Georges St-Pierre Headlines UFC Hall of Fame Class
Georges St-Pierre will officially be a UFC Hall of Famer tonight in Las Vegas.
The 2020 UFC Hall of Fame induction takes place at the Park MGM on Thursday during International Fight Week. The ceremony was delayed a year due to COVID-19 but on Thursday, St-Pierre, Marc Ratner, Kevin Randleman, and the first fight between Jon Jones and Alexander Gustafsson will also be inducted.
Georges St-Pierre last fought back at UFC 217 where he made his highly-anticipated return to the sport and submitted Michael Bisping to win the middleweight title and become a two-division champion. The Canadian retired with a professional record 26-2 and he avenged both his losses. He was the UFC welterweight champion from 2007-2013 and also held it in 2006. St-Pierre defended his title nine times and holds notable wins over B.J. Penn, Matt Hughes, Carlos Condit, Nick Diaz, Jake Shields, and Dan Hardy among countless others.
Ratner, meanwhile, was the UFC’s vice president of regulatory affairs and had a successful 14 years as the Nevada State’s Athletic Commission (NSAC) executive director. Ratner played a big role in getting MMA legalized in several different states including helping the promotion get back into New York. He’s also already inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame and the Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame for his work with the NSAC.
“New York was always the cherry on top of the dessert,” Ratner said to ESPN. “If you’re going to have a sport and you’re not regulated in New York it makes no sense. So, you need New York. We wanted to be there and there was no reason for us to not be there.”
Kevin Randleman is finally getting inducted into the Hall of Fame as he will enter the pioneer wing. Randleman is only 17-16 in MMA but is a former UFC heavyweight champion. Unfortunately, he passed away in 2016 at age 44.
The final induction on Thursday night will be the first fight between Jon Jones and Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 165. It was a back-and-forth fight and entering the fifth round, many thought it was 2-2. The Swede took Jones down for the first time in his career but in the end it was Jones winning by decision. Jones vs. Gustafsson 1 will go into the fight wing of the UFC Hall of Fame.
The UFC Hall of Fame ceremony airs live on UFC Fight Pass at 10:30 p.m. ET.
Continue Reading Georges St-Pierre Headlines UFC Hall of Fame Class at MMA News.
