The UFC Hall of Fame is undergoing a transformation in 2015.
UFC officials on Tuesday revealed that instead of just inducting a fighter or fighters into the Hall, inductees will now be separated into four distinct categories, each of which will have its own wing. A physical UFC Hall of Fame is in the planning stages and expected to be constructed in the promotion’s hometown of Las Vegas some time in the next two to three years.
The four new UFC Hall of Fame categories are:
- Modern era wing: commemorating fighters who made their pro MMA debut in the modern era
- Pioneers era wing: commemorating fighters who made their pro MMA debut in the pioneers era
- Contributors wing: commemorating significant contributions outside of active competition
- Fight wing: commemorating the greatest and most important bouts in the sport’s history
There are more criteria, but the basic breakdown for each category is as follows:
- Modern era wing: individuals who made their professional MMA debuts on or after November 17, 2000
- Pioneers era wing: individuals who made their MMA professional debuts before November 17, 2000
- Contributors wing: celebrates those individuals – or group of individuals – who have made outstanding and historical contributions to the sport outside of active competition
- Fight wing: fight must have taken place at least five calendar years before inductio
In the first 12 years of the UFC Hall of Fame, there have been 11 fighters and one contributor inducted, which includes one fight.