It's been announced that bloodyelbow.com is partnering with USA Today to provide consensus rankings for each MMA weight class.  The rankings consist of the top ten fighters using the meta-rankings system.  You can get the full explanation of the rankings system here.  MMA4Real is proud to announce that it is one of the 22 sites that contribute rankings so that the meta rankings are possible.  You can check out the MMA4Real top ten here.  Congrats go out to my friends at BE.

The full press release is after the jump. 

SB Nation Partners with USA TODAY To Offer Definitive MMA Rankings
Top-Selling Newspaper and Largest Sports Blogging Network Team Up to Centralize Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) Rankings
For Immediate Release March 25, 2009

Washington, DC - SB Nation, the fastest-growing network of fan-centric online sports communities, in conjunction with America's top-selling newspaper, USA TODAY, announces the launch of the "USA TODAY/SB Nation Consensus MMA Rankings" which will collect and average fighter rankings of the top MMA publications. 

The rankings, which will offer a definitive perspective of top MMA fighters across all weight-classes, will be released monthly and published in the Sports section of USA TODAY, online at USATODAY.com and on SB Nation's MMA commentary and community blog, BloodyElbow.com at theURL www.bloodyelbow.com/rankings.

The consensus perspective will help to inform MMA fans, encourage debate and seek to quantify subjective opinions within the broader MMA community.

"Fans have been turning to USA TODAY for different sports rankings since our launch 26-years ago," Managing Editor/Sports Monte Lorell said. "This partnership with SB Nation helps us expand our reach into the high-growth area of mixed martial arts."

"SB Nation is committed to enabling high-quality fan conversations across all sports," said Jim Bankoff, Chairman and CEO of SB Nation.  "Partnering with USA TODAY further validates the voices and opinions of MMA fans everywhere.  We are sure it will stimulate strong debate and analysis throughout the MMA community."

The USA TODAY/SB Nation Consensus MMA Rankings are compiled each month by Nate Wilcox and Richard Wade of BloodyElbow.com.  The rankings utilize each of the top MMA rankings from multiple unique sources.  A weighted-formula is applied to normalize and distill the various rankings into one consensus ranking per weight class.

"This collaboration presents another step forward for MMA," said BloodyElbow.com's Editor-in-Chief, Luke Thomas. "The consistent ranking of MMA fighters will give readers a comprehensive picture on the sport.  We are thrilled to be working with USA TODAY to offer this centralized ranking for avid fans of MMA as well as new converts."

About SB Nation
SB Nation is an owned and operated network of nearly 200 (and growing) individually branded web communities that reach nearly five million monthly unique visitors.  Each site offers high quality year-round coverage and conversations led by professional bloggers who are passionate fans of their favorite teams, leagues or sports.  SB Nation takes a different approach to online sports media by giving audiences distinct team and sport-specific experiences.   A complete directory of SB Nation's websites can be found at SBNation.com.