This One's For You, Casey (WAMMA-Related)

Courtesy of the World Alliance Of Mixed Martial Arts:

World Alliance Of Mixed Martial Arts Releases New Rankings For January

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -

The World Alliance of Mixed Martial Arts (WAMMA) has released its latest rankings for the month of January, which are now available for reading at the association's official website located at www.GoWAMMA.com.

The biggest change pertaining to the rankings will come as little surprise, as new UFC light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans vaulted from his fourth place ranking in December to number one in January. Evans becomes the new WAMMA number one ranked light heavyweight following his UFC 92 title victory over Forrest Griffin.

"For quite some time, Rashad's biggest supporters felt he was being overlooked and underrated by many pundits," said WAMMA Chief Operating Officer Michael Lynch. "However, with his TKO victory over Forrest last month, Evans emerged as the undeniable number one fighter at 205 in the world."

As a result of Griffin's loss, WAMMA's group of esteemed pollsters felt it appropriate to collectively rank him as its third best light heavyweight, behind not only Evans but also former UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton "Rampage" Jackson.

Jackson lost to Griffin in a head-to-head meeting this past July but pollsters apparently felt he was worthy of the number two slot following his dramatic first round knockout over former WAMMA number five ranked light heavyweight Wanderlei Silva. The defeat caused Silva to drop to seven in this month's rankings.

WAMMA's January rankings also saw another new number one fighter emerge, as former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski supplanted former UFC interim heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. Incidentally, Arlovski is slated to compete for the WAMMA heavyweight title this Saturday when he takes on defending champion Fedor Emelianenko during Affliction and M-1's "Day of Reckoning" pay-per-view event at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.

"WAMMA's rankings committee operates with great autonomy from the company's corporate officers," Lynch began to state. "It had already been determined that Arlovski was a worthy challenger to Fedor's crown and his ascendency to the number one contender's position is only reaffirmation of that belief."

As a result of last month's second round TKO loss to Frank Mir at UFC 92, Nogueira fell all the way from number one to number six. With the win and his possession of the UFC interim heavyweight title, Mir was able to move all the way from his number eight ranking in December to number three in January.

WAMMA's middleweight rankings also showed movement at the top, as Dan Henderson's win at light heavyweight this past Saturday at UFC 93 made him ineligible to receive votes at 185 pounds. Towards the end of 2008, WAMMA pollsters voted that fighters were only eligible to receive votes in the most recent weight class in which they competed in, unless they hold a title in their previous division, much like Anderson Silva.

Currently viewed as a light heavyweight, Henderson's split decision victory over Franklin moved him ahead in the top ten at 205 pounds, with the former PRIDE middleweight and welterweight champion now ranked at number nine with Franklin falling to ten.

WAMMA's rankings committee is tentatively scheduled to convene next on Monday, February 16. Next month's rankings are sure to feature a tremendous amount of movement with matchups featuring Fedor vs. Arlovski and number one ranked WAMMA welterweight Georges St. Pierre vs. number one ranked WAMMA lightweight B.J. Penn set to have taken place.

To see WAMMA's January rankings in their entirety, please visit www.GoWAMMA.com.

ABOUT WAMMA: WAMMA is a multifaceted fighter and fan forward organization dedicated to leading the sport of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) to unprecedented levels of integrity, legitimacy and prosperity. With the help of forward-looking MMA promotions, WAMMA has created an environment where fighters from all organizations have the opportunity to openly compete to be the one true, undisputed champion in their respective weight classes based on WAMMA's objective MMA Rankings. WAMMA's newly created Fighter Advisory Board, co-chaired by MMA legend Randy "The Natural" Couture and world renowned trainer and five-time UFC champion Pat Miletich, will offer a unique resource for fighters.