At UFC 324, Dominick Cruz was selected to the UFC Hall of Fame, which stands as a powerful tribute to one of the greatest bantamweights in mixed martial arts history. Throughout his remarkable career, Cruz combined elite athleticism, unmatched movement, and tactical brilliance to dominate a division and leave a lasting mark on the sport.

Cruz first rose to prominence in the World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) organization, where he captured the bantamweight title in 2010 with a dominant victory over Brian Bowles. When the UFC absorbed the WEC later that year, Cruz became the promotion’s first UFC bantamweight champion. He immediately proved he belonged at the highest level, defending his title against some of the division’s most dangerous contenders.

One of Cruz’s most defining rivalries was with Urijah Faber. After losing to Faber early in his career, Cruz went on to defeat him twice in high-profile title fights, using superior footwork and wrestling to neutralize Faber’s aggression. These victories cemented Cruz as the division’s standard-bearer.

Cruz continued his reign with impressive performances against elite opponents such as Demetrious Johnson, whom he defeated by decision in 2011, and Joseph Benavidez, whom he beat twice. His ability to outmaneuver and outthink world-class fighters made him nearly impossible to solve. With constant lateral movement, rapid stance switches, and precise striking, Cruz created a style unlike anything seen before in MMA.

Injuries, however, nearly derailed his career. Multiple knee surgeries forced Cruz to spend years on the sidelines, stripping him of his title and raising doubts about his future. Many believed he would never return to championship form. Yet in one of the most remarkable comebacks in UFC history, Cruz returned in 2016 and defeated TJ Dillashaw by split decision to reclaim the bantamweight belt. The victory showcased his resilience, experience, and enduring skill.

Later in his career, Cruz continued to compete at a high level, earning notable wins over fighters such as Takeya Mizugaki and Pedro Munhoz.  Following his retirement, he became an analyst for the sport.

We here at Notinhalloffame would like to congratulate Dominick Cruz for this impending accolade.

This past weekend, the UFC announced that Mark Kerr will be entering the UFC Hall of Fame as part of the UFC HOF Class of 2025.  He will be inducted as part of the Pioneer Wing.

The ceremony will take place on June 26 as part of International Fight Week.

A Division I Champion from Syracuse at 190 pounds, Kerr made his MMA debut in 1997 and would win two tournaments in UFC, at UFC 14 and UFC 15, respectively.  He never competed in the UFC after that, but instead mainly competed in Pride over the next few years.  “The Smashing Machine” had a lifetime record of 15-11 and was considered one of the most influential fighters of his day.

A movie about his life starring Dwayne Johnson will be released this October.

We here at notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate Mark Kerr on his impending induction.

At UFC 301, we learned that Mauricio “Shogun” Rua will enter the UFC Hall of Fame on June 27 as part of the Pioneer Wing.

A legend in Brazilian MMA, Rua cut his teeth in Pride before debuting at UFC 76 where he lost to Forrest Griffin.  He responded with TKO wins over Mark Coleman and Chuck Liddell, and after a loss to Lyoto Machida for the UFC Light Heavyweight Title, would beat Machida for the strap.  He lost that championship to Jon Jones, and completed his career with a 27-14-1 record.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate Shogun Rua for his impending honor. 

At UFC 300, a momentous announcement was made. The first epic clash between Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen from UFC 117 is set to etch its name in the annals of UFC history. This legendary bout will be enshrined in the prestigious UFC Hall of Fame, joining the elite ranks of the Fight Wing.

Taking place as the main event of UFC 117, the contest took place on August 7, 2010, at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California, and saw Silva defend his UFC Middleweight Title against Sonnen.  Going into the fight, Silva (28-4) was considered one of the best fighters in the world.  He won the UFC Middleweight strap in 2006 at UFC 64 by knocking out Rich Franklin.  He had already successfully defended it against Nate Marquardt, Rich Franklin, Dan Henderson, Patrick Cote, Thaies Leites and Damain Maia.  Silva was favoured over Sonnen, but no previous challenger to Silva had ever trashed talk of “The Spider” like this.  He came into the fight with a 26-10-1 record and was fresh from a win over Nate Marquardt, which was named the UFC 109 Fight of the Night.

The Silva/Sonnen contest was the Fight of the Night, with Silva successfully retaining the championship by submitting Sonnen in the fifth round via a triangle armbar.  It was an instant classic, and even in defeat, Sonnen was cemented as a star.  Although Sonnen never won a title in the UFC, he did participate in several main events.

Silva successfully defended his UFC Middleweight Title twice more, winning against Vitor Belfort and Yushin Okami before defeating Sonnen again at UFC 148. It was not until 2013 that he lost his championship when he was knocked out by Chris Weidman at UFC 162.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen for this impending accolade. 

Last night at UFC 299, the UFC announced that Joanna Jendrzejczyk will enter their Hall of Fame in the Modern Wing as part of the 2024 Class.

The induction will take this June as part of International Fight Week in Las Vegas.

From Poland, Jendrzejczyk first studied Muay Thai and Kickboxing and won multiple tournaments and titles in both sports.  She made her Mixed Martial Arts Debut in 2012, and two years later, she joined the UFC. 

Less than a year after her debut in the UFC, she easily beat Carla Esparza for the Strawweight Championship at UFC 185.  Jendrzejczyk had five successful title defenses (Jessica Penne, Valerie Letourneau, Claudia Gadelha, Karolina Kowalkiewicz and Jessica Andrade, she lost the championship to Rose Namajunas and was unable to beat her in the rematch.  Jendrzejczyk unsuccessfully tried to win the vacant Flyweight Title (losing to Valentina Shevchenko) and would also lose to Zhang Weili for the Strawweight Title.  Her overall MMA record was 16 and 5.

She becomes the second woman to enter the UFC Hall of Fame, following Ronda Rousey. 

Here at Notinhalloffame.com, we would like to congratulate Joanna Jendrzejczyk for this impending induction.

Last night at UFC 298, it was announced that Wanderlei Silva will be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame as part of the Pioneer Wing.

From Brazil, Silva holds the record for the most wins, title defenses and knockouts in the history of Pride, where he was a Middleweight Champion.  Silva had wars against Kazushi Sakuraba, Quinton Jackson, Vitor Belfort, Chuck Lidell, Michael Bisping and Tito Ortiz and left the sport with an overall record of 35-14-1-1.

He becomes the 19^th inductee to the Pioneer Wing.

Silva will be joining Frankie Edgar, who was selected last month via the Modern Wing.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate Wanderlei Silva for earning this impending honor.

Last night at UFC 297, we learned that Frankie Edgar would headline the 2024 UFC Hall of Fame Class.

Nicknamed “The Answer”, Edgar has a career record of 23-11-1, and won the Lightweight Championship by beating B.J. Penn at UFC 112.  He also won eight Fight of the Night Awards and holds wins over Urijah Faber and Cub Swanson.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate Frankie Edgar for earning this impending honor.