Welcome to the UFC Hall of Fame, Mr. Marc
Ratner!!
#UFC255 pic.twitter.com/uyu5Nky3g3— UFC Canada (@UFC_CA)
November 22, 2020
Marc Ratner is the latest member of the Ultimate Fighting
Championship’s 2020 Hall of Fame class.
The UFC’s senior vice president of government and regulatory
affairs will be inducted into the “Contributors” wing, the
promotion announced during the UFC 255 broadcast on Saturday night.
The 2020 Hall of Fame class will be honored at a ceremony next year
along with the 2021 inductees.
“Marc Ratner is the most influential and respected regulator in
combat sports history,” UFC President Dana White said in a release.
“Marc was instrumental in getting the sport of mixed martial arts
sanctioned and regulated globally and the tireless work he did
educating athletic commissions about MMA paved the way for us to
host events around the world. It will be an honor for me to induct
him into the UFC Hall of Fame Class of 2020.”
Ratner is no stranger to Hall of Fame inductions. The former
executive director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission was
enshrined in the World Boxing Hall of Fame and the Southern Nevada
Sports Hall of Fame in 2005, the Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame in 2012
and the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2016.
When my website was just getting started,
Marc Ratner went out of his way to reach out to me and help out
with missing data. Forever thankful for that gesture. Well deserved
Hall of Fame member.— MMADecisions.com (@MMADecisions)
November 22, 2020
“Marc Ratner is one of the most significant figures responsible for
the continued growth and popularity of combat sports,” said former
UFC Chief Executive Officer Lorenzo Fertitta. “As one of the most
influential and respected regulators in combat sports, Marc’s
contributions to boxing and mixed martials arts over the past three
decades are immeasurable, and his impact will continue to shape the
landscape for years to come. He is a friend of great
character and integrity, and he will be a great addition to the UFC
Hall of Fame.”
A Las Vegas resident, Ratner joined the UFC as an executive in
2006. During his tenure, MMA has gone from being regulated in 22
states to being legal in all 50. According to the release, Ratner
“was instrumental in the historic 2016 legalization of professional
MMA in New York.” He also oversees UFC events in countries without
athletic commissions.
“Marc Ratner is the most experienced and respected combat sports
regulator in history,” UFC chief operating officer Lawrence Epstein
said. “The sport of mixed martial arts and UFC do not exist in its
current form without his contributions.”