Bellator MMA will launch official fighter rankings when they make their move to SHOWTIME.
In a press release, the promotion announced that they will use a voting panel of 15 media members to vote on the fighter rankings for the top-ten competitors in nine weight classes. Bellator MMA was founded in 2008 by Bjorn Rebney and featured tournaments to crown champions for various weight-classes. When current President Scott Coker took over in 2014, the promotion stepped away from tournaments for a bit before featuring the World Grand Prix’s like the current featherweight one going, and the upcoming light-heavyweight Grand Prix in April.
In the release, Coker said “As we continue to sign the top free agents in the sport and see the success of young prospects inside the Bellator cage, we felt that the time was right to introduce official fighter rankings. We are always looking at ways to improve our product and this adds a new and exciting aspect to the organization that will have a significant impact on how fans watch Bellator. Every division is competitive, every matchup is important, and we are set for several potential blockbusters as we begin a new year on Showtime.”
Votes will be cast after every event and tallied by a third-party company to ensure transparency. The 15 members of the voting panel come from various MMA outlets that have been covering the sport for a long time including MMA Junkie, Newsday, and Fansided as some of the outlets on the inaugural panel.
For a while, Bellator would receive criticism for some of its past matchmaking but this is definitely a step in the right direction. Sure, tournaments can give a fighter a fair shot at a title but the fighters would likely like to know where they stand too.
How do you think the fighter rankings will play out?
