When reports filtered through that erstwhile 205-pound champion Tito Ortiz was to be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame, Frank Shamrock was livid that yet again he’d been given the cold shoulder—and rightly so.
“The Legend” has more than done his fair share for the Zuffa-based promotion and as such his omission is a triple slap in the face—hard.
Frank’s take on his UFC Hall of Fame non-inclusion:
First off, I don’t think the Hall of Fame has any credibility unless I’m in it. I was the first champion ever and set two world records. I’ve been pioneering for this sport since before there was weight classes and gloves. so, it kinda looks to me like the whole Hall of Fame is kind of a flim-flam and it’s up to Dana’s own jock as to who goes in. And unfortunately, that doesn’t define a real sport. A real sport is completely different.
The current UFC Hall of Fame roster reads: Charles Lewis, Royce Gracie, Ken Shamrock, Dan Severn, Randy Couture, Mark Coleman, Chuck Liddell and Matt Hughes.
Sure enough, the aforementioned inductees deserved their spot in said HOF, but so has Frank, and his résumé suggests so.
He is the first ever UFC light heavyweight champion (formerly middleweight title) and defended said title successfully on four separate occasions akin to “The IceMan.”
In terms of consecutive UFC title defenses, Frank comes in at No. 5 (tied with Liddell) behind Ortiz, Matt Hughes (tied), Georges St-Pierre and Anderson Silva. The latter two are HOF bound no matter what.
During the period he was champ, Frank (23-10-2 MMA, 5-0 UFC) acquired the rank of the world’s No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter.
Furthermore, the Wrestling Observer named him “Fighter of the Decade” for the 1990s. In 1998, he was lauded by Black Belt magazine as the “Best Full Contact Fighter.”
Moreover, he has notable wins over Ortiz, Jeremy Horn and Kevin Jackson. He defeated Jackson in 16 seconds, thus etching his name in the Guinness World Records for Fastest UFC Title Fight Victory by Submission.
If the above accomplishments are insufficient for his induction, then something is rotten in the state of Denmark.
That being said, one of the reasons for Frank’s continued exclusion from the UFC’s Hall of Fame is due to his overall persona—he’s the complete antithesis of self-effacing and the epitome of narcissism, and why not? It’s his prerogative.
Another underlying issue is his penchant for doing things the Frank way—company man and towing the line are phrases that don’t register with the San Jose native.
Aforesaid characteristics are a prerequisite if any resident UFC combatant wants to get on the good side of the Zuffa-based promotion’s president, Dana White.
However, that shouldn’t be the case, as meritorious per se, should be the one and only byword. Anything else smacks of vindictiveness and UFC autocracy on the part of Mr. White.
The adopted brother of Ken Shamrock by now should’ve been a UFC Hall of Famer.
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