Is Cerrone a HOF candidate?

[Dead Kennedy]

Hes a lock.

I still remember seeing him for the first time on the tapout show

Hell yea, I loved that show. Especially the one with Damacio Page. Those elbows were fucking brutal...

 

[fallable]

Apples to oranges. In most major sports, level of competition over a career evens out. Cerrone has some great names and wins on his resume, but he's lost most of his biggest fights.

In the context of other sports, Dan Marino lost most of his biggest games, but put up big numbers. Steve Carlton was almost always on losing teams but had over 300 wins personally.

In the context of MMA, Cowboy fought in the most stacked division. LW has a ton of depth and talent. He has beaten great fighters and fighters that have held the belt. Sometimes winning a belt in MMA is more about timing and style matchup than anything else. If someone fights in a weak division with a fraction of the depth and talent that the LW division has and wins big fights, that doesn't mean they are greater than someone from a different division who had consistently tougher fights or an all-time great at the top of their division to deal with.

 

[Thad Castle v2]

yes. one of the most entertaining fighters ever

 

[tenniswhiz]

Holds record for most UFC wins.
Notable wins over champions Eddie Alvarez and Benson Henderson along with solid wins over
Mike Goat Perry, Jim Miller, Edson Barboza

I know some will disagree but I thought he beat Bendo in there third fight. Front leg side kicks don't count for shit in my book. Meaningful strikes Donald outfought him.

Depends...
How did he do when he faced “journeyman” fighters such as Nate Diaz?

 

[Jorge Luis Borges]

In the context of other sports, Dan Marino lost most of his biggest games, but put up big numbers. Steve Carlton was almost always on losing teams but had over 300 wins personally.

In the context of MMA, Cowboy fought in the most stacked division. LW has a ton of depth and talent. He has beaten great fighters and fighters that have held the belt. Sometimes winning a belt in MMA is more about timing and style matchup than anything else. If someone fights in a weak division with a fraction of the depth and talent that the LW division has and wins big fights, that doesn't mean they are greater than someone from a different division who had consistently tougher fights or an all-time great at the top of their division to deal with.

Good points, but again, apples to oranges. Dan's level of competition was the same as his peers over the length of a career. Not so with Cerrone. He was a bottom of the top ten guy for most of his career.

 

[Rygu]

23 wins in the UFC, second place has 20.

That should answer your question pretty well.

 

[Baltimore Bro]

He’s a gatekeeper but yes

 

[fallable]

Good points, but again, apples to oranges. Dan's level of competition was the same as his peers over the length of a career. Not so with Cerrone. He was a bottom of the top ten guy for most of his career.

How many other bottom of the top ten guys in UFC history are at or near the record for fights, wins, and finishes? Cerrone has separated himself and continues do so. Of course, as others have mentioned, the UFC Hall of Fame has no real established guidelines. So in a thread like this it comes down to opinion. I personally factor in intangibles like excitement and warrior spirit on top of skill, ability, technique, and well roundedness, and when you factor it all in for a guy like Cerrone, he is a special fighter with a special career.

 

[Jorge Luis Borges]

How many other bottom of the top ten guys in UFC history are at or near the record for fights, wins, and finishes? Cerrone has separated himself and continues do so. Of course, as others have mentioned, the UFC Hall of Fame has no real established guidelines. So in a thread like this it comes down to opinion. I personally factor in intangibles like excitement and warrior spirit on top of skill, ability, technique, and well roundedness, and when you factor it all in for a guy like Cerrone, he is a special fighter with a special career.

You are correct that Cerrone has quantity, and it is impressive. According to the low standards of the UFC HoF, he should be inducted because he's a lot better than some guys already in there. But he's never been able to consistently compete with the best guys. He's never even been the top contender in a division. I like his fights, and I agree he has some great intangibles.
Quality > quantity

 

[Vintersorg]

True, but I think you have to be the best to be in the Hall of Fame. Cerrone never has been.

What are you...subhuman or something? Being in hall of fame in any sport is not just about won championships and sometimes not about them at all. If a fighter lasts that long and is exciting, of course he deserves it. He also holds some records, so it's not even debatable. Any kind of "best player" or "hall of fame" award in most sports is not just about statistics and trophies, it's the impression you leave and how long have you been around among the best.

Besides, in most sports there is a very clear way and very clear rules on how one wins a trophy. When it comes to UFC championships, the criteria is not the same for everyone. Ideally, you would want the guy to beat all the other contenders, then fight the champ. That means that anyone fighting for the title would have beaten various guys of different styles and also probably had a few victories even when it's not his day, which would make that title shot deserved. Now, even if the rules were same for everyone, it's still a problem in combat sports due to last minute injuries, weight cuts etc...so even if everything was 100% fair and transparent, you'd still get some guys who would get title shots just by replacing the original challenger. Ideally, those guys should also be real contenders so I guess the problem is somewhat solved that way.

Fact of the matter is, in many cases when it comes to UFC, becoming a champion just means beating the guy who has the belt on a given day and most of the time you don't have to clear the division first. Titles don't mean shit for the most part. What matters is how long has a fighter lasted on the highest level, how many times he or she has fought against tough opponents of various styles and it's not even about wins or losses, but how good were they fighting. MMA has a big "luck" factor. It's not real luck, but a combination of split second moments in the fight, your biorhythm on that day(happens all the time people lose to fighters they'd prolly KO 8/10 times) etc. In many sports you have 30-50+ matches a year, so even if that sport also has that "luck" factor, over time it's easy to show who's the best. In combat sports you don't get that many chances. Anyway, best way to judge a fighter is to watch that fighter's entire fights and see how many times he or she has looked good, followed the game plan, didn't make too many mistakes, tried to finish etc. Ofc, if someone has more losses than wins, obviously there is a bigger problem there. But really, it's fucking dumb to judge fighters who have a few losses and say they're cans or what not. It can happen to everyone and there are only a few freaks of nature who were able to have no losses or 1-2 losses in their career. That doesn't automatically make other fighters cans.

So yeah, you have to be out of your fucking mind to think a guy like Cerrone doesn't deserve to be in the hall of fame. You people should seriously stick to knitting or being cucks and serving roasted lamb and tea to some dude who's ass fucking your wife, because you're not good for anything else...really .

 

[FireKidWS]

He should not be imo. Guys like Cerrone should just miss the cut. The UFC HoF has lwoer standards than in other sports, so he should make it in easily.

Gotta disagree with you Inga.

I read all your posts, and I see your points.

However: the UFC is still a young company and Cerrone, in his own way, helped build it while continuing to build his own name.

Even some casuals know Cerrone.

My opinion:

The mans a warrior, he’s fought an incredible amount of times with a solid record, and with more fights likely.

Give the man some recognition. Hall of fame is certainly deserved.

 

[Orni]

Yes

 

[Max_P]

Of course ... True warrior

 

[Happy Man]

No. You have to at least hold a title for a while to HOF in my opinion. He is a good and not a great fighter. I get that he goes balls out and is exciting, but I still think the HOF should be the greatest fighters, not the ones who gave the fans the most CTE excitement.

Otherwise, Diego Sanchez should be in it, and that would be silly. Cerrone was always a competitive fighter, but never the best at ANY time.

I get your point. I can see that level threshold, I could also a lower level of threshold. Didn’t bonnar make the HOF?

 

[ignorant MMA fan]

Are firecrackers hot in July?

 

[Jorge Luis Borges]

Gotta disagree with you Inga.

I read all your posts, and I see your points.

However: the UFC is still a young company and Cerrone, in his own way, helped build it while continuing to build his own name.

Even some casuals know Cerrone.

My opinion:

The mans a warrior, he’s fought an incredible amount of times with a solid record, and with more fights likely.

Give the man some recognition. Hall of fame is certainly deserved.

I respect the points you and @fallable are making. For me, pretty much anyone getting in should have been a champ or at least fought in multiple title fights. At pretty much any time in Cerrone's career there were at least five or six guys in his division better than he was. He's entertaining, fights often, and has earned his sport as a crowd favorite. But he isn't one of the all time best.

 

[GBcrazy]

Yes.

 

[68WCombatMedic]

No. You have to at least hold a title for a while to HOF in my opinion. He is a good and not a great fighter. I get that he goes balls out and is exciting, but I still think the HOF should be the greatest fighters, not the ones who gave the fans the most CTE excitement.

Otherwise, Diego Sanchez should be in it, and that would be silly. Cerrone was always a competitive fighter, but never the best at ANY time.

Lol at comparing Sanchez to Cowboy. One is fighting the Mickey Gall's of the world while the other is fighting top tier competition, while holding the all-time win record.

 

[vcmmafan]

He has multiple records and is a top fighter


It’s like a baseball star who never won the World Series but put up elite numbers

 

[OldNick]

Duh. He’s one of the most popular fighters ever.

Popularity is not why you should get into a HOF.