Is Tank Abbott in the UFC hall of fame? If he is not then I think he should be. Maybe not for his record but I truly think he changed the sport. He was one of the first guys representing more than one discipline, he was the first to wear split finger gloves, and he attracted a ton of casual fans to the sport.
I think he was one of the driving forces behind the sport as we see it today.
Hell no.
CrazyDriver16 - Hell no.
Why?
He deserves to be respected & remembered for the reasons HST mentioned...
but he definitely doesn't deserve to be in the hall of fame. His record was never great, he always gassed out or gave up against top fighters, and despite some wrestling ability--he was truly just a very powerful street brawler with little athleticism or desire to improve.
lol
xcouturefan - Ken never won a tourney and he's in the Hall of Fame.
I think Tank has done as much or more for the sport as any of the guys who are in the hall of fame right now. He completely changed the game. He was the first true MMA (mixed being the key word) fighter with skills in boxing and wrestling. He was also very effective.
There are only five members in the UFC Hall of Fame & David Abbott is not among them.
Royce Gracie
Ken Shamrock
Dan Severn
Randy Couture
Mark Coleman
crowbar - There are only five members in the UFC Hall of Fame & David Abbott is not among them.
Royce Gracie
Ken Shamrock
Dan Severn
Randy Couture
Mark Coleman
How does one get into the hall of fame? Is it purely up to the discretion of BLAF and co.? I would like to get a petition going for one David Tank Abbott.
He was the only reason many people watched the early ufcs. He was one of the most talked about and memorable fighters in the early years. Absolutely deserving of the hof honors.
xcouturefan - Discretion of Zuffa.
I think awhile Dana said in an interview he wouldn't put Tank in.
Did he say why not?
http://sports.espn.go.com/extra/mma/news/story?id=3251964
Dana White - “I think the whole thing was a farce [the EliteXC promotion]. I love Tank. I have nothing but respect for him; he’s always been good to me. But I don’t want to see that again…. Tank Abbott absolutely will be in our Hall of Fame.”
I think he had a huge impact on the striking evolution in MMA. He was the first to wear the open-hand gloves enabling him to protect his hands from breaking as easy while still being able to use his hands for grappling. Before that people would break their hands a lot if they threw punches. He was also a huge draw in the early days and fought a lot of tough opponents. He has some highlight reel KO's that are crazy enough to still be shown in highlight packages. He really did do a lot for MMA and the UFC.
TheGoldenRule - True, Ken has self-tarnished his legacy over the past decade, but lets not forget, kens GLOBAL reputation for being a bad ass "Mixed" (I believe he was the first truly "Mixed" martial artists, combining wrestling and striking) martial artist, lead everyone to EXPECT him in the finals of the first UFC.
Saying that Ken was the first true MMA guy is a little misleading. He was almost purely a submission fighter. Sure he has rounded out his game since then but Tank was really the first to use boxing and wrestling combined and transition between the two.
He should be in under the "old school" section.
i believe melton bowen was the first to wear fingerless gloves in the ufc...when he fought steve jennum in ufc 4 i think.....
dw
"I think he had a huge impact on the striking evolution in MMA"
Some of you are so fucking delusional. What "striking evolution" are you fucking talking about? Evolution? It's just now becoming so well known that it is ATTRACTING actual "strikers"
Going from hiring guys right off the street who say they can fight to hiring fighters who have legit backgrounds in "striking" is not evolution. It's called having standards.
You fucking idiots act like everyone sat and studied Tanks movements and became greater fighters lol.
Tank=Kimbo
Putting him in the Hall of Fame would show how cheap and retarded MMA really is.
Frank Shamrock was the FIRST real Mixed martial artist. Everyone else with the exception of Royce were just fucking meat heads throwing down in a cage with other meat heads.
You want to talk evolution. The real evolution came when Frank beat a much bigger, much stronger Tito Ortiz. A guy who basically bullied his way to a championship belt because he was so much bigger and stronger then everyone else.
Tank...striking evolution...right. Fucking idiot
crowbar - There are only five members in the UFC Hall of Fame & David Abbott is not among them.Tank deserves his spot in UFC hof, but those guys all won multiple championships. So they deserve the nod first. Maybe Tank, Frye, Miletich, and Taktarov(even though he had a short ufc run) should be the next guys inducted. Tanks record might not be the most impressive, but there's no doubt he was the most popular ufc fighter for several years.
Royce Gracie
Ken Shamrock
Dan Severn
Randy Couture
Mark Coleman
TheGoldenRule -HST -TheGoldenRule - True, Ken has self-tarnished his legacy over the past decade, but lets not forget, kens GLOBAL reputation for being a bad ass "Mixed" (I believe he was the first truly "Mixed" martial artists, combining wrestling and striking) martial artist, lead everyone to EXPECT him in the finals of the first UFC.
Saying that Ken was the first true MMA guy is a little misleading. He was almost purely a submission fighter. Sure he has rounded out his game since then but Tank was really the first to use boxing and wrestling combined and transition between the two.
HST- not trying to nitpick, but are you implying that to qualify as a "mixed" martial artist, you must use minimum of 1 grappling technique, and 1 striking technique?
-By that definition,even if I agree that Tank was the first to transition between Boxing and Wrestling in the UFC (which I don't), wouldn't that be saying that though Wrestling, BJJ, and other submission techniques are "grappling" techniques, and very specifically different, then a fighter transitioning effortlessly (as Ken did for years before anyone ever heard of David Abbott) between even a couple of these techniques during a fight, still doesn't qualify them as a "truly Mixed martial artists"?
I think you are trying to 'nitpick' actually. I suppose my point is that Tank was the first glimpse of the hybrid fighters we are seeing today. He didn't claim allegiance to any particular style and he was proficient at both the stand up and ground game. You can argue his level of proficiency until the cows come home but I think he was the first to do this.
Ken has only won Superfights (Severn & Kimo) & had Superfight draws with Gracie & Taktarov.Call them championships if you would like,I call them Superfights.