5 most surprising inductees into the UFC Hall of Fame

This weekend saw the announcement that two former UFC champions, Daniel Cormier and Khabib Nurmagomedov will become the latest entries into the promotion’s Hall of Fame later this year.

The UFC Hall of Fame is filled with huge names and big stars, meaning that Khabib Nurmagomedov and Daniel Cormier will be in excellent company, but there are also a number of surprising entrants.

Some of these entrants are lesser-known by casual fans, while others are surprising due to their volatile relationship with the promotion’s brass, particularly Dana White. However, at this point, nobody can take away their accomplishments.

Here are five surprising entrants into the UFC’s Hall of Fame.

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#5. Bas Rutten – former UFC heavyweight champion

Bas Rutten is a legend of MMA, but the Dutchman only fought in the octagon twice

Okay, so it’s safe to say that Bas Rutten is a genuine legend in the world of MMA. After starting off as a kickboxer and a widely-renowned doorman in his native Netherlands, ‘El Guapo’ went onto huge success both in the ring and cage during his initial seven-year run in the sport.

However, while Rutten claimed the UFC heavyweight title during his time with the promotion, whether he belongs in the Hall of Fame is another matter entirely. The Dutchman in fact had just two fights inside the octagon, literally at the tail end of his career.

Sure, those fights ended in victories for him. However, while he knocked out Tsuyoshi Kohsaka in a classic highlight-reel moment, his win over Kevin Randleman, which gave him the heavyweight title, remains one of the most questionable decisions in MMA history.

Rutten was essentially grounded and battered by ‘The Monster’ for the majority of the 21-minute fight. Quite how two of the three judges decided to give the nod to the Dutchman based on a handful of admittedly decent elbows from the bottom is still anyone’s guess.

‘El Guapo’ also failed to make any defenses of his title, vacating it for a potential run at 205 pounds that was eventually curtailed by injuries before it began.

Given that fighters such as Frank Shamrock and Jens Pulver, both of whom made multiple defenses of their titles, haven’t made it into the Hall of Fame yet, it should probably come as a surprise to see Rutten’s name there, despite his popularity with longtime fans.

#4. Marc Ratner

Many fans would not recognise Marc Ratner, but his work helped MMA to be legalised across the planet

The UFC Hall of Fame doesn’t just contain legendary fighters from its past, it also contains a ‘Contributor Wing’. The section is reserved for people who had a large impact on the promotion and the sport of MMA as a whole.

Of course, as many of these people worked behind the scenes rather than in front of the camera, it stands to reason that a lot of casual fans would probably be surprised to see them in the Hall of Fame, particularly ahead of more visible figures like Dana White and Bruce Buffer.

One name that might surprise fans is that of Marc Ratner. However, if you look beneath the surface, it’s very easy to understand exactly why he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in late 2021.

For those who are unaware, Ratner was part of the Nevada State Athletic Commission from 1985 until his departure in 2006. During that period, he was widely credited with bringing the sport of MMA, and by proxy, the UFC, into the state, including Las Vegas, by embracing the sport’s Unified Rules.

It’s the work that Ratner did after he joined the UFC itself in 2006 that really explains his entry into the Hall, however. Despite working almost entirely behind the scenes, Ratner was the man responsible for helping to legalize MMA in almost every new market that the promotion broke into following his arrival there, including the remaining 50 states of the US.

It’s unlikely that any casual fans of the promotion would recognize Ratner if he were to walk past them in the street, meaning he’s a surprise Hall of Famer, but in truth, his position there was definitely well earned.

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#3. Clay Guida – current UFC lightweight

Clay Guida was inducted into the Hall of Fame for his bout with Diego Sanchez

Okay, so it might be cheating a little to class current UFC lightweight Clay Guida as an inductee of the promotion’s Hall of Fame outright. In fact, ‘The Carpenter’ has not been inducted into either the Pioneer or Modern Wings.

Instead, his place in the Hall comes from the Fight Wing, which inducts some of the most legendary clashes in UFC history. Guida, who has had a total of 33 bouts in the promotion, was inducted in 2019 for his wild brawl with Diego Sanchez which took place a decade earlier.

What makes Guida’s appearance in the Hall of Fame surprising is the fact that while his bout with Sanchez was excellent, largely claiming the Fight of the Year awards for 2009, it probably wouldn’t be considered as one of the greatest fights in history by most fans.

In fact, many would probably state that Sanchez had better fights with Nick Diaz, Karo Parisyan and Gilbert Melendez, while Guida’s war with Roger Huerta stands out as his best fight inside the octagon.

Given that the Hall of Fame has only inducted six bouts into its Fight Wing thus far, with Cub Swanson vs. Doo Ho Choi set to join them soon, there’s plenty of time for the promotion to add more legendary clashes, but the presence of Guida is still a bit of a stunner in a number of ways.

#2. Kazushi Sakuraba – former UFC tournament winner

Kazushi Sakuraba is an MMA legend, but his induction into the UFC Hall of Fame came as a surprise

If an official MMA Hall of Fame was ever put together, then nobody could argue with Kazushi Sakuraba being one of the first inductees. After all, when it comes to MMA in Japan, few fighters have ever reached the legendary status that ‘The Gracie Hunter’ did.

Sakuraba shot to fame in PRIDE in the late 1990’s when he became the first man to officially defeat a member of the legendary Gracie family – in this case Royler – in an MMA bout. He went onto not only defeat a further three members of the family, but also beat the likes of Kevin Randleman and Vitor Belfort, too.

Sure, the Japanese star also suffered some crushing defeats, most notably a trio of them to Wanderlei Silva, and hung on far too long in the sport, but overall, his career could hardly have been more epic.

However, when it comes to the UFC’s Hall of Fame, it’s probably safe to say that Sakuraba simply doesn’t belong. Inducted into the Hall in the summer of 2017, Sakuraba actually had just two fights inside the octagon, and bizarrely, they both came against the same fighter in the middleweight tournament at UFC Japan in 1997.

His first bout saw him apparently TKO’d by Marcus Silveira, but after the fight was declared to have been stopped early, Sakuraba was given a second crack against the Brazilian in the tournament’s finals, and this time, he won via armbar.

Essentially, Sakuraba’s entry into the Hall of Fame is a red flag of sorts that suggests that the promotion sees itself as the keeper of MMA history in general. This does make sense in some ways, given that it bought out PRIDE, as well as various other promotions, but for a fighter with just two octagon appearances to be considered a Hall of Famer is still surprising.

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#1. Don Frye – former UFC tournament winner

Don Frye was inducted into the Hall of Fame despite his spat with Dana White

The UFC Hall of Fame’s Pioneer Wing contains the majority of the promotion’s early legends, with inductees like Royce Gracie, Ken Shamrock and Mark Coleman all being credited with MMA’s rise to popularity in the 1990’s.

Looking at things in that sense, there’s no disputing that Don Frye deserves a spot in the Hall. ‘The Predator’ won UFC 8’s tournament, made it to the finals of UFC 10’s tournament and then won the legendary 'Ultimate Ultimate' tournament in 1996 by defeating Tank Abbott.

However, given his attitude towards the promotion since his departure after the tournament victory, it’s a massive surprise to see his name amongst those other legends.

‘The Predator’ has been an outspoken critic of the UFC in recent years, hitting out at Dana White on numerous occasions on subjects ranging from fighter pay to the treatment of current stars like Conor McGregor.

In 2012, Frye even accused White of “ruining the sport” of MMA. Unsurprisingly, White hit back immediately, labeling ‘The Predator’ a “crybaby” and telling him to “get a job.”

Evidently, though, by the time of his induction into the Hall in 2016, cooler heads had prevailed. With that considered, while Frye’s entry is still a surprise, it should give hope to other legends who remain on the outs with the UFC and White, most notably former middleweight kingpin Frank Shamrock.