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<h3><a href="/go=news.detail&gid=448993" target="_blank">
DFW talks changes coming to ranking system
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<a href="/go=news.detail&gid=448993" ><img class="photo" src="http://img.mixedmartialarts.com/method=get&rs=33&q=75&x=13&y=-1&w=310&h=165&ro=0&s=dana-white-05-31-2014-10-53-25-822.jpg" /></a>
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<p>Each week UFC president Dana White speaks exclusively with UFC.com's <a href="https://twitter.com/MattParrinoUFC" target="_blank">Matt Parrino</a>, to go over the biggest stories of the week for <a href="http://www.ufc.com/news/dana-download-dec-4?utm_campaign=UFC&utm_medium=social&utm_source=multiple&utm_content=1417803867" target="_blank">The Download</a>. This week White naturally discussed the Reebok-UFC partnership.</p>
The Reebok revenue will not be apportioned based on purse, but will follow a tiered schedule:
Tier 1: Champion
Tier 2: Fighters ranked #1-5
Tier 3: Fighters ranked #6-10
Tier 4: Fighters ranked #11-15
Tier 5: Fighters not ranked in the top 15
The UFC fighter rankings are generated by a media panel, but White indicated the league would be tightening that up.
“If you’re the champion, you get paid the most,” explained White. “If you’re ranked one through five; and next tier, six through 10, it makes all the sense in the world.”
“I want to cut it down to a few really educated guys who vote on the rankings. Guys who know a lot about the sport, and who I think wouldn’t have any bias toward a fighter one way or another. At the end of the day, we’re human beings and you’re going to have those kinds of feelings, but I want guys that have a lot of integrity.”
White is also looking to increase the quality of the voting panel. A number of the top journalists in the MMA space are not members of the media panel, but White hopes to change that.
“I think they’re looking at it the wrong way,” said White. “I want to have conversations with those guys and tell them our perspective on it, and why they should be involved. t’s not unethical for journalists to vote on it at all if you get guys that are really good, educated about the sport, and have a lot of integrity. That’s what we’re looking for in these guys that are going to vote. And we’re definitely going to fix it.”
And lastly, White also intends to slim the number of eligible fighters.
“The best example right now is a guy like Rashad Evans,” said White. “He is ranked number four, but he doesn’t get paid unless he fights - but he’s taking up a spot. So what we need to do is, when somebody is inactive you pull them down. Then they can enter the rankings again when they fight.”
So what do you think UG? What is the best way to rank the top 15 fighters in the sport.
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