UFC Hall of Fame - Who's Next?

UFC Hall of Fame - Who's Next by MMA Blaster

The UFC is the only mixed martial arts organization with a Hall of Fame. As of now, the members of the hall include Royce Gracie, Ken Shamrock, Dan Severn, Randy Couture, Chuck Liddell, Mark Coleman, Matt Hughes, Pat Miletich, BJ Penn, Forrest Griffin, Stephen Bonnar and Tito Ortiz. The late Charles "Mask" Lewis and Jeff Blatnick have been inducted as contributors to the sport. The fight Matt Hughes v. Frank Trigg 2 is reckognized as well.

Bas Rutten (28-4, 2-0 UFC) will next be inducted as a pioneer of the sport. Rutten was a beast in Pancrase and won the UFC heavyweight title and defended once. My hope would be that the UFC would look at inducting Don Frye, Kazushi Sakuraba and Frank Shamrock as the next group of pioneers. Georges St. Pierre is an obvious choice to come next.

Don Frye (20-9, 9-1 UFC)(UFC 8, UU96 belts)- Won the UU96 and UFC 8 title's in a epic fashion defeating Tank Abbott and Gary Goodridge, respectively. One of the most epic brawls in MMA history at Pride 21 against Takayama following a split decision win over Ken Shamrock at Pride 19. One of the first with devastating boxing and a solid wrestling base.



Guaranteed inducted upon retirement:

1. Georges St. Pierre (25-2, 19-2 UFC)(WW belt holder)- GSP has TKO's over BJ Penn and Matt Serra, while submitting Matt Hughes and taking decisions over Carlos Condit, Jake Shields, Nick Diaz, Jon Fitch and Josh Koscheck.


2. Anderson Silva (33-6, 16-2 UFC)(MW belt holder)- A recent failed drug test for steroids has put a major black eye over the legacy of Silva. Last three bouts have been two devastating losses to Chris Wiedman and having his win over Nick Diaz overturned. TKO's over Rich Franklin, Forrest Griffin, Chael Sonnen and Nate Marquardt. Submission wins over Dan Henderson and Sonnen.


3. Rich Franklin (25-5, 12-4 UFC) (MW belt holder)- Won MW belt from Evan Tanner and defended twice. Victories over Yushin Okami, Jason MacDonald, Ken Shamrock and Evan Tanner 2X. Recent wins over Travis Lutter and Matt Hamill with a close decision loss to Dan Henderson. Was crunched twice by Anderson Silva at 185. Defeated Wanderlei Silva at a 195 pound catch-weight then was TKO'd by Vitor Belfort.



4. Andrei Arlovski (25-10, 14-4 UFC)(HW belt holder)- Won HW belt from Tim Sylvia with an achilles lock. Defended twice against Justin Eilers and a 15 second KO of Paul Buentello. Other victories over Vladimir Matyushenko, Marcio Cruz, Ian Freeman, Fabricio Werdum and Jake O'Brien. His contract expired after the O'Brien fight and the UFC shunned him to the undercard. After beating Roy Nelson in Affliction, he got KO'd by Fedor and Rogers, then dropped a decision to Bigfoot Silva. But Arlovski has risen from the ashes, notching big victories over Brendan Schaub, Bigfoot Silva, Travis Browne and Frank Mir.



5. Evan Tanner (32-8, 11-6 UFC) (MW belt holder)- Wins over Robbie Lawler, Homer Moore, Phil Baroni 2X and David Terrell (MW belt). Unfortunately, Evan Tanner has passed away. With 17 total fights in the UFC and a title, I think Tanner deserves a spot. If Tank Abbott gets in with his 8 wins out of 18 in the UFC, Tanner should with his 11 wins in 17 fights in the UFC.


6. Frank Mir (18-10, 16-10 UFC)(HW belt holder)- Biggest win by far was the arm break of Tim Sylvia for the HW title. Victories over Brock Lesnar, Antonio Noguira, Pete Williams, Tank Abbott, Antoni Hardonk, Cheick Kongo and Roberto Traven. Has some big losses and recent big KO wins over Todd Duffee and Bigfoot Silva.

7. Rashad Evans (19-3-1, 14-3-1 UFC, LHW belt holder)- Won the LHW belt over Forrest Griffin, but then was KO'd by Lyoto Machida, but  rebounded with a win over Rampage Jackson. Defeated Sean Salmon with a nasty high kick. KO'd Chuck Liddell, Chael Sonnen and Jason Lambert. Decision victories over Michael Bisping, Stephan Bonnar and Brad Imes for the TUF 2 HW belt.

Pioneer- Frank Shamrock (23-10, 5-0 UFC)(LHW, then called MW belt)- Entered the UFC winning the MW belt (now LHW) over Olympic Gold medalist Kevin Jackson (4-2) with an arm bar in 16 seconds. He then slammed undefeated Igor Zinoviev (4-1) into retirement in 22 seconds in his first title defense. He beat Jeremy Horn and John Lober in his next two defenses. Shamrock defended the belt once more in one of the best fights in MMA history against Tito Ortiz (15-5).
*The UFC would have to let him have another fight, I don't see it happening.

Dana White said he would put in:

Tank Abbott (11-14, 8-10 UFC)- His selection would be more to do with popularity and helping build the UFC in the early days. His best performances were at UFC 6 and UU96. At UFC 6, Tank delivered a highlight real KO of John Matua 20 seconds in, rising up the crowd. In his second fight, Tank crushed the "Polar Bear" Paul Varelens in the first reving the crowd into a fury. Oleg Taktarov then beat Tank in the final. In UU96 he crushed Cal Worsham in an intense flurry in the first round then KO'd Steve Nelmark at 1:03 in his second fight. He almost beat Don Frye in the final after a big punch to the face, but lost. Other notable wins were against Hugo Duarte and Steve Jennum.

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Video of the Day - Russow v. Zentsov

Here is Mike Russow fighting Roman Zentzov in Yarennoka - NYE, which took place on 12/31/07 at the Saitama Super Arena in Japan. Russow recently secured on of the best come from behind victories in the history of the UFC with his 3rd round KO win over Todd Duffee.

UFC 114 - Russow's Rampage

Once again, elevated levels of trash talk have translated in to a generally cautious fight. The main event of UFC 114 pitting Rashad Evans against Rampage Jackson translated into a rather pedestrian affair, with Rashad scoring takedowns and a couple decent shots standing.

Eventually, Rampage was able to effectively counter punch in the third round, landing a big punch to send Rashad to the ground. After a brief ground and pound assault by Rampage, Rashad was able to counter, ending up with a takedown of his own and ground and pound. In the end all three judges gave the match to Rashad. Rashad will now meet Shogun Rua for a shot at the title.

A co-main event of Michael Bisping and Dan Miller played out like a technical kickboxing match, with Miller failing to get a takedown until the third round. Bisping proved the better kickboxer, getting the better of all the exchanges. Look for Bisping to fight Nate Quarry or Tim Credeur next.

Mike Russow notched one of the most epic come from behind victories in UFC history in his defeat of the younger and much more chiseled Todd Duffee. While both fighters weighed in at 253, Duffee was far more lean, pushing the pace throughout the fight.

Duffee landed shots at will on Russow sending him to one knee after landing an uppercut in the first round. Russow stayed moving, attempting takedowns that were stuffed by Duffee every time. Midway through the third round, Russow landed a big right hand to the temple of Duffe, then added another shot as Duffee went tumbling to the canvas. Russow is now 2-0 in the UFC, and will likely face a fighter like Cheick Kongo or Gabriel Gonzaga next.
*Russow earns KO of the Night

Full Results:

Rashad Evans def Quinton Jackson via unanimous dec
Michael Bisping def Dan Miller via unanimous dec
Mike Russow def Todd Duffee via KO(punch) R3, 2:35
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira def Jason Brilz via split dec
John Hathaway def Diego Sanchez via unanimous dec
Dong Hyun Kim def Amir Sadollah via unanimous dec
Efrain Escudero def Dan Lauzon via unanimous dec
Melvin Guillard def Waylon Lowe via KO (knee) R1, 3:28
Cyrille Diabate def Luiz Cane via TKO (punches) R1, 2:13
Aaron Riley def Joe Brammer via unanimous dec
Ryan Jensen def Jesse Forbes via sub (guillotine) R1, 1:06

Video of the Day - Freire v. Endo I

Here is Willamy "Chiquerim" Freire fighting Yusuke Endo for the first time on 5/10/2009 at Shooto - Tradion Final. Freire won a split decision in the rematch which happened yesterday. Willamy is the brother of Bellator finalist Pitbull Freire.

Bellator Finals Forecast

Last night, the Bellator Season 2 tourneys continued to unfold as the 170 pound division claimed its two finalists, Dan Hornbuckle and Ben Askren. In a non-title featured bout, featherweight champ Joe Soto (9-0, 4-0 BFC) continued his reign of terror as he destroyed UFC veteran Diego Saraiva in the first round.

Sengoku veteran Dan Hornbuckle (21-2, 2-0 BFC) defeated former Marine Steve Carl via a modified kimura. He will fight 2X NCAA champ Ben Askren (5-0, 2-0 BFC) for the 170 pound title, who defeated UFC veteran Ryan Thomas via unanimous decision. Expect Hornbuckle to try to keep this fight standing to take advantage of Askren's lackluster striking.

(Dan Hornbuckle KO of Gono Pictured)

In other tournament action, featherweight Joe Warren will square off against Patricio "Pitbull" Freire . Warren (4-1, 2-0 BFC) punched his ticket to the finals with two lackluster decision victories over Georgi Karakhanyan and Eric Marriot. Pitbull (14-0, 2-0 BFC), won his first fight via heel hook over William Romero before a unanimous decision over Wilson Reis. Expect Warren to look for the takedown early and often, with Pitbull trying to lock in a choke or score a KO.

(Pitbul Friere Pictured)

The lightweight tournament has featured the biggest upset of the tournament, with Pat Curran (11-3, 2-0 BFC) finding his way to the finals. Pat recently upset tournament favorite Roger Huerta via unanimous decision, and KO'd GSP training partner Mike Ricci in his first fight.

Curran will face last year's runner-up Toby Imada (25-12, 4-1 BFC) in the finals. Toby has utilized his superior grappling in his first two bouts, scoring armbar victories over Carey Vanier and James Krause. Expect Curran to try to utilize his kickboxing while Imada looks to lock in yet another memorable submission.

(Toby Imada Pictured)

Match-ups:

145: Pitbull Freire v. Joe Warren - TBD
155: Pat Curran v. Toby Imada - BFC 21
170: Dan Hornbuckle v. Ben Askren - BFC 22
185: Alexander Shlemenko v. Bryan Baker - TBD

Moosin - Sylvia v. Pudzianowski

Here is former UFC heavyweight champ Tim Sylvia fighting World's Strongest Man Mariusz Pudzianowski in a super heavyweight fight from Moosin which occurred on 5/21/10. Sylvia came in at 305, while Mariusz came in at 273.


Here are the results from Moosin -

Tim Sylvia def Mariusz Pudzianowski via sub(punches) R2, 1:43
Travis Wiuff def Josh Barnes via TKO (punches) R1, 0:34
Rafael Natal def Travis Lutter via KO (punches) R1, 4:12
Mike Campbell def Yves Edwards via unanimous dec
Roxanne Modafferi def Tara LaRosa via split dec
Lukasz Jurkowski def Ho Jin Kim via TKO (strikes) R1, 2:22
Forrest Petz def Ralph Johnson via unanimous dec

Video of the Day - Overeem v. Poturak

Here is Strikeforce heavyweight champ Alistair Overeem fighting Dzevad Poturak in the K-1 Grand Prix 2010 which took place on 4/3/2010.