[MJB23]

Despite being such a young sport, Mixed Martial Arts already carries with it a vast amount of history and its development and fusion into mainstream sports culture has occurred as quickly as any sport in history. Less than 15 years ago, MMA promoters were being chased out of towns in scenes reminiscent of the Salem Witch Trials, while today the sport receives coverage from every major sports media outlet. That progression is astonishing, and we at FightLockdown feel there is one major element missing from the world of MMA: a true Hall of Fame.

Sure, the UFC Hall of Fame exists, but it acts as more of a self-serving entity than anything else, and lacks a certain level of oversight that should be present with such an undertaking. Not to mention that the UFC Hall is an anomaly in the world of sports. The NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL don't have their own organizational Halls of Fame, because each of those leagues understands that their sport is larger than them. Instead, we have football, basketball, baseball and hockey Halls of Fame. Even looking at a closer, individual sport comparison in boxing, you do not see individual Halls for the WBA, WBC, IBF, and WBO. Instead, you have an overriding institution (actually, two) for the entire sport of boxing. We wondered why MMA should be any different?

In that vein, dedicated members, writers, and staff at FightLockdown.com have been working behind the scenes to determine the inaugural class for Mixed Martial Arts first legitimate Hall of Fame. Before we get right into the enshrinement, the procedure, rules, and guidelines pertaining to the Hall of Fame will be reviewed, and they are as follows:

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In order to be eligible for HoF nomination, a fighter must be one of the following:

- Inactive.

- Still active, but inactive with a major organization for a period of over 3 years.

- Have a professional career spanning at least 15 years, and be in a position where they can no longer affect their long-term legacy (positively or negatively) to a significant degree (nothing they can do at this point will change their standing enough to gain or deny them entry based on their current accomplishments).

-Note: In certain instances these criteria may be dismissed in order to allow early entry into the Hall of Fame of the most deserving of candidates. The committee must agree through a unanimous vote before this stipulation is instituted.

The Criteria on which each nominee to the HoF will be preliminarily judged is as follows:

1. Long Title Reign/Multiple High Level Tournament Victories

A fighter worthy of consideration for the Hall of Fame should have shown, at some point in his career, to be a very successful or dominant champion at an elite level of the sport. This can be through a long title reign for more modern fighters, or multiple tournament victories for older fighters. A long title reign is considered as 3 defenses or more.

2. Holding Belts/Success in Multiple Weight Classes

A fighter worthy of consideration for the Hall of Fame should have shown the ability to be successful at more than simply their natural weight class. This can be through holding belts at multiple weight classes, or simply long-term high level success at two different weights.

Note: Since this criterion is naturally biased against Heavyweights, it only applies to fighters at Light Heavyweight or below. Heavyweights are only required to obtain 2 of the remaining 4 criteria to be eligible to move to a vote by the committee.

3. Furthering the Sport (Outside of the Ring/Cage)

A fighter worthy of consideration for the Hall of Fame should have shown to have some effect on the growth of the sport, whether it be through media attention, developing a long-standing successful team/organization, or training and developing other successful fighters.

4. Being a Pioneer/Innovator (Inside the Ring/Cage)

A fighter worthy of consideration for the Hall of Fame should have shown a capability to further the sport from a technical standpoint. This can fall into many categories, such as being one of the original athletes competing in the sport, to implementing new techniques/strategies, to being the first to incorporate something at a high level into the sport.

5. Having Memorable/Exciting Fights

A fighter worthy of consideration for the Hall of Fame should have some fights over the course of their career that can be considered “must-see” fights. Either because the fight(s) was/were incredibly exciting, or because they were memorable for another reason (i.e. record breaking or caused change in the way people think about or view the sport).

In order to move to the next step of the HoF process, the nominee must accumulate 2.5/5 points (or in the case of Heavyweights 2/4). For each category, 0, 0.5 or 1 points can be awarded. In the most extreme circumstances, 1.5 points can be awarded. Here’s how the points break down:

0 - If a fighter does not meet the criteria.

0.5 - If a fighter partially meets the criteria:

-Criteria #1: A short title reign, or a smaller tournament victory coupled with a larger tournament victory.
-Criteria #2: Success in multiple weight classes at a high level, but not necessarily an elite level.
-Criteria #3: A fighter who added something to the sport, but wasn’t a forerunner in any aspect outside the ring.
-Criteria #4: A fighter who may have perfected an innovation of another fighter, but didn’t truly pioneer or innovate anything themselves.
-Criteria #5: A mix of exciting/memorable and boring/forgettable performances throughout a career.

1 - If a fighter meets the criteria set out.

1.5 - If a fighter meets and exceeds the criteria in a record setting way.

If a fighter meets the 2.5 point minimum (2 points for HWs), they will then move to the voting process, where the committee (presently of 7 members) will vote on the merits of the HoF candidate. The candidate must receive 5 of 7 votes to be granted entrance to the HoF.

Note: In the case of a fighter who accomplishes a completely unique feat of extraordinary dominance in the sport of Mixed Martial Arts without impacting the set criteria in any way (i.e. breaking the UFC's consecutive wins record without meeting any other criteria), the committee has the discretion to induct said fighter, but only by a unanimous vote.

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So in essence, the process involves 3 steps:

1. A fighter meeting one of the activity clauses, and getting nominated
2. A case being made by the nominator why the fighter meets the criteria for the Hall of Fame.
3. If the fighter is deemed to meet the criteria, a vote is had by the committee determining if the nominee will enter the Hall of Fame.

New members will be inducted every six months with no more than two inductees being added at a time.