They're putting Matt Serra in so every ufc champion should be considered if that's the bar.What are your criteria for induction? He has two title defenses over guys who never made a serious impact in the sport (as much as I like Nate Quarry). He was a face of the UFC for a few years at the same time as Chuck Liddell. He was familiar to fans for a long time. Altogether, I don't think that's enough. Moderate popularity isn't a substitute for long-term achievement like Matt Hughes and Tito Ortiz had.
Yes.
Even before I started following the sport closely, he was the "face" of the UFC when he fought back against the "human cockfighting" charges that was prevelent.
Specifically, I remember him on Bill O'Reilly over a decade ago pushing back against what a stereotypical MMA athlete was supposed to be.
After all, the guy has a masters and taught high school math. He was very articulate and caught Bill off guard.
I don't know but Anderson Silva put a Hall of Fame ass whooping on him twice.
Just wondering what people's thoughts on this are. The guy was a good champion and always a company man. He was a star during one of their most critically important eras. He has declined significantly in recent years but are his past contributions enough?