Connal to be inducted into UFC Hall of Fame". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2022-03-11.
  40. ↑ Alexander, Mookie (2018-05-01). "UFC co-founder Art Davie to be inducted into UFC Hall of Fame". Bloody Elbow. Retrieved 2022-03-11.
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  43. ↑ Alexander, Mookie (2019-06-09). "Diego Sanchez vs. Clay Guida earns spot in UFC Hall of Fame". Bloody Elbow. Retrieved 2022-03-11.
  44. ↑ "Jon Jones vs. Alexander Gustafsson 1 to be inducted into UFC Hall of Fame 'Fight Wing'". MMA Junkie. 2020-03-08. Retrieved 2022-03-11.
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  46. ↑ "UFC 189 fight between Robbie Lawler and Rory Macdonald to be inducted into UFC Hall of Fame". Ultimate Fighting Championship. 2023-04-07. Retrieved 2023-04-07.
  47. 1 2 3 Okamoto, Brett (2022-07-01). "Daniel Cormier, Khabib Nurmagomedov inducted into UFC Hall of Fame". ESPN. Retrieved 2022-10-03.
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