MMAJUNKIE.COM LEAD STAFF REPORTER JOHN MORGAN TAPPED TO SERVE AS INTERIM CHAIR OF WAMMA RANKINGS COMMITTEE
By: WAMMA
The World Alliance of Mixed Martial Arts announced Thursday that John Morgan has accepted an offer to serve as the interim chair of its fighter rankings committee.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -
MMAJUNKIE.COM LEAD STAFF REPORTER JOHN MORGAN TAPPED TO SERVE AS INTERIM CHAIR OF WAMMA RANKINGS COMMITTEE
Philadelphia, PA -- The World Alliance of Mixed Martial Arts (WAMMA/www.GoWAMMA.com) announced Thursday that John Morgan has accepted an offer to serve as the interim chair of its fighter rankings committee.
WAMMA's fighter rankings consist of 30-plus of the industry's leading media members voting on a monthly basis to determine a consensus top ten at heavyweight, light heavyweight, middleweight, welterweight, lightweight, featherweight, and bantamweight.
With the goal of being MMA's equivalent to the Associated Press' Coaches Poll in College Football, WAMMA's fighter rankings debut exclusively each month on ESPN.com's MMA Live.
Independent of WAMMA's corporate officers, the rankings poll has been utilized to sanction undisputed champions in the heavyweight and lightweight weight classes with Fedor Emelianenko and Shinya Aoki recognized as champions in both divisions, respectively.
"While my position is solely accepted on an interim basis, I do hope to work closely with (WAMMA Interim COO Sam Caplan) on continuing to assure both the men's and women's ranking committees are comprised of the most knowledgeable and committed members of the mixed martial arts media," said Morgan.
A voting member in WAMMA's rankings poll since August of 2008, Morgan is currently the lead staff reporter for the highly-popular MMA web site MMAjunkie.com and is also a regular contributor to its Internet radio show "MMA Junkie Radio." The show can be heard every Monday through Friday at noon ET live from the Mandalay Bay Race & Sports Book in Las Vegas, NV.
Morgan's new role with WAMMA comes on the heels of Caplan's recent promotion from V.P. of Fighter Rankings to its interim Chief Operating Officer. With the elevation of Morgan, WAMMA continues to operate with a rankings process that is independent of its corporate governance.
"Our intent was to keep the COO position and the rankings chair position separate from the outset of my promotion," Caplan began. "However, the recent change in WAMMA's COO occurred a week before our April rankings were due. There is a lot involved with administering the fighter rankings and to expect someone to take on the role with one week's notice was simply not realistic.
"For the past week WAMMA has discussed the rankings chair position internally but we refrained from issuing comment until we knew we could get the right candidate to accept the interim chair position. I am pleased to say we've found that candidate in John Morgan, one of the most active and passionate members of WAMMA's fighter rankings poll."
Displaying his commitment for the integrity of WAMMA's monthly rankings poll, Morgan has already recused himself of his status as a voting member.
"While my position as interim chair does allow me the option of maintaining my voting privileges, I have informed Mr. Caplan that in an effort to maintain complete transparency, I will not be participating in future polls while I am fulfilling the duties of the position," Morgan stated.
Morgan will preside over a rankings committee that includes such industry experts as FoxNews.com's Mike Straka, AOL MMA Fanhouse's Michael David Smith, Yahoo! Sports and ESPN Radio's (Las Vegas) Steve Cofield, and Franklin McNeil and Jon Anik of ESPN.com's MMA Live for at least the next three months. However, Caplan indicated that if he becomes WAMMA's permanent COO that Morgan will be the leading candidate to be named the permanent chair of the rankings committee.
