Elbow Space: SB Nation, USA Today To Partner On MMA Rankings

By Eric Fisher, Staff Writer, SportsBusiness Journal

BloodyElbow.com Will Run Full Composite Rankings For MMA Fighters

Blog outfit SB Nation has struck a deal with USA Today to compile co-branded composite rankings for MMA fighters that will run in the newspaper, in partial form on USAToday.com, and in full on SB Nation MMA site BloodyElbow.com. The consensus rankings are created through an algorithm developed by SB Nation and BloodyElbow.com that weighs polling data from 20 sources throughout the sport. "The story around MMA is well known -- it’s obviously got this great groundswell of fan interest, but nothing like this that’s tied it all together and put it out to this kind of mainstream distribution,” said SB Nation Chair & CEO Jim Bankoff. Financial terms were not disclosed, but the pact is based around a content-for-distribution swap in which USA Today will gain access to rankings and likely some additional BloodyElbow.com content and help push traffic back to the site.