bubbleboy66

I like the idea of 5 round eliminator fights. There are some problems with it though. One is extra time needed and the other is injuries. If the winner was injured who does the shot go to? The UFC could work out the time issues just fine I think.
Eliminator fights would be "official" in that the winner is promised a title shot and it is set apart from other fights with its longer rounds, maybe even just four rounds.

CTFlyingKnee

I agree with some of the points made, and disagree with some as well. Heres my take. (Keep in mind I did not read everyones posts, so if I duplicated your ideas, my bad)

I feel that an official ranking system would be good, but how would it be managed? On wins and losses alone? Say for example there are several fighters with identical records, how would the the rankings prove who is the higher up? I mean, clearly if Fighter A beats Fighter B, then "A" is ranked higher than "B", but what happens if fighter "A" loses to fighter "F"? Can he automatically be considered as the new "A"? Or would he just move up in rank a few slots? It might not make much sense as you are probably thinking "Well if A is at the top, wouldnt he be champion?" I say the rankings top at Title Holder and then go from 1-10. I can see this working more on a points system though, taking into consideration maybe round/time of the victory or even way of victory. Maybe you dont gain as many points with a Split Decision that you would a Unanimous Decision or even by stoppage? Alot of scenarios would have to be played out in order for this to be flawless. I personally do not know how "official" MMA rankings work, so I can only assume you would base the ranking system how they do it. If the UFC wanted to implement their own way of ranking I suppose it can work the same was as the NCAA does it (certainly not to be confused with the BCS alone ).

Great topic!

The Lone Wolf

Personally, i dont mind the way it is right now. I mean sure, we can grumble that "such and such a person doesnt deserve a shot" but with a ranking system, we wouldnt have huge upsets. And i think they are part of the reason why MMA is so great. Also it worries me that a ranking system is just another step towards mirroring boxing

Zarlok

I was really feeling ya, man, but I got to the part where you said " I am thinking of guys such as Roger Heurta and Cheik Congo." And suddenly it was like you were Charlie Brown's teacher.

looney liam

the ufc won't do this for the same reasons why they higher mostly american or english speaking fighters, MONEY.

lyoto machida has been on a roll ever since entering the ufc, now because of his elusive style they've been keeping him out of the spotlight. im sure if lyoto machida was finishing fights and had a huge crowd following he would be fighting griffin now instead of rashad.

there is still some kind of ranking system going on though. alot of the recent fights have been with guys in a similar spot in the division. thiago alves last 3 fights, griffin/sherk, florian/stevenson, jardine/vera etc. the heavyweight division is noticibly messed up, but thats because its so thin now.

the title shots mainly go to superstars, which makes hard for rising guys like alves to get a shot. the welterweight division is notorious for this. seems like gsp, hughes and penn have constantly been in the title scene, while guys like alves, sanchez and fitch were in the limelight (granted, fitch got his shot, but it took 8 wins! thats way too much)

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My current favirote fighters
Anderson Silva
Junior Dos Santos
Mauricio Rua
Alistair Overeem
Jon Jones

WAR dan hardy, paul daley, ross pearson and terry etim doing it for the britz!

rockybalboa25

Silva isn't from America and neither is NOG. If Machida continues to win he'll get a shot in 2009, after the winner of Griffen-Evans fights the winner of Silva-Jackson. Can you honestly say that Machida has beaten more quality opponents than Rampage of Silva.