LAS VEGAS -- The UFC Hall of Fame formally inducted its 2017 class on Thursday. Honorees included fighters Urijah Faber, Kazushi Sakuraba, Maurice Smith and retired matchmaker Joe Silva.
Faber, 38, retired last year following a win over Brad Pickett in his backyard of Sacramento. He became the face of the WEC, and lighter weight classes as a whole, as a 145-pound champion.
He joined the UFC in 2011 and became a four-time title challenger. He also founded the Team Alpha Male fight camp, which is home to current UFC bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt.
Sakuraba, 47, appeared at only one UFC event, UFC Japan, in 1997. The Japanese pioneer made his name in Pride Fighting Championships, which the UFC purchased in 2007.
Between 1999 and 2000, Sakuraba defeated four members of the esteemed Gracie family, including UFC 1 tournament champion Royce. Those wins earned him the nickname "Gracie Hunter." He also fought the likes of Vitor Belfort, Wanderlei Silva, Quinton Jackson, Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic and Ken Shamrock.
"What I really want to pass on more than technique, is heart," Sakuraba said through an interpreter. "There's nothing I'm more proud of as a professional."
Smith, 56, fought in the UFC between 1997 and 2000. He won the heavyweight title in his UFC debut, defeating Mark Coleman via unanimous decision at UFC 14.
The Seattle native is widely credited as one of the first strikers to design a blueprint for defeating a wrestler. In his upset win over Coleman, Smith gave up takedowns but effectively defended himself from his back, before rallying on the feet after Coleman fatigued. He retired in 2013.
Silva, of Richmond, Virginia, retired as the UFC's matchmaker at the end of last year. He started as an adviser under the UFC's original owners and stayed on in 2011, when Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta purchased the company.
"Joe Silva is the greatest matchmaker in the history of any combat sport," said UFC president Dana White, who inducted Silva. "He was instrumental in getting us to where we are today."
The UFC Hall of Fame was founded in 2003.