Future UFC Hall of Famers

Everyone who watches UFC should be familiar with the Joe Rogan tagline "here comes the future Hall of Famer..." Thus far, very few have managed to break into the UFC Hall of Fame, and rightly so; the sport is still very young and by nature a hall of fame should be an exclusive place to be. I don't want to come off as a fanboy - just look at the NFL where everytime a QB has one good season everyone is screaming for him to make the Hall of Fame (I'm a huge Eagles fan, but when I heard people crying out for McNabb to make the Hall of Fame I recoiled in disgust). So here goes - my list of Hall of Fame candidates...


Georges St Pierre

Come December 29th, GSP will have held the belt for four years and a record six title defences.One of his only two defeats is against Matt Hughes - someone who is already in the UFC Hall of Fame and has defeated every other 170lb champion there has ever been in the UFC. More than this though is Georges' complete athleticism and adaptablility - he has comprehensively outwrestled national champions. He is also one of the first UFC fighters to gain mainstream acceptance; testament to this is his Under Armour sponsorship, and many awards from television broadcasters and sports publications. Many will complain about his seeming reluctance to finish fights (I personally disagree), but the legacy he will leave behind is beyond argument


BJ Penn

There is no doubt that BJ Penn is not the fighter that he once was, nor can people look past the fractious relationship he seems to have had with the sport itself, but this aside the multiple division champion should not be overlooked by the Hall of Fame. He has done the most to bring BJJ to MMA since the Gracies themselves, an achievement in of itself. That being said, his crowning achievement is the championships at different divisions - something that so few others have done before him, and probably just as few will do after.


Anderson Silva

Won the title in only his second UFC fight, undefeated in his 13 fight UFC career, an ongoing title reign of over five years, a record breaking nine title defences...enough said.


Dana White

This may seem kinda like a silly choice, but when you look at the inclusion of Charles 'Mask' Lewis due to his contribution to MMA, it's impossible to overlook Dana White's contribution to MMA. I appreciate that a large part of the UFC's success is due to the financial injection from the Fertitta's - but this would have been wasted if they didn't have the right man running the company. Granted, he doesn't always say the right things, and granted many people have good reason for thinking he's a bit of a prick. But at the end of the day he took the UFC from a crumbling business, to the multi million dollar company it is today; bringing MMA as a sport along with it. Without Dana White the UFC wouldn't be what it is today, without the UFC then MMA would only be a fraction of what it is today


Tito Ortiz

One of the last members of 'the old guard' who are still fighting in the UFC today. A pioneer of Ground and Pound, an always polarising personality and a stalwart of ticket sales. Tito's scraps with Chuck, Shamrock and Belfort helped to shape the modern face of the UFC. Add to this a five defence title reign and his recent reconciliation with Dana White, and you've a got a fairly strong argument for his being included in the Hall of Fame


Honourable Mentions

Forrest Griffin - for the electrifying TUF finale that did more for the UFC's mainstream popularity than any other single event, and for being one of the most liked UFC fighters of all time

Matt Hamill - I appreciate that his fight record isn't exactly worthy of the Hall of Fame, but I'd like to think he'd be honoured in some way for opening the door to disabled MMA competitors. I think his is a truely inspirational story and I'd love for him to be honoured for it.

Frank Mir - Ok, this one's biased as he's one of my favourite fighters, but the multiple time heavyweight champion is one of the longest serving current fighters on the roster. If, as I hope, he gets the belt one more time, he should be more sure of a place in the Hall of Fame...