One's fighters now ranked

In a move welcomed by fans and fighters, mixed martial arts (MMA) organisation One Championship yesterday announced its first official athlete rankings for select weight divisions across MMA, Muay Thai and kickboxing.

The rankings reflect the top five contenders in each weight division.

In MMA, the weight classes that now have rankings are the men's strawweight (up to 56.7kg), flyweight (61.2kg), bantamweight (65.8kg), featherweight (70.3kg), lightweight (77.1kg), and women's strawweight and atomweight (52.2kg) divisions.

In Muay Thai, the weight classes ranked are the men's strawweight, flyweight, bantamweight and featherweight, and women's atomweight divisions. One's kickboxing athletes in the same five weight classes - as well as those in the lightweight division - are also ranked.

Singaporean MMA fighter Tiffany Teo, who is the top-ranked contender for the strawweight title held by China's Xiong Jingnan, said: "It's certainly good to have these rankings so athletes have a clearer idea of their standing.

"Most of us compete aiming for a title shot and we all have a rough overview of our respective divisions, but now knowing exactly where we stand helps a little bit more."

The full rankings can be found on One's official website and on its mobile app, where it will also be updated after events.

An 18-person panel of sports media and industry experts, which includes former fighters Miesha Tate, Rich Franklin and Ann Osman, will determine any ranking changes after each One event, based on criteria such as wins and losses, most recent performances and quality of opponents.

With a ranking system finally in place for One, which was formed in 2011, there is greater clarity on how the organisation grants title opportunities to its fighters. It will also help fans understand the significance of fights between top contenders.

One chairman and chief executive officer Chatri Sityodtong told The Straits Times that it always intended to introduce official rankings and he had been considering the move for some time, but only finalised its panel recently.

"The rankings will bring more clarity and transparency for our athletes as they chase their dreams for a world championship title," he said.

"Fans can also follow their favourite athletes and their journeys more closely as they climb or fall in the rankings."

Local MMA fan Justin Sim said the move to introduce rankings was a good one because "it gives us fans more to talk about".

"Even if we disagree with some of the rankings... (debates) could create more buzz around fights and fighters," he said.

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ONE INDEPENDENT RANKINGS PANEL

• Tom Taylor (BJPenn.com)

• Stewart Fulton (MMA in Japan)

• Nicolas Atkin (South China Morning Post)

• Ian Shutts (Lowkick MMA)

• Santino Honasan (ABS-CBN)

• J.M. Siasat (GMA Network)

• Manabu Takashima (MMA Planet)

• Yuji Kitano (Abema TV Japan)

• James Goyder (AsianMMA.com)

• Marcelo Alonso (Combate)

• Sazali Abdul Aziz (The Straits Times)

• Worapath Arunpakdee (Thairath TV)

• Poptorn Roongsamai (Champ Magazine)

• Wanlop Sawasdee (MGR Online)

• Adam Kayoom (Former athlete)

• Ann Osman (Former athlete)

• Rich Franklin (Former athlete)

• Miesha Tate (Former athlete)

Correction note: One Championship has clarified that Marcelo Alonso is with Combate.