The UFC will hold the 2018 induction ceremony into the promotion’s Hall of Fame on Thursday, July 5 at The Pearl at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada. The ceremony takes place one day before The Ultimate Fighter 27 Finale and two days before this summer’s blockbuster UFC 226 pay-per-view card, and all of these events are part of International Fight Week.
For this year’s ceremony, the UFC will be inducting one fighter each into the modern and pioneer wings, as well as two contributors, and one fight. Here is the list of the newest inductees into the UFC Hall of Fame:
2018 UFC Hall of Fame Inductees
Ronda Rousey (modern wing): The former UFC women’s bantamweight champion was a game-changer in MMA, as she helped convince UFC president Dana White that women belong in the UFC. Without Rousey, it’s possible women would still not be fighting in the UFC. Rousey was a dominant champion and even though she only just retired from MMA, she absolutely deserves this honor.
Matt Serra (pioneer wing): The former UFC welterweight champion has been an important part of the rise of MMA in the New York area and also holds arguably the greatest upset in UFC history for his knockout win over Georges St-Pierre. Serra’s MMA record of 11-7 isn’t anything special, but he’s good friends with White and that may have helped him get the nod into the Hall of Fame.
Art Davie (contributor wing): Davie was one of the original brains behind the UFC. Without Davie, there would have been no UFC and the sport of MMA would be nowhere where it is today, so it’s absolutely right that he gets enshrined into the Hall of Fame.
Bruce Connal (contributor wing): Connal was an important television producer for the UFC who unfortuantely passed away this past March at the age of 61. White has said many times how important he was to the UFC and he deserves this posthumous honor.
Mauricio “Shogun” Rua vs. Dan “Hendo” Henderson, UFC 139 (fight): Arguably the greatest fight in MMA history, Shogun and Hendo fought tooth-and-nail for five rounds in November 2011 at UFC 139, with Hendo eventually getting his hand raised via decision. In my opinion it’s the greatest fight to ever take place in the UFC, and the exciting rematch a few years later saw Hendo knock Shogun out and prove he was the better man. Both fights could go into the Hall of Fame, but the first was just a legendary fight in every way. It’s just a shame Hendo himself didn’t get an individual HOF nod this year as well.
There was some hope the UFC would rush former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping into the Hall of Fame this summer, but it looks like “The Count” will have to wait until next year. The same can be said for former UFC light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans, who has not made clear whether or not he intends to retire. And you could also say that Hendo deserved to be in as well. As the sport continues to get older and more fighter retire, we should expect the UFC Hall of Fame to gain more inductees in future years.
