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Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar Inducted Into the UFC Hall of Fame

Just over eight years ago, the course of the UFC took a dramatic turn for the better when the finale of the first-ever The Ultimate Fighter took place in Las Vegas. The reality show that aired on Spike TV in 2005 was almost a last shot for the promotio…

Just over eight years ago, the course of the UFC took a dramatic turn for the better when the finale of the first-ever The Ultimate Fighter took place in Las Vegas.

The reality show that aired on Spike TV in 2005 was almost a last shot for the promotion. The UFC had hemorrhaged money for months following its purchase by the Fertitta brothers along with family friend and business partner Dana White.

Then, in one of the last fights of the night, something magical happened.

The two finalists from The Ultimate Fighter’s inaugural light heavyweight tournament battled it out for 15 minutes in one of the most historic bouts in fight history.

Forrest Griffin and Stephen Bonnar didn’t have the most technical fight the MMA world had ever seen—far from it, actually.

They did, however, manage to slug it out in a back-and-forth war for three rounds that was so enthralling that the viewership for the fight grew as each minute passed.

On Saturday, UFC president Dana White officially inducted both Griffin and Bonnar into the UFC Hall of Fame for their fight that helped keep the company alive.

“As far as this company goes for sure, but as far as this sport goes—this was the most important fight in the history of this company,” White said on Saturday. “At the time when this fight happened, you know where we were back then, and what was happening with the sport. We were $44 million dollars in the hole in this business.

“During six minutes of that fight, 12 million people tuned in. You know how crazy that is? You know what insane numbers those are? There has never been a more important fight in the history of the UFC. There has never been a more important fight than maybe UFC 1 in the history of mixed martial arts.”

Griffin and Bonnar‘s fight is still regarded as one of the greatest in MMA history, and in terms of importance to the sport’s survival, it may sit alone as the biggest ever.

Following that fight, their careers took different trajectories.

Griffin went on to win the UFC light heavyweight title in 2008 from Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, and while he never successfully defended the belt, it was still a crowning achievement for the former TUF 1 winner.

Bonnar never achieved that level of success in the UFC. While he was by no means a bad fighter, he never got close to a title shot or even contention. It’s also impossible to overlook that he was busted twice for steroid use during his UFC career.

Still, White believes that the two gladiators who stepped into the Octagon that night in 2005 deserve a special place in the UFC Hall of Fame.

Both Griffin and Bonnar are now retired from active competition.

“It’s not like a hero profession even though sometimes it’s treated as one. It’s not being a soldier on foreign soil or being a paramedic or a firefighter, but sometimes on special moments it feels like that,” Griffin said during the induction when looking back as his career as a fighter. “It’s the biggest thing I’ve ever been a part of.”

Bonnar hasn’t been in White’s good graces since testing positive for banned substances following his fight against UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva at UFC 153 last year. White didn’t even speak to Bonnar much, if at all, leading up to the induction ceremony on Saturday.

Still, Bonnar was an integral part of UFC history, and so his place is now cemented as a Hall of Famer.

“As painful as it was to lose that fight, I was so happy for him. He’s a great guy,” Bonnar said about Griffin. “I just want to end with a quote, this one from Calvin Coolidge—nothing in the world could take the place of persistence. Talent will not, nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not, unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not, the world is full with educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan press on has solved and will always solve the problems of the human race.”

Griffin and Bonnar are the 10th and 11th fighters inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame.

Damon Martin is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report, and all quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.

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Is it Possible to Fix The UFC Hall of Fame Induction Process?

(Well? Photo courtesy of Getty Images.)

By the time that this is published, the ceremony that will make Stephan Bonnar an official member of the UFC Hall of Fame will be underway. Bonnar’s resume includes an 8-7 UFC record, a flawless 0-0 record in UFC title fights, two failed drug tests and the significance of his TUF Finale bout against Forrest Griffin – a fight so important to UFC history that it has its own Wikipedia page. Bonnar also is on good terms with Dana White, which is arguably the most important criterion for induction into what is supposedly the UFC’s highest honor.

Regardless of how you feel about Bonnar’s induction, that last sentence should make you feel uncomfortable. A company that already has trouble convincing non-fans that it isn’t glorified professional wrestling selects people into its hall of fame the same way that the WWE does – by allowing one person to dictate who is worthy of the honor. Both halls have some debatable inductions. Both halls have some notable omissions. Neither hall is taken seriously by most fans of either sport.

While many articles have been written about how Bonnar’s induction highlights everything that’s wrong with the UFC Hall of Fame selection process, pretty much none of them offered any solutions. Below you’ll find a few suggestions to fix the hall, as well as reasons that they may not work. Let’s start off with the most obvious fix…

(Well? Photo courtesy of Getty Images.)

Let the Journalists Vote

Why it would work – Because that’s pretty much what every legitimate Hall of Fame does. It may not make too much of a difference as to who gets inducted (more on that in a second), but at least then we’ll be able to take the hall seriously.

Why it wouldn’t work – Or will we? If the only journalists who are allowed to vote are those who are on good terms with the UFC – and unwilling to do anything to jeopardize this – the results will inevitably be just as biased as those adorable “official UFC rankings.”

Let the Fans Vote

Why it would work – Because halls of fame are for the fans in the first place, so why not let them decide who they want in them? Also, current UFC Hall of Famer Tito Ortiz seems to believe it would work. Via MMA Junkie:

“I think [the Hall of Fame selection process] should be a fan vote,” Ortiz said. “That’s what it should really come down to. The fans should consider how much they’ve known the person, how much they’ve watched them fight and so forth and just how much the fighter had significance in the sport in general. I think that’s the answer.”

Why it wouldn’t work – How’s this for irony: Ortiz doesn’t think that Bonnar deserves to be in the hall of fame, but thinks that allowing the fans to induct ~~their favorite~~ the most worthy fighters is the solution. If you’re even slightly familiar with the voting process for the NBA All Star Game, then this requires zero explanation. If you aren’t familiar with it – and were too lazy to click the two links in this section – then let’s just say that guys like Bonnar would only be more likely to be inducted into the hall if the fans were allowed to vote.

Mark Cuban’s Weighted Fan Vote

Why it would work – The problem with letting the people vote on the Internet is that anyone with an unhealthy obsession with an athlete and too much free time can significantly affect the outcome, regardless of how often they even watch the sport. In an attempt to fix this, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban offered a solution – count votes cast in arenas during events twice as much as Internet votes. This not only rewards fans who are loyal enough to buy tickets to events, but also helps ensure that votes from educated fans aren’t immediately cancelled out by votes from people looking to troll the election. Win/win.

Why it wouldn’t work – At best, counting arena votes twice as much as Internet votes is like putting a Band-Aid on a gaping wound; if you’re trolling an election online, you aren’t just voting once. At worst, keep in mind that it’s estimated that as much as 60% of a sporting event’s live gate comes from casual fans, which means that the Affliction clad oaf who thinks Brock Lesnar is the best fighter on the planet would now have twice as much influence on the outcome as the hardcore MMA fans watching the event from home.

Use Statistics

Why it would work – If the current problem facing the UFC Hall of Fame is human bias, then adding even more humans to the mix isn’t going to fix anything. Let’s just take a look at the stats – Win/loss record, takedown percentage, strikes landed; etc. – and let the numbers determine who really belongs in the hall of fame.

Why it wouldn’t work – The fighter who has landed the second-most strikes in UFC history, the third-most takedowns and left the organization with a 14-3-1 UFC record isn’t a member of the UFC Hall of Fame. Is this proof that we need to use statistics to determine who should be in the hall?

If you said yes, then congratulations – you just inducted Jon Fitch.

Screw it, Let’s Just Start a CagePotato.com Hall of Fame

Why it would work – It wouldn’t.

So how do you think the inductions should be handled? Let us know in the comments section.

@SethFalvo

Booking Alert: Gilbert Melendez Taking on Diego Sanchez at UFC 166

(Listen to Stephan Bonnar‘s last line to Diego Sanchez in this classic TUF: 1 clip and tell us the guy doesn’t belong in the UFC Hall of Fame.)

The UFC 166: Velasquez vs. Dos Santos 3 card (October 19th, Houston) is starting to fill out. In addition to the heavyweight title fight rubber-match and the Lombard vs. Marquardt welterweight bout, a fight between former #1 lightweight contenders Gilbert Melendez and Diego Sanchez is the latest booking to be confirmed for the fall event at the Toyota Center.

Melendez is coming off of a razor-thin decision loss to champion Benson Henderson at UFC on FOX 7. Despite the ‘L’ on his record, the former Strikeforce champion lived up to the hype in his UFC debut and looks to get back into title contention ASAP by facing Sanchez.

“The Dream” has won three out of his last four bouts, including his victorious return to the lightweight division this past March when he earned a decision over Takanori Gomi. Melendez looked better than ever in his last bout, but Sanchez has a tendency to make any fight a competitive scrap…most of the time, at least. Who do you pick in this one, ‘Taters?

– Elias Cepeda

(Listen to Stephan Bonnar‘s last line to Diego Sanchez in this classic TUF: 1 clip and tell us the guy doesn’t belong in the UFC Hall of Fame.)

– Elias Cepeda

Chris Weidman Reacts Live to Anderson Silva vs. Stephan Bonnar at UFC 153

UFC 162 headliner Chris Weidman participated in an edition of UFC Ultimate Insider’s Full Blast, providing live commentary as Anderson Silva fought Stephan Bonnar at UFC 153 in October. “Everybody’s on their feet now in Brazil, it’s gonna get nuts…

UFC 162 headliner Chris Weidman participated in an edition of UFC Ultimate Insider’s Full Blast, providing live commentary as Anderson Silva fought Stephan Bonnar at UFC 153 in October.

“Everybody’s on their feet now in Brazil, it’s gonna get nuts,” Weidman said about the Rio de Janeiro crowd. “I’m hoping that it takes more than just one of Anderson Silva’s tricky shots to put Bonnar away.”

Silva made it 16 in a row inside the Octagon in front of an adoring home crowd, but that doesn’t mean “The American Psycho” didn’t give it his best shot to win the fight.

Bonnar took the fight to the pound-for-pound great, throwing combinations and looking for takedowns from the opening bell.

Weidman commended the original Ultimate Fighter runner-up for putting the pressure on the middleweight champ, taking a page out of the Chael Sonnen playbook.

“This is gonna tire out Anderson Silva, Bonnar has a big size advantage, so if he leans all that weight on him, eventually Anderson Silva’s gonna get a little more tired,” he said regarding Bonnar‘s strategy to keep Silva pinned against the cage.

Bonnar, a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt, tried on several occasions to bring the fight to the floor, but Silva’s takedown defense was just too much for him to overcome.

“This is what Anderson’s best at: getting his opponents’ heads and making them feel like they have nothing for him,” Weidman said after Silva was showboating to avoid strikes from Bonnar.

However, the upcoming title challenger was quick to once again sing the praises of the grizzled American fighter:

“I think he’s (Bonnar) winning this round, he’s had him (Silva) on the cage this whole time.”

Despite the observation he made moments earlier, the undefeated prospect didn’t appear surprised when “The Spider” finished the fight with a brutal knee to the body, followed up with hard ground and pound.

“I think Bonnar…I think he gave his best, but Anderson was the better man. That being said, I’d love a shot at Anderson Silva. I think I could take him down and submit him. I got into this sport, went into the middleweight division knowing Anderson Silva was there…I cannot wait to get my hands on him.

After a perfect 9-0 start to his MMA career, “The All-American” will get his shot at Silva and the middleweight gold this Saturday at UFC 162, which takes place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

John Heinis is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA Editor for eDraft.com and contributes MMA videos to The Young Turks Sports Show.

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Stitch Duran Looks Back at the Historic Battle Between Griffin and Bonnar

Jacob “Stitch” Duran is one of the most familiar faces any time a major MMA or boxing event takes place. He’s the guy responsible for making sure his fighters are taken care of between rounds and no cut gets too severe. Duran routinely works with famed…

Duran routinely works with famed boxers Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko, and is also the cutman of choice for several UFC fighters including former light heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin.

Duran is famously known for his in-between round work when Griffin battled former Pride champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua back in 2007 when a large cut opened on his fighter’s head that could have very well ended the fight.

Luckily, Duran was able to stop the bleeding long enough to allow Griffin to continue and he eventually submitted Rua in the third round.

A year and a half earlier, Duran was in Griffin’s corner for one of the most monumental occasions in UFC history when he battled Stephan Bonnar for the first ever Ultimate Fighter crown.

Griffin and Bonnar went to war for a full 15 minutes, and Duran was there in between every round to make sure his fighter was cleaned up and ready to go for the start of the next five-minute session.

Even Duran, who was busy focusing on his fighter’s safety during the bout, knew something special was happening with Griffin and Bonnar and remembers a post-fight moment when even he couldn’t contain his happiness for his corner.

“Being a cutman, supposed to be pretty neutral, but as we’re waiting there for the decision one of Forrest’s trainers looks at me and says, ‘Stitch, I’m not gay, but I’ve got to give you a kiss for taking care of Forrest,'” Duran said of the historic fight.

Check out this interview with Stitch as he takes a look back at Griffin vs. Bonnar 1 from The Ultimate Fighter finale in 2006.

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Tito Ortiz: Stephan Bonnar Doesn’t Belong in the UFC Hall of Fame

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz doesn’t think Stephan Bonnar deserves a spot alongside him in the UFC Hall of Fame. Ortiz recently spoke with MMA Junkie about the two latest fighters to be named to the Hall of Fame— Bon…

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz doesn’t think Stephan Bonnar deserves a spot alongside him in the UFC Hall of Fame.

Ortiz recently spoke with MMA Junkie about the two latest fighters to be named to the Hall of Fame— Bonnar and another former 205-pound champ in Forrest Griffin.

“Forrest deserves it,” Ortiz said. “He beat me, and he beat some other really good guys. He was a world champion. He had some great fights. I think he deserves it. As far as Stephan, I have nothing against the guy, but you’ve got to be a world champion, I think, to be in the Hall of Fame.”

Ortiz fought Griffin three times in his career, winning their first bout at UFC 59, but losing their subsequent encounters at UFC 106 and UFC 148.

UFC president Dana White announced at the UFC 160 post-fight conference last month that Griffin and Bonnar would be inducted into the Hall of Fame at the UFC Fan Expo prior to UFC 162 (via MMA Fighting).

Griffin ended his UFC tenure with a respectable 10-5 record with victories over the likes of Ortiz (twice), Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Rich Franklin.

Additionally, his historic 2005 battle with Bonnar in the finals of the original season of The Ultimate Fighter helped to give the sport of MMA serious mainstream appeal.

However, fans and analysts alike have panned the decision to give “The American Psycho” a spot in the hall, given a mediocre UFC record with no wins over big-name opponents.

Bonnar retired with an 8-7 record under the UFC banner and his biggest accomplishments in the cage were victories against Keith Jardine, Krzysztof Soszynski and Kyle Kingsbury.

Ortiz goes on to rhetorically ask if one major fight is enough to warrant a Hall of Fame induction:

“That’s a big honor to be in the Hall of Fame,” Ortiz said. “It means you had a significance in the sport at one time or another. You look at that, and the Forrest and Stephan fight was a big step for the UFC, so do they deserve it? Possibly. But can one fight get you in the Hall of Fame? I don’t know. I guess that’s Dana’s decision.”

The UFC Hall of Fame has just nine members, eight of which being respected champions during their time: Ortiz, Mark Coleman, Randy Couture, Royce Gracie, Matt Hughes, Chuck Liddell, Dan Severn and Ken Shamrock.

The only non-fighter currently enshrined is TapouT co-founder Charles “Mask” Lewis, a well-known proponent of MMA prior to his death in March 2009.

Also worth noting is that Ortiz suggested future Hall of Fame inductees should be decided by a fan vote.

Was Bonnar‘s landmark brawl with Griffin enough to earn him an official spot in UFC history, or should the UFC Hall of Fame be limited, as Ortiz believes, to former champions only?

John Heinis is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA Editor for eDraft.com and contributes MMA videos to The Young Turks Sports Show.

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