New UFC Hall of Fame Inductees Announced

Professey Chin · 07-07-2009 9:33am #1

Dana's announced via his twitter that both Chuck Liddell & Charles "Mask" Lewis will be the 2 inductees to the UFC HoF at the UFC fan expo in vegas this friday.

No real surprises there but I was expecting Matt Hughes aswell

Charlie3dan · 07-07-2009 10:45am

I was fairly indifferent about Mask getting in but good to see Chuck get there.

I wonder if Matt Hughes will be pissed off that he's not included. Goldberg has been referring to him as "future hall of famer" for bleedin ages.

cowzerp · 07-07-2009 11:05am

They have to hold some big names back so the future inductees seem worthwhile, hughes will be the big name next time, Chuck dragged MMA into the mainstream, he deserves in more than anyone..

Professey Chin · 07-07-2009 11:15am

cowzerp wrote: »

They have to hold some big names back so the future inductees seem worthwhile, hughes will be the big name next time, Chuck dragged MMA into the mainstream, he deserves in more than anyone..

True about Chuck.He really did have the right image & style at the right time. I always preferred Tito though

*runs*

dunkamania · 07-07-2009 12:03pm

I know why they are inducting Mask, but just dont think its justified

Evil_Clown · 07-07-2009 12:23pm

dunkamania wrote: »

I know why they are inducting Mask, but just dont think its justified

+1 on this.
Maybe instead of inducting Mask to the hall of fame they should have given him an award like 'services to UFC/MMA'. Think that would satisfy most people.

RNCFAN · 07-07-2009 1:22pm

Hall of Fames are quite often, unfortunately, more about the politics in the sport than the sport itself. Many others should be in ahead of Charles but thats just the business of it.

- Pat Militech.
- Tito Ortiz.
- Frank Shamrock.

Tapout did do a huge amount to keep the MMA business afloat during the lean years but so did a lot of others - but they do not have such close ties with Zuffa.

dunkamania · 07-07-2009 1:56pm

Politics aside. Am I completely missing the point when I say that having a t-shirt maker in your Hall of fame makes a mockery of the whole idea. He has no achievements in the cage. Obviously he was important in a buisness sense to Zuffa, and personally to Dana and the Fertittas, but what has that got to do with anything that happened in the cage?

rovert · 07-07-2009 2:04pm

Not to flippant or point out the obvious here but this is the UFC Hall of Fame NOT the MMA Hall of Fame. Like WWE they are going to use their Hall of Fame as a merchandising/relationship building exercise with the entrants. It is becoming clear with the blanking of using the examples given above of Pat Militech Tito Ortiz, Frank Shamrock that UFC don’t hold themselves up as the custodians of the history of the sport.

Charlie3dan · 07-07-2009 2:19pm

I agree with Dunkamania, makes a mockery of the idea.

Do you think mask fits in on this list?
http://uk.ufc.com/index.cfm?fa=fighter.HallOfFame

I don't.
Maybe if the fans start cheering for the guys selling hot dogs then they'll be in there next to the UFC's greatest fighters too.

Burkatron · 07-07-2009 2:33pm

Charlie3dan wrote: »

I agree with Dunkamania, makes a mockery of the idea.

Do you think mask fits in on this list?
http://uk.ufc.com/index.cfm?fa=fighter.HallOfFame

I don't.
Maybe if the fans start cheering for the guys selling hot dogs then they'll be in there next to the UFC's greatest fighters too.

Don't forget the Harley Davidson prep point! It's almost as invaluable as this inanimate carbon rod

calex71 · 07-07-2009 3:02pm

Would have thought at the very least Evan Tanner would be on the list given his passing

dunkamania · 07-07-2009 3:04pm

I didnt realise how short the list is.
+1 for Evan Tanner, & +1 for Frank Shamrock.

As far as non-fighter Hall of famers, Big John is the only one I can think of

Jason Mc · 07-07-2009 3:06pm

Evan Tanner is a good one

Charlie3dan · 07-07-2009 3:14pm

Some more suggestions here including non-fighters, for anyone who hasn't seen it.
http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2009/06/25/whos-next-up-for-the-ufc-hall-of-fame/

The article is pretty long so I won't paste it unless someone requests it.

rovert · 07-07-2009 3:19pm

dunkamania wrote: »

As far as non-fighter Hall of famers, Big John is the only one I can think of

Dana White!!!!

JohnMc1 · 07-07-2009 3:33pm

rovert wrote: »

Dana White!!!!

I wouldn't put it past him.

Tim_Murphy · 07-07-2009 3:45pm

JohnMc1 wrote: »

I wouldn't put it past him.

That would be quality!

Tito definately deserves to be in there at this stage.

RNCFAN · 07-07-2009 3:49pm

dunkamania wrote: »

Politics aside. Am I completely missing the point when I say that having a t-shirt maker in your Hall of fame makes a mockery of the whole idea. He has no achievements in the cage. Obviously he was important in a buisness sense to Zuffa, and personally to Dana and the Fertittas, but what has that got to do with anything that happened in the cage?

Your right. Nothing at all. But that, unfortunately, is the business dictating
the HOF(:pac:) inductees as is what happens in other sports like Baseball for example.

It's a shame really because there are fighters who deserve it more.

RNCFAN · 07-07-2009 3:52pm

rovert wrote: »

Not to flippant or point out the obvious here but this is the UFC Hall of Fame NOT the MMA Hall of Fame. Like WWE they are going to use their Hall of Fame as a merchandising/relationship building exercise with the entrants. It is becoming clear with the blanking of using the examples given above of Pat Militech Tito Ortiz, Frank Shamrock that UFC don’t hold themselves up as the custodians of the history of the sport.

Correct. The Victors write the History books and ppl like Pat, Frank, Tito and Frye have dared to cross Dana White and so have done themselves out of a rightful place in the HOF unfortunately.

dunkamania · 07-07-2009 5:54pm

We can only hope that the UFC inducts guys like Frank Shamrock, after they stop competing, and are no longer seen as competition to the UFC. Wouldnt hold out much hope for Tito though.

cardio,shoot me · 07-07-2009 6:07pm

id like herb dean to be in it personally. or joe rogan

ollieo · 07-07-2009 6:34pm

Where has Tito gone? Has he retired or is he still deciding what promotion he wants to join?

calex71 · 07-07-2009 9:31pm

Last i saw of Tito he was doing the post fight interviews in the cage for Elite xc i think it was

Raze_them_all · 07-07-2009 10:50pm

Whatever about mask not fighting, he sponsored alot of fighters before they were big names, and thanks to him alot of fighters are there making names for themselves....weren't there a story before that they were chucks first sponsors and as a thnks he never looked for more money once he made it big??

Mellor · 07-07-2009 11:36pm

Is Matt Serra retired now?
If so I imagine he is next.

as for Lewis gettign in, I think people really don't see all he did for the UFC and MMA. during the early years, it would of likely gone bust without all the aid. so although he didn't do anything in the octagon, he certainly allowed others to.

dunkamania · 08-07-2009 9:01am

i am not saying he didnt do alot for the sport. just saying that he doesnt belong on the very short hall of fame list.

So far the list is,
Severn Dan
Coleman Mark
Shamrock Ken
Couture Randy
Gracie Royce
and of course Chuck. Mask doesnt belong there.

Valmont · 08-07-2009 9:06am

Considering the amount of fights he had in the UFC over such a long time, I'm very surprised Tanner isn't in there. I guess it's because he isn't popular enough or something like that?

Charlie3dan · 08-07-2009 10:33am

dunkamania wrote: »

i am not saying he didnt do alot for the sport. just saying that he doesnt belong on the very short hall of fame list.

So far the list is,
Severn Dan
Coleman Mark
Shamrock Ken
Couture Randy
Gracie Royce
and of course Chuck. Mask doesnt belong there.

Exactly.

For me having him there devalues what the HoF is supposed to be.
It shouldn't the case that every fighter gets in there after they retire either. Should be reserved for the most accomplished fighters.

If they wanna pay tribute to Mask or Big John McCarthy there are plenty of other ways to do that

RNCFAN · 08-07-2009 11:05am

dunkamania wrote: »

We can only hope that the UFC inducts guys like Frank Shamrock, after they stop competing, and are no longer seen as competition to the UFC. Wouldnt hold out much hope for Tito though.

Frank Shamrock will never get into the Hall of Fame. The amount of **** talk gone on between him and Dana is epic.

Wacker · 08-07-2009 10:27pm

Mellor wrote: »

Is Matt Serra retired now?
If so I imagine he is next.

No way does Matt Serra belong in there, as it currently stands. He would need to make one hell of a comeback to ever get inducted.

Mellor · 09-07-2009 12:36am

Wacker wrote: »

No way does Matt Serra belong in there, as it currently stands. He would need to make one hell of a comeback to ever get inducted.

That was supposed to say Hughes, would of thought the mistake was obvious enough

Wacker · 11-07-2009 1:58am

Mellor wrote: »

That was supposed to say Hughes, would of thought the mistake was obvious enough

It wasn't, or at least, it wasn't for me.

Matt Hughes would be worthy though. I think he said he wants a few more fights after Serra though. Good luck to him. His second win over Frank Trigg alone would garner him my support for an induction.

New UFC Hall of Fame Inductees Announced

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