UFC Hall of Fame: Why Don Frye's Induction Is Long Overdue

The UFC Hall of Fame has now grown to eight members since its inception in Nov. 2003, but it’s still noticeably missing one man—MMA pioneer, Don Frye.

Frye’s accomplishments in the world of mixed martial arts are well-documented.

One of the pioneers of the sport, Don Frye made his debut at UFC 8: David vs. Goliath, competing as one of the Davids. He completely dominated all three of his fights that night, dispatching of all three of his opponents in a total of just 2:10 on his way to being crowned the tournament winner.

In his first fight at UFC 8, Frye set a UFC record that stood for over 13 years when he knocked out Thomas Ramirez in just eight-seconds.

Later that year, Frye was crowned the UFC Ultimate ‘96 Tournament Champion as he defeated Mark Hall and Gary Goodridge before defeating the legendary Tank Abbott in the finals.

Abbott rocked Frye early in the fight, opening a cut over his eye, but Frye would not be denied his second UFC tournament crown. When Abbott stumbled, Frye seized the opportunity, taking his back and applying a fight-ending read naked choke.

By the end of his first year in the sport in 1996, Frye had already improved his MMA record to 10-1. His only loss come in the finals of the UFC 10 tournament against future UFC Hall of Famer, Mark Coleman.

Frye left the UFC after winning the tournament at UFC 10 but went on to have a very successful career in PRIDE, K-1, and a few other promotions.

In his second fight under the PRIDE banner, Frye faced future UFC Hall of Famer Ken Shamrock, winning the bout by split decision. The two fighters had been rivals for years but embraced with a hug after a hard-fought contest, putting an end to the hostility.

It’s still somewhat unclear on whether a fighter’s career outside the UFC has any barring on his UFC Hall of Fame eligibility, but Don Frye should be in even without the success he had outside of the promotion. Frye’s UFC run ended after 10 fights, but his impact on the promotion and the sport as a whole was incredible.

Frye is regarded as one of the true first mixed martial artists in the UFC. While many of the early fighters focused on one discipline, Frye embraced multiple styles. Along with being a college wrestler, “The Predator” also had experience as a professional boxer and holds a second degree black belt in Judo.

As more fighters began to see the success that Don Frye and true mixed martial artists were having, the sport began to transition. Being talented in one martial art was no longer good enough—champions were going to have to become much more well-rounded.

When you look at some of the current members of the UFC Hall of Fame, it’s hard to understand why Frye isn’t already in there with them.

Like his friend Don Frye, Dan Severn is also a two-time UFC tournament winner. But Severn’s record was 9-2 in the UFC, while Frye’s was 9-1. Mark Coleman is also a UFC Hall of Famer but his career UFC record was just 7-5 after his run in 2009-2010. Ken Shamrock’s final UFC record was 7-6-2.

It really only makes sense that Don Frye’s name be put up with the other celebrated legends who helped build the sport into what it is today. Not only is Frye deserving of being in the UFC Hall of Fame based on his accolades alone, he arguably deserves to be in it more than a few guys who already are.

Perhaps the question isn’t whether Don Frye is worthy, but rather is the UFC Hall of Fame Don Frye-worthy?