MMA Payout does not appreciate SBN Rankings

Yesterday I posted links to USA Today/SBN Consensus MMA Rankings. I filed it away thinking there may be some interesting discussion regarding some of the arbitrary drops and rises within the divisional pictures. Over at MMA Payout that wasn't the case.

MMA Payout decided to lampoon WAMMA, something that many MMA fans enjoy doing, with veiled snipes at WAMMA's credibility and ulterior motives. But they didn't stop there, the next target was the boys at Bloodyelbow and MMA Payout decided to bring out the kitchen metaphors. 

The chefs over at BloodyElbow, in their infinite wisdom, have concocted a recipe that they think is superior because they have tossed in the entire spice rack to make the entree taste better and they then say don't blame me when folks blanch at the taste of the dish. Their consensus rankings are only as good as the sum of its parts and and the vast majority of those parts face a credibility gap. I'm sure some from the site will say I'm making an appeal to authority and empty the rest of the rhetorical and philosophic tool box in an effort to argue the value of those rankings but such arguments don't make the methodology or sources or rankings any more credible.    

Slow down there big boy. Between all your colorful prose and food service metaphors I don't think most people picked up on what you were saying. (As someone who has worked in food service don't comment about the kitchen unless you've worked in the kitchen because you probably don't know what you are talking about.)

Basically Payout is bashing BE for using a bunch of websites MMA rankings to compile a consensus top 25. The reason that Payout doesn't like the rankings is due to the source of those individual rankings. 

MMA Payout thinks that the consensus rankings should be put together by an arbitrary group of media types within the industry.  Who pray tell does that include? Well there is a list and I'll bet you'll never guess who is on it, 

Print..Neil Davidson, Mike Chiappetta, Beau Dure, Sergio Non, Ryan Hockensmith, Gareth Davies, Todd Martin, Lance Pugmire
TV..Ron Kruck, Jon Anik, Mauro Ranallo
Online News sites.... Dann Stupp, Sam Caplan, Dave Meltzer, Ben Fowlkes, Kevin Iole, Josh Gross, Jordan Breen, Jeff Sherwood, Jeff Cain, Ken Pishna, Jesse Holland
Bloggers.. Ariel Helwani, Luke Thomas, Michael David Smith, Zach Arnold, Pramit Mohaptra, That MMAPayout Guy    

Okay, let me get this straight. SBN Rankings are shit because they use a bunch of different sources. The method to fix it is to use a bunch of different sources to make rankings. Wait a second, this seems counter initiative.

I think I smell a rat in Philadelphia (see I can quote historical figures too!).

First of all the individuals on the Payout list that actually provide rankings Bloodyelbow uses them. Sherdog, MMA Weekly, WAMMA, Fight Magazine they are all included. If you are a credible MMA website that provides monthly rankings you get an equal say in the Consensus Rankings.

(Now we could debate what precisely defines credible but Payout doesn't actually go into that kind of detail. So I wll take a pass on this issue as well.)

Let's listen the BE explain the process, 

Based on the premise that all MMA rankings are subjective but that it's still useful and informative to know who the online MMA community as a whole ranks as the best fighters in MMA, we collect and average the rankings of the top MMA websites to produce our consensus rankings.

We compile the top MMA rankings from each of our sources and award 25 points for a first place ranking, 16 for a 10th place ranking, 1 for a 25th place ranking. A formula is used to "normalize" the data so all fighters are awarded points from those lists that do not include a full 25 fighters. This formula ensures that each ranking site awards the same number of total points regardless of how many fighters they choose to rank. Each fighter's total is divided by the number of possible points to determine their standing in the Consensus Rankings.

Doesn't that sound exactly like what Payout is arguing for?

The second issue is that rankings are simply an arbitrary way of analyzing the divisional picture. It is a tool nothing more. Basically it is analogous to SAT scores. Are SAT scores a direct reflection of intelligence or collegiate success? No, they are simply a tool used in the evaluation process the exact same way MMA rankings are a tool. 

Ultimately Payout's argument is the exact same old media bullshit that drives me and other bloggers insane. Just because you are new or young doesn't make your opinion any less valid than an old guy who has been around longer. Especially when it comes to something as utterly subjective as rankings.

[Just in the interest of full disclosure WKR doesn't have rankings nor am I one of the sources for the USA Today/SBN Consensus Rankings. Personally I do not know enough about Japanese fighters to offer an informed opinion.]

What I see in this Payout piece is basically someone who wants a seat at the table and is reaching for straws against another groups rankings. So here is a solution, start posting monthly rankings!