Joe Lauzon The UFC said Wednesday that it’s working to revamp promotional rankings that recently have become a centerpiece in the way fighters are announced to live audiences. UFC President Dana White said the rankings, which list the top 15 fighters across the promotion’s 10 weight classes, as well as a pound-for-pound list, are “a work in progress.” UFC Chairman and CEO Lorenzo Fertitta called for more “support and participation” among “key media” in the voting process. “Obviously, we want the rankings to be as well thought-out as possible,” Fertitta said during a media conference call. “We’re continuing to work through some of those issues.” Fighter rankings, which are now announced inside the cage before UFC bouts, are generated by the media and have attracted controversy, in part due to a potential conflict of interest , because of the potential to punish athletes at the negotiating table with the promotion, and because of a proposed plan to link the top 15 list to payouts from a sponsor deal with Reebok. (MMAjunkie does not participate in the media rankings.) In the latter case, several veteran UFC fighters spoke out about their concerns about being dropped to the lowest tier of sponsor pay because they are unranked.
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With rankings separated from pay, UFC calls for more media to participate – MMA Junkie