From GSP to Marc Ratner – The UFC Hall of Fame 2020

Bengaluru, December 17: The UFC honors a notable list of mixed martial artists, personalities and bouts that have had an overall influence on the sport of MMA over the years. And this year despite the coronavirus pandemic was no exception although the ceremony is yet to take place.

The UFC Hall of Fame Class of 2020 will be officially inducted next year alongside the UFC Hall of Fame Class of 2021. The UFC Hall of Fame mostly recognizes fighters who have established themselves as notable personalities for the promotion.

However, in addition to the UFC, the promotion's Hall of Fame also honours fighters who have perfromed in Pride Fighting Championships, World Extreme Cagefighting and Strikeforce, which are all part of UFC.

Here is a look at the UFC Hall of Fame 2020:

UFC 165 fight between Jon Jones and Alexander Gustafsson

UFC on March 7 announced that the classic 2013 fight between UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones and Alexander Gustafsson will be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame's 'Fight Wing' as part of the Class of 2020.

As the main event of UFC 165: Jones vs. Gustafsson, which took place on September 21, 2013 at Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, both athletes entered the matchup on extensive winning streaks. This event would also mark the third consecutive year that Jones would defend his title inside the iconic venue.

Georges St-Pierre

UFC on May 9 announced that former UFC welterweight and middleweight champion Georges St-Pierre will be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame's 'Modern Wing' as a member of the class of 2020.

St-Pierre enters the UFC Hall of Fame as a member of the Modern Wing, joining Forrest Griffin (2013), BJ Penn (2015), Urijah Faber (2017), Ronda Rousey (2018), Michael Bisping (2019) and Rashad Evans (2019) in this distinguished category.

The "Modern Era" category includes athletes who turned pro on or after November 17, 2000 (when the first UFC event under the unified rules of MMA was held), are a minimum age of 35 or who have been retired for one year or more.

Kevin Randleman

UFC on May 16 announced that former UFC heavyweight champion Kevin Randleman has been named to the Hall of Fame class for 2020 as a Pioneer.

Randleman enters the UFC Hall of Fame as the 17th member of the Pioneer Era wing. The Pioneers Era category includes athletes who turned professional before November 17, 2000 (when the unified rules of mixed martial arts were adopted), are a minimum age of 35, or have been retired for one year or more.

Marc Ratner

UFC on November 22 announced that UFC Senior Vice President of Government and Regulatory Affairs, Marc Ratner, has been named to the UFC Hall of Fame class for 2020 as a Contributor.

Ratner joined UFC as an executive in May 2006, following two decades with the NSAC. When he first joined UFC, 22 states in the U.S. regulated the sport of mixed martial arts for competition. Today, MMA is legal in all 50 states, as well as Canada, Mexico and Western Australia.

He was instrumental in the historic 2016 legalization of professional MMA in New York State, ending a decade-long battle for regulation in the country's largest media market. Ratner also leads UFC's self-regulated operations in countries without formal commissions, following the guidelines of the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

As one of the most respected individuals in both boxing and MMA, Ratner is universally known for his honesty and fairness by fighters, managers, and promoters.

In 2005, he was inducted into both the World Boxing Hall of Fame and the Southern Nevada Sports Hall of Fame, followed by his induction into the inaugural class of the Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame in 2012. In 2016, he was also inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.