Introducing the Bloody Elbow Meta-Rankings: Lt Heavyweight

Fighter	Points
1. Quinton Jackson	30
2. Lyota Machida	21.5
3. Chuck Liddell	21.33
4. Dan Henderson	20.67
5. Forrest Griffin	17.67
6. Mauricio Rua	16.83
7. Keith Jardine	16.17
8. Wanderlei Silva	8.33
9. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou	7
10. Ricardo Arona	2.5
11. Rashad Evans	1.83
12. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira	0.67
13. Vladimir Matyushenko	0.33
14. Thiago Silva	0.17

Since opinions are like assholes -- that is, everybody has one and they all stink -- we've never posted our own rankings here at Bloody Elbow. Instead I've periodically done roundups discussing the various rankings done by the big sites. Like this.

After some discussions with Luke Thomas and Brent Brookhouse we've decided to formalize the process -- instead of rankings, Bloody Elbow will produce "Meta-Rankings" -- they won't tell you who we think the best fighters are but they'll sure as shit tell you who are considered to be the top fighters.

Rankings are based on an average of 6 Media Rankings (MMA Weekly, Sherdog, Irish Whip, MMA on Tap, our own Luke Thomas', and 5 oz of Pain), Fan Rankings (represented by MMA HQ Rankings) and Computer Rankings (represented by Fight Matrix). If we missed a good ranking someone is doing let us know, we'll add them to the mix. Particularly other computerized or fan vote rankings.

A #1 vote is worth 10 points, #2 is 9 points and so on. Media rankings are totaled and divided by 6 to represent the average media ranking, this is then added to the computer and fan ranking points to create the total (perfect score is 30 points).

One interesting thing these rankings really bring to light is the levels revealed by the point totals. It's clear that Quinton Jackson is head and shoulders above the pack with a perfect 30 points. However, Dan Henderson, Chuck Liddell and Ryoto Machida are neck and neck with less than a point separating them. Here we've got the ex-PRIDE champ, the long-time UFC champ and the rising contender all nipping at Rampage's heels. Henderson is moving down to 185. Machida has ben offered Tito Ortiz next -- a clear sign that the UFC sees him as a serious contender as Tito fights are always money. The big question mark is who will Chuck fight next?

Likewise Forrest Griffin, Mauricio Rua and Keith Jardine are all bunched together with less than 1.5 points separating them but more than 3 points between Forrest and Henderson. Forrest is obviously getting the next (increasingly rare) title shot. So maybe we'll see Jardine and Shogun throw down before too long.

The fast-fading but Hall-of-Fame bound Wanderlei Silva and the rising-star-who-stumbled Sokoudjou are the next plateau with each having less than 10 points.

And just like everybody else, the Meta-Rankings have one non-UFC fighter squeeking into the top 10. In this case it's the unsigned PRIDE veteran Ricardo Arona but Rashad Evans is within a point.

Rounding out the field (and remember our lists includes anyone who makes even a single top ten list)are the "we snuck into the bottom of somebody's top ten list but barely" crowd: Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Vladimir Matyushenko, and Thiago Silva.

I'll be posting the other divisions over the next few days. Let us know what you think of the Meta-Rankings.