Is Kenny Florian a UFC Hall of Famer?

In 2003, the UFC first introduced the idea of its own Hall of Fame to honor past athletes and people involved with the sport.

Since then a total of eight people have been inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame, including former champions like Mark Coleman, Randy Couture, and Chuck Liddell.

The last fighter to be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame was former welterweight champion Matt Hughes, who joined the group in May 2010, but since that time no one has been added to the list.

Is recently retired former Ultimate Fighter season 1 competitor Kenny Florian a future candidate for the UFC Hall of Fame however?

Just a day before The Ultimate Fighter Live season finale, Florian officially announced his retirement from active competition after a back injury suffered in training became so severe that he decided to call it a career and focus on his life after fighting as a commentator for the UFC.

Any fighter who competed in the UFC would of course be honored with a nod by the promotion for the Hall of Fame, and Florian is no different.

“Obviously, it’s something that I don’t decide, but it’s possible,” Florian said about a potential induction into the UFC Hall of Fame when speaking to MMAWeekly Radio.

“Listen, not every guy who wins the belt or has been a champion in other sports, or just because you didn’t have a championship or you didn’t win a belt doesn’t mean you don’t deserve a spot in the Hall of Fame.”

In his career with the UFC, Florian is still the only fighter to compete at four different weight classes, and he fought for belts in two different divisions as well. While he never attained the elusive championship title, Florian was able to stay near the top of the division, regardless of which one he happened to be fighting in at the time, throughout his almost seven-year career with the promotion.

Since the UFC Hall of Fame was introduced almost a decade ago, there’s never been a set criteria for who would be inducted or how often any competitor would receive the honor.

Florian understands that as well and believes that there are a number of factors that play into any potential UFC Hall of Fame inductee.

“I think it comes down to what you’ve done in the sport. The level of skills that you obtained, the guys that you beat, the impact you had on the sport. I think all those things play a factor. We’ll see,” said Florian.

In addition to his three title fights, Florian ended his career with 12 wins in the UFC with 10 finishes, but is it enough to gain entry into the UFC Hall of Fame.

While he would consider it an honor, Florian is quick to point out that he didn’t get into fighting to end up in the UFC Hall of Fame. He didn’t even get into it for the titles.

“For me, none of the accolades matter. Really, what I’m coming away from this sport with is way more valuable than anything else,” said Florian.

“I got into this sport not to be in the Hall of Fame, not to be a champion really even, I just wanted to see how far I could take it. I love what I did, and I wanted to see how far I could take it.”

Follow @DamonMartin on Twitter or e-mail Damon Martin.
For more UFC News and UFC Rumors, follow MMAWeekly.com on Twitter and Facebook.