How Bellator's Ranking System Will Work
Bellator is kicking off 2021 by introducing a new divisional ranking system, which is something fans have wanted the company to do for a long time now. The system is expected to launch before Bellator 255 on April 2nd and will be ranking fighters amongst 9 separate weight classes. Seven of those are men’s weight classes and two of them are women’s weight classes. These weight classes are heavyweight, light heavyweight, middleweight, welterweight, lightweight, featherweight, bantamweight, women’s featherweight, and women’s flyweight. There will also be men’s and women’s top ten pound for pound lists similar to what the UFC does.
Fighters will become eligible to be ranked if they meet the criteria listed below:
A fighter must complete one fight in the Bellator cage on a current contract. Fighters who used to fight for the promotion but went on to fight elsewhere will be required to fight on their current term in order to be ranked.
Fighters who are inactive for more than 15 months will be removed from the rankings.
Fighters who stay active in multiple divisions can be ranked in multiple divisions.
Fighters who partake in Grand Prix Tournaments will not be considered inactive in other divisions in which they are ranked.
Fighters serving a suspension that isn’t for medical related for more than 6 months will result in removal from ranking eligibility.
A fighter remains eligible for 60 days after an indication of retirement, with the organization determining if the fighter remains active and eligible.
The rankings will be determined by using a voting system, new Bellator rankings will be voted on after every event. Votes will be due on the Monday following a Bellator live event. Each rankings period will reveal how many number one contender votes that each fighter received.
The tabulation of votes will be handled by a independent third party known as the Combat Registry.
The voting panel will consist of media members who are in the MMA industry. Bellator’s staff, athletes, or anyone else affiliated with the organization will not be participating in the voting system.
The initial voting panel will include the following members of the media:
Jeff Cain - MMA Weekly
Brian Campbell - CBS Sports
Rodrigo Del Campo - Claro Sports
Rob DeMello - KHON Hawaii
Jason Floyd - The MMA Report
George Garcia - MMA Junkie
Amy Kaplan - FanSided
Nolan King - MMA Junkie
John Hyun Ko - South China Morning Post
Mark LaMonica - Newsday
Igor Lazarin - TASS Russia
Shakiel Mahjouri - Fightful MMA
Joe McDonagh - Cageside Press
John Morgan - MMA Junkie
Ken Pishna - MMA Weekly
