MMA is still a very young sport, relatively, but one of MMA’s first great generational shifts is underway. Most of the sport’s early stars are gone – many of the succeeding generation are on their way out as well. That’s why it’s important to remember the fighters that helped pave the way for what we have today. It’s why the UFC has a Hall of Fame – a relatively obscure thing without a physical location, but one that’s inducting new figures every year, and and honor that’s better than nothing.
Well, at least to some people.
That’s Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, former UFC light heavyweight champ and one of the sport’s biggest stars of the late 2000s and early 2010s, spitting all over the idea of being inducted into a UFC Hall of Fame. And you know what, I get the sentiment. Just give these guys and girls more money! But still, for history’s sake, I care about educating newer fans on who the greats of the past were. The UFC added the GOAT, Georges St-Pierre to the UFC Hall of Fame this year, and Rampage calling attention to the Hall of Fame got me thinking about who we might see inducted next. Here are a few we might see.
This is the obvious one. Other legends have arisen since Silva’s heyday, but the longtime middleweight champion still has a convincing argument for the title of greatest UFC fighter of all time. Silva holds a number of records that still stand, including longest win streak in UFC history (16, although Kamaru Usman is just one away from matching that mark) and the longest title reign in UFC history (2,457 days, from Oct. 2006 to July 2013). At his peak, he carried an air of invincibility that was unmatched in the sport, and dispatched his opponents with a style and flair we haven’t seen the likes of since. Silva lost a lot over the last few years as his chin failed him, but even deep into his 40s he still showed the talent. He’ll be honored eventually, it’s just a matter of when.
Now that Dana White has seemingly finally accepted the fact that the great Khabib Nurmagomedov has actually, legitimately retired, it’s only a matter of time before arguably the greatest lightweight ever is inducted. Khabib peaked right before his retirement, running his record to a perfect 29-0 and dominating an amazing murderer’s row of fighters in his final few title bouts: Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje, three all-time greats. Very few have ever gone out on top in MMA, but Khabib is one. Along the way, he became the most influential pioneer of the Dagestani “smesh” style that has begun to take over the sport. Although he’s quite busy as a trainer and promoter, there’s little doubt that he could still step right back in there and beat anyone. Few out of the sport still carry that kind of credibility, and he’s another no-brainer.
Stipe Miocic now holds the title of the GOAT UFC heavyweight, but I still think the single best heavyweight in UFC history was Cain Velasquez at his peak. For a big man, Cain’s pace and pressure had to be seen to be believed, and his two dominant title fight wins over the other best heavyweight of their day – Junior dos Santos – affirmed that we were watching something truly special. Cain will ultimately go down as one of the great what-if stories in MMA, as serious injuries shortened his prime and ultimately ended his career before its time. But the UFC loves its heavyweights, and I don’t think it’s ever had one better than Cain.
The UFC Hall of Fame’s pioneer wing is rather loosely defined: it has fighters that fought alongside or against “modern-era” fighters like Rich Franklin or Matt Serra, and some revered fighters who barely fought in the UFC at all, like Kazushi Sakuraba. But if you’re going to make a point of honoring fighters from the UFC’s dawn age, you’d be remiss to ignore Frank Shamrock. Actually the better fighter in the Shamrock family – his brother Ken was one of the first inductees into the Hall of Fame – Frank was one of the earliest truly “complete” mixed martial artists, forged in the Pancrase supercollider that created almost all of the great fighters of the 90s. During his run as light heavyweight champion, he was considered the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world – it would be years again until the world’s best fighter competed in the Octagon. He never lost the title in the cage, either. He vacated to pursue other challenges after beating Tito Ortiz in 1999, clearing the way for the likes of Ortiz, Chuck Liddell and Randy Couture to launch the UFC in popularity. One of MMA’s all-time forgotten greats, Frank Shamrock deserves to be enshrined.
Quinton “Rampage” Jackson
Shit-talking aside, Rampage deserves to be here. Rampage was one of the most impressive physical talents ever to compete in mixed martial arts, and was a standout for years in Pride, but became one of the rare Pride stars that achieved his greatest heights in the UFC after the merger. In 2003, Rampage had beaten Chuck Liddell when the UFC sent Liddell over to Japan to compete in the Pride Middleweight Grand Prix – imagine something like that happening now – and that set up a rematch with Liddell for the UFC title once Rampage signed with the UFC in 2007. Rampage shocked the world by storming through Liddell in two minutes, unified the UFC title with the Pride title by beating the great Dan Henderson (another deserving HOFer), and went on to many years as a big-name star. Few UFC stars ever have had as unique and memorable a brand and personality, to say nothing of his high-impact fighting style. He was an icon of his time.
The Big Fight 