The Official History of the UFC

Now there’s no such thing as yet, but between the ongoing speculation about who will be the next two fighters in the UFC Hall of Fame and Spike TV’s online ballot for the Ultimate 100 UFC fights we can get a pretty clear view of how Zuffa views their history.

Personally I understand why Tito Ortiz and Frank Shamrock have less than zero chance of being recognized but I really hate it.

Both men have certainly earned their share of detractors but I think the case they made inside the cage is hard to argue with. Both Frank and Tito won five straight title fights and were the only stars the UFC had in a very very dark period.

Not to mention that Shamrock’s title run basically swept his division clean of top opponents back-to-back-to-back and featured decisive wins in every possible fashion — armbar, KO by slam, kneebar, and two beatdowns that made the other guy tap.

Plus Tito was the first fighter to really show what cutting weight can do and his wins over Jerry Bohlander, Guy Mezger and loss to Frank (in a fight that made it clear Tito would likely win any rematch) virtually ran the Lion’s Den out of the UFC. Not to mention his dominant win over Wanderlei Silva that gave the UFC bragging rights over PRIDE for several years.

Now as far as the Ultimate 100 ballot, it really is telling as to how Zuffa sees the history of the UFC. Richard has compiled a list of all the fights nominated and its in the full entry. He’s also got a list of the 39 most nominated fighters.

I haven’t had time to do a complete analysis, but its pretty telling that Jonathan Goulet is featured in 3 fights on the list and former champions Frank Shamrock and Maurice Smith clock in for a combined 0.

Early champs Don Frye and Mark Coleman get short-shrift as well with a combined two fights.

I’m sorry, but any one who was paying attention knows that Frank Shamrock’s defeat of Tito Ortiz at UFC 22 was one of the all-time greatest fights in UFC history. Not only did it pit a four-time champion defending his belt against the absolute no doubt #1 contender, it was also the rare match where the challenger was the favorite. Bigger, stronger, seemingly unstoppable, Tito was coming into the fight having utterly demolished two of Frank Shamrock’s former Lion’s Den teammates. Frank had to use stamina, excellent defense and guile to survive long enough to batter out an exhausted Tito in the fourth round.

And don’t get me started on Maurice Smith vs Mark Coleman at UFC 14. The first time a kickboxer learned enough ground defense to survive a groundNpound assault, get back to his feet and win the fight. Read my full write up on that fight here: Coleman Gets His Kicks.

There’s also no Mark Coleman vs Don Frye from UFC 10, possibly the most brutal passing of the torch from one champ to another ever in MMA. Nor does Don Frye’s war with Gary Goodridge at UFC 8 make the list. Nor Royce Gracie’s comeback win against Dan Severn at UFC 4. And so on and so forth.

Clearly the UFC has its own official history and that’s fine, its just not very accurate or true to the sport.

Here’s the complete list of fights up for voting in the Ultimate 100:

(thanks to Richard for compiling the stats!)

And here’s the complete list of fighters nominated and number of fights: