On Tuesday the UFC announced plans to make Las Vegas the physical home for their Hall of Fame. Its the most fitting location given the city’s lengthy fight history as well as being ground zero for the UFC. Creating a true Hall of Fame is an excellent decision and further cements the UFC as the premier mixed martial arts organization in the world.
The HOF provides a sense of permanence by preserving its legacy and giving the pioneers of this sport their rightful recognition. The UFC, due to its relative infancy in the sporting world, has lacked some of the traditions enjoyed by other sports. The creation of a bricks and mortar site within the next two years will go a long way to rectifying that.
In addition to establishing a location for their HOF the UFC also announced they will be revamping the method for deciding who is eligible for enshrinement. There will now be four categories which expands the eligibility. These categories are modern fighters, pioneer fighters (prior to 2000), contributors, and fights of significance.
The UFC hasn’t announced its class of 2015, there is a planned ceremony in July during the UFC fan expo. While everyone has their own ideas of who is deserving of a place, what better to share my picks for the class of 2015.
Pioneer Fighter – There aren’t many people more deserving than Frank Shamrock but as everyone knows Shamrock and Dana White have had a bit of a tumultuous relationship to say the least. That shouldn’t prevent him from getting his due. He was one of their first great champions and owns a victory over current hall of famer Tito Ortiz in what was one of the UFC’s greatest matches.
Modern Fighter – Is there a more obvious choice than The Prodigy BJ Penn? He was a title holder in both the lightweight and welterweight divisions which also happen to historically be two of the UFC’s most talent rich weight classes. His rise to superstar status was as meteoric as they come. He has faced a who’s who of UFC stars and has always been a fan favorite.
Fight Category – For a fight to be considered it must be at least 5 years old, capture the imagination, and have a historical significance. Given this criteria I am going with Brock Lesnar vs Frank Mir II. Talk about capturing the imagination, there was so much buzz around UFC 100 that it lead to the highest buy rate of any pay-per-view in company history. On one hand you had the experienced and ultra skilled Mir and on the other you had Lesnar’s unbridled force and aggression. The MMA die hards were shuddering at the thought of a guy like Brock Lesnar being the undisputed heavyweight champ. This fight card, carried by the champion vs champion main event, really put the UFC over the top and made it a sport that main stream media like ESPN could no longer passively cover.
Contributor – There are so many directions the UFC could go with for this category which is exactly its point. Now could be an excellent time to honor the long and fantastic career of Joe Rogan. He has been with the UFC since the early days and has provided commentary for almost every major fight in the organization’s history. His voice has practically become synonymous with the UFC and it is hard to imagine it without him.
As the HOF becomes larger it will be interesting to see how a lot of the modern fighters fare in the eyes of the selection committee. How will guys like Diego Sanchez and Joe Lauzon be viewed historically? They won’t be champions but they have had long and successful careers that include a litany of exceptional fights. How will fights under the Pride, WEC, and Strikeforce banners be viewed? Will they ever be included in the fight category? The changes to the UFC Hall of Fame raise many questions. Only time will give us the answers.
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