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[Cat--Smasher]

Dana White: Tito Ortiz, BJ Penn Deserve to Be in UFC Hall of Fame

The UFC hasn’t set a time or date for its next set of inductions into the company’s Hall of Fame. But when they get around to it, said company president Dana White, two former champions will likely get a call.

During a lunch gathering at The Palm restaurant, White said two fighters coming close to the end of the line, former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz and multi-weight class champ B.J. Penn, belong in the Hall of Fame.

"Despite my personal problems with Tito, he belongs in," said White. "He was the champion when we first bought this thing. The fact that Tito is still here, Tito and I have had our moments, but it doesn’t change what he did for the company."


Ortiz was the first major drawing card of the Zuffa era. "The Huntington Beach Bad Boy" held the light heavyweight title from 2000-03, still the third-longest reign in company history, and his rivalries with Ken Shamrock and Chuck Liddell helped etch the new-era UFC into mainstream consciousness.

Ortiz and White have famously clashed over the years. But White says he can’t deny the former champion his place in history.

"The beef between me and Tito, Chuck and Tito, the fact is, that played a huge role in helping making this thing as big as it is."

Penn, a Hilo, Hawaii native billed as "The Prodigy," is one of the most naturally gifted fighters ever to set foot in the Octagon. His willingness to fight anyone -- he once gave up 50 pounds in a fight against future UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida and took him to a decision -- made him one of the company’s most popular fighters.

Penn is one of just two fighters to win titles in multiple weight classes. In 2004, the natural lightweight went up to welterweight and submitted Matt Hughes to claim the crown, ending Hughes’ 13-fight win streak. In 2008, he defeated Joe Stevenson for the vacant UFC lightweight title and held the belt for two years.

"Definitely," White said when asked if Penn belongs in the Hall. "The thing about B.J. Penn is that what he brought to the lightweight division, there was a point in time when we first bought this company when people thought guys in the lighter weight divisions couldn’t be stars and couldn’t see pay-per-views and couldn’t cross over. B.J. Penn was definitely that first crossover guy for us."

Ortiz will fight Forrest Griffin in their trilogy fight on July 7 in what is expected to be Ortiz’s last fight. Penn is hinting at retirement, but White thinks he’s not done yet.

"He’ll be back. It’s tough, when there are 16,000 people in the arena chanting your name, it’s tough to walk away from that. B.J. Penn is a fighter. You hear some of these guys, and Tito was one of these guys, he said he wanted to be famous. B.J. Penn is a fighter."

Dana White: Tito Ortiz, BJ Penn Deserve to Be in UFC Hall of Fame - MMA Fighting

[Spyke]

Bas, Frank Shamrock and Don Frye.

[Fedorlei Gomipierre]

In his prime days as the UFC MW Champion, Frank Shamrock was nearly unbeatable and one of the absolute pound for pound best fighters of his time, I really hate the absolute expungement of his accomplishments from UFC history.

I'm also a big proponent of Mo Smith getting UFC HOF recognition too, as he had a very substantial run in UFC that is often neglected.

Bas is another good addition, however his prime wasn't really spent in the UFC and we only saw mere glimpses of what he was capable of achieving prior to his injury.

[LefthookStcrook]

I get that Frank Shamrock is a MMA vet, I really do. But having someone who has like what 5(?) fights in the UFC into the HOF seems a bit of a stetch. TBH the only UFC Frank Shamrock fights I personally remember are Jeremy Horn and Ortiz. 2 big names and like what 5-6 fights if that, doesnt really seem HOF worthy to me...just being honest.

And BAS?? LOL! The guy has like 2 UFC fights, and one was BS. Plus he fought for a Org that never used MMA rules and was also suspected of fixing fights.

Tito still has the 3rd longest run in arguably the most constantly stacked division. Penn was a two divison champ with 10+wins in the UFC. BIG difference imo.

Frye is the only one mentioned so far(imo) who actually would deserve it.

[Spyke]

I never said tito and BJ shouldn't be inducted. I support both of those guys for sure. Frank knew what he was doing when he decided to train BJ.

Bas' fights weren't fixed (watch them), and I admit his body of work in the UFC was cut short.

No offense, but to make light of frank shamrock's run in the UFC means you weren't watching it at the time. The game shifted when he came on board. He was the prototype of modern MMA. He was considered the p4p best fighter in the world, and one of the first fighters to figure out effective cross training for the UFC.

He also unified the UFC belt with their number one competition (Igor wan an undefeated champion at the time so not knowing who he was or not remembering that fight doesn't really make a difference), making Frank one of the first undisputed champions in MMA. Every time he went out there he did moves that hadn't been seen in Western MMA at that point.

Frank was like watching a Jon Jones without a size advantage. People were sure he couldn't be stopped. Had he remained active during his prime, he would've held that belt a lot longer than he did.

Don't let Dana's white-washing of Pre-Zuffa UFC have such a negative impact on your hall of fame musings. Would they have let Coleman in if they hadn't just signed him to a contract?

I'm also all about seeing Maurice Smith get some love.

[MickeyKnox]

I'd be happy with that.

[carbondioxide830]

bj moreso than anybody

[Fedorlei Gomipierre]

Originally Posted by LefthookStcrook

I get that Frank Shamrock is a MMA vet, I really do. But having someone who has like what 5(?) fights in the UFC into the HOF seems a bit of a stetch. TBH the only UFC Frank Shamrock fights I personally remember are Jeremy Horn and Ortiz. 2 big names and like what 5-6 fights if that, doesnt really seem HOF worthy to me...just being honest.

True, Frank only fought 5 fights in the UFC....however those were all 5 MW title fights, all of which he won. I highly recommend going back to watch Frank's UFC fights, much of his history has been whitewashed, but what needs to be recognized is just how frigging dominant he was during his UFC run and when he hit is prime, he was unparalleled and just technically untouchable. He had one of the greatest PRE-ZUFFA fights in UFC history against Tito, beat an Olympic Gold Medalist wrestler & UFC 14 Champion, Kevin Jackson in under a 30 seconds, beat a primed Jeremy Horn in a war and retired undefeated with no legitmate competators in sight.

While I love Don Frye, advocating for him with his best UFC victories coming off of Johnston, Abbott & Goodridge, isn't too impressive in comparison, given that he crushed a few cans in his UFC tourney runs.