Former Ohio State and three-time NCAA wrestling All-American Kevin Randleman will be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame. The announcement came Saturday night during the UFC’s Fight Night 176.
Randleman wrestled for Ohio State from 1991-1993. He won the Big Ten title all three years, with two NCAA championships in both 1992 and 1993, but fell just shy of winning his freshman season in the NCAA final. After being a three-time All-American, he was ruled ineligible his senior season because of academic issues.
After his collegiate career, Randleman joined mixed martial arts and competed in not only the UFC, but PRIDE, WVR, and Strikeforce. It was with the UFC that Randleman was able to take hold right when things were really taking off in the world of MMA. He eventually became the UFC Heavyweight Champion in 1999, successfully defending his title once, before moving down to Light Heavyweight and also winning that title in his final bout with the UFC.
A true pioneer of the sport 🏆 (B2YB @ToyoTires) pic.twitter.com/1eLUWamX2A
— UFC (@ufc) May 17, 2020
Randleman will be going into the Pioneer wing of the UFC Hall of Fame. He was inducted into the Ohio State Hall of Fame in 2004, and sadly passed away in 2016.
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