The 2015 UFC Hall of Fame class will be inducted on Saturday in Las Vegas at the UFC Fan Expo and former UFC heavyweight champion Bas Rutten will be inducted into the Pioneer wing of the Hall of Fame.
Rutten (28-4-1) only had two fights in the UFC, which were wins against Tsuyoshi Kohsaka (UFC 18) and Kevin Randleman (UFC 20). He won the UFC heavyweight title with the victory over Randleman and later vacated the title when he planned to move down in weight.
Following the win over Randleman, Rutten would suffer multiple injuries and would only compete one more time in MMA. That fight came in 2006 when he defeated Ruben Villareal by TKO at WFA Kind of the Streets.
It was announced in May that Rutten would be going into the newly redesigned UFC Hall of Fame and he told The MMA Report during the 2015 UFC Hall of Fame Media Conference Call that going into the UFC Hall of Fame is “very cool.”
“I never expected it because I had a lot of people and my fans on Twitter and said ‘he is a Hall of Famer.’ My answer was always, ‘guys I had two fights.’ But maybe in like ten years because of the contribution I make to MMA in general, like bringing it out and being a commentator,” Rutten said. “Just helping to promote the sport and maybe eventually, that will help get me in. That was my hope and I did not expect it at all. I am weird for things. Whether they give me things or say things that my mind first has to wrap around it. A buddy of mine called me and said ‘you realize there are only nine guys/fighters in the UFC Hall of Fame. This is so cool and once you realize that people in the street say, ‘Hey HOF, how are you doing?’ This is really cool. Very cool.”
It has been nine years since Rutten had his last fight and many of today’s fans most likely know him for his commentary work in MMA or his roles in various movies. With that being said, Rutten explained how he would like the fans of MMA to remember him as a fighter.
“Just be an exciting fighter. I never liked to go to decisions and thankfully I only had three,” he explained. I really did not want that last one with Kevin Handleman because I do not like the number three for some reason. I always wanted to keep it at two and for the rest, I have all finishes. I want people to remember that I was just not a striker. I think I went in as a striker and actually became a much better grappler, even better than striking. I had fifteen submission wins and ten knockouts. But for some reason, they always say he is a great striker. Trust me, I enjoy it but I never get any credit for my ground work. I thought I was pretty ok as well.”
The 2015 UFC Hall of Fame Class will be inducted on Saturday at 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT at the UFC Fan Expo, which will come from the Sands Expo and Convention Center at the Venetian/Palazzo. The event will be streamed live by the UFC for the fans who are unable to attend.