UFC Hall of Fame Revamps Format, 2015 to Feature a Class of Inductees

The UFC Hall of Fame is undergoing a transformation in 2015.

UFC officials on Tuesday revealed that instead of just inducting a fighter or fighters into the Hall, inductees will now be separated into four distinct categories, each of which will have its own wing. A physical UFC Hall of Fame is in the planning stages and expected to be constructed in the promotion's hometown of Las Vegas some time in the next two to three years.

The four new UFC Hall of Fame categories are:

• Modern era wing: commemorating fighters who made their pro MMA debut in the modern era

• Pioneers era wing: commemorating fighters who made their pro MMA debut in the pioneers era

• Contributors wing: commemorating significant contributions outside of active competition

• Fight wing: commemorating the greatest and most important bouts in the sport’s history

There are more criteria, but the basic breakdown for each category is as follows:

• Modern era wing: individuals who made their professional MMA debuts on or after November 17, 2000

• Pioneers era wing: individuals who made their MMA professional debuts before November 17, 2000

• Contributors wing: celebrates those individuals – or group of individuals – who have made outstanding and historical contributions to the sport outside of active competition

• Fight wing: fight must have taken place at least five calendar years before inductio

In the first 12 years of the UFC Hall of Fame, there have been 11 fighters and one contributor inducted, which includes one fight. Under the new format, the current inductees fall into the following wings:

Modern Era
Forrest Griffin (inducted 2013)

Pioneers
Royce Gracie (inducted 2003)
Ken Shamrock (inducted 2003)
Dan Severn (inducted 2005)
Randy Couture (inducted 2006)
Mark Coleman (inducted 2008)
Chuck Liddell (inducted 2009)
Matt Hughes (inducted 2010)
Tito Ortiz (inducted 2012)
Pat Miletich (inducted 2014)

Fights
Forrest Griffin vs Stephan Bonnar I, April 2005 (inducted 2014)

Contributors
Charles “Mask” Lewis (inducted 2009)

The UFC Hall of Fame Class of 2015 will feature a new member in each of these new categories. Although there might not be inductees in every category every year, the UFC has committed to inducting members into each of the four categories for at least the next three years.

“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,” said UFC president Dana White. “We’re looking forward to announcing the class of 2015 and what is going to be a great induction event on July 11.”

The UFC Hall of Fame 2015 induction ceremony will take place on July 11 as part of the UFC Fan Expo in Las Vegas.

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