{"id":144852,"date":"2015-05-20T14:59:47","date_gmt":"2015-05-20T21:59:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/?p=144852"},"modified":"2022-02-04T19:18:05","modified_gmt":"2022-02-05T03:18:05","slug":"2-ufc-hall-of-fame-inductees-announced-for-2015-class","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/ufcnews\/2-ufc-hall-of-fame-inductees-announced-for-2015-class\/","title":{"rendered":"2 UFC Hall of Fame Inductees Announced for 2015 Class"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The first inductees for the new look UFC Hall of Fame have been announced. Jeff Blatnick – a key personality during the UFC\u2019s formative years – and the April 2005 rematch between Matt Hughes and Frank Trigg will be inducted as in this year\u2019s Contributor and Fight categories, respectively.<\/p>\n

The announcements were made moments ago on UFC Tonight, the UFC\u2019s official magazine show on FOX Sports 1. The formal induction will take place at a gala event on Saturday, July 11 at the UFC Fan Expo, during the UFC\u2019s annual International Fight Week.<\/p>\n

Jeff Blatnick will be posthumously inducted as a UFC Hall of Fame Contributor, in recognition for his historically significant services to the UFC and the sport of mixed martial arts.<\/p>\n

UFC President Dana White said: \u201cJeff Blatnick is a name that newer fans may not be familiar with, but this guy was a huge part on the UFC\u2019s development in the 1990s. He pushed for greater regulation, unified rules and – because he was an Olympic gold medalist in wrestling – he had credibility with everyone in the sport. It is our honor to recognize his huge contributions to the UFC by inducting him into the UFC Hall of Fame.\u201d<\/p>\n

Blatnick\u2019s story is an incredible one. In 1982 he was diagnosed with Hodgkin\u2019s lymphoma \u2013 a form of cancer \u2013 and had to undergo life-saving surgery and chemotherapy. Astonishingly, he won the super-heavyweight Greco-Roman wrestling gold medal at the Los Angeles Olympics in Los Angeles less than two years later. He became a national hero and inspiration for cancer patients worldwide.<\/p>\n

A decade later, Blatnick caught an early UFC event. He immediately recognized the sport behind the spectacle and joined the organization as lead color commentator from UFC 4 (December 1994) through to UFC 34 (November 2001). In those seven years at Octagonside, Blatnick educated a generation of fight fans on the finer points of grappling and sportsmanship. But, perhaps more importantly, as the Commissioner of the UFC (1998 to 2001) Blatnick is widely credited with coining the term \u201cmixed martial arts\u201d and championing its use to describe the emerging sport.<\/p>\n

As Commissioner, Blatnick served as a key member of the group who drew up what would become the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts \u2013 the framework for all regulated MMA around the world to this day. In his later years, the New York born Blatnick served as an MMA judge for many different state commissions; in fact Blatnick\u2019s final contribution to the UFC came as a ringside judge at the UFC 152 event, just weeks before he passed away in October 2012.<\/p>\n

Lori Blatnick, Jeff\u2019s widow, will accept her late husband\u2019s UFC Hall of Fame induction on his behalf.<\/p>\n

She said: \u201cJeff would have been so honored to be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame. It\u2019s awesome, and it is right that he is recognized. He worked so hard to improve the sport and keep it alive in the 1990s. People in the industry, or have been around the UFC for years, they know what Jeff did behind the scenes but the viewers who watch the fights today probably haven\u2019t heard of him. That\u2019s probably because of Jeff\u2019s character, he was very humble and didn\u2019t like to talk about himself. But it is great he will now be recognized in such a huge way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joining Blatnick in the class of 2015 will be Matt Hughes and Frank Trigg, who will be inducted together for their April 2005 rematch in the newly-minted Fight wing of the UFC Hall of Fame.<\/p>\n

Hughes vs Trigg II took place on April 16, 2005, at UFC 52 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. It was a rematch from 2003, where UFC welterweight champion Hughes defeated reigning WFA champion Trigg inside four minutes.<\/p>\n

Trigg won two bouts to earn a chance to avenge his loss to Hughes, and the build-up to the rematch saw Trigg goad the champion with a relentless campaign of insults.<\/p>\n

UFC President Dana White said: \u201cI\u2019ve said it a million times over the last 10 years, Hughes vs Trigg II is one of my favorite fights ever. In four minutes five seconds, it showed everything that is great about the UFC.\u201d<\/p>\n

The full fight can be watched on UFC FIGHT PASS here: http:\/\/www.ufc.tv\/video\/matt-hughes-vs-frank-trigg-ufc-52<\/p>\n

Hughes now becomes a two-time UFC Hall of Famer, having already been recognized by the Hall in 2010 for a legendary career which included two reigns as UFC welterweight champion.<\/p>\n

Hughes said: \u201cWhen I got my hand raised, I thought I\u2019d just come through a tough fight. It was only afterwards, when my team were congratulating me on this great win, that I started to realize this wasn\u2019t just another fight. Then Dana called me a few days later telling me it was the best fight he\u2019d ever seen and, in the years since, I get asked about that one rematch with Trigg about as much as I do any big fight I\u2019ve ever been in.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hughes added: \u201cI occasionally get invited to speak to servicemen, and I try and speak to them about never giving up when they are in bad situations. The fight I use as an example is the second Trigg fight; I was in a very bad situation, I\u2019d been hit low, I was hurt, rocked, Trigg had my back and he had me in a choke. But I didn\u2019t panic and as long as you don\u2019t panic, you don\u2019t quit on yourself and you have a little time, you can get out of even the worst of situations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trigg said: \u201cThis is a great honor. Every great fight has a winner and a loser, but I am very proud that, 10 years on, people still ask me about this fight. I may not have won the UFC title that night, but this goes some way to make up for that.\u201d<\/p>\n

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