Wikipedia:WikiProject Mixed martial arts/MMA notability
MMA notability, also known as WP:MMANOT, is an essay to give some guidance on points to consider when discussing the notability of the subjects of mixed martial arts (MMA) articles. It is a specific supplement to the overall policy of Wikipedia:Notability relating to mixed martial arts and in no way supersedes it.
These guidelines were created by WikiProject Mixed martial arts to help assess the notability of the subjects of articles. Feel free to discuss improvements on the project talk page or the discussion area for this page (WT:MMANOT).
General points
Reliable sourcing is the most important factor. Assertions of notability must be sourced from somewhere other than the individual or organization under discussion (see secondary sources); if referencing a title, the organization which sanctioned the event would be the first stop; if the subject of an article is an author, the publisher or ISBN of the subject's work should be given. A lack of any sources after looking around is a warning sign that an article may not be notable enough for inclusion.
Google and other search engines are a useful tool for finding sources, and may sometimes be persuasive (very high or very low result counts), but is not proof of whether or not something is notable (see WP:Google test). Using quotes around the search ("mixed martial art fighter") will look for only exact matches and using -Wikipedia at the end will remove self references.
Organizations
The methodology used to establish the list of notable organizations is given in the section listing notable organizations.
Criteria supporting notability
- Subject of multiple independent articles/documentaries--articles should be from national or international media, not just local coverage.
- Promotes a large number of events annually--the more fights it has sanctioned, the more notable.
- Has actively been in business for several years - the longer the organization has been around, the more notable.
- Large number of well-known and highly ranked fighters.
Criteria supporting deletion
- Has only promoted a single event.
- Short history as an organization.
- Few notable fighters fight in their events.
- Fights are no-holds-barred, or rules are much less restrictive than the unified rules of martial arts
- Promoted fights are not licensed by state or regional governing bodies.
Fighters
Amateur MMA fighters are not considered notable (unless they can pass WP:GNG under other criteria).
Criteria supporting notability
- Been ranked in the world top 10 in their division by either Sherdog (Sherdog.com) or Fight Matrix (FightMatrix.com).
Criteria supporting deletion
- Only amateur bouts
- Few fights for top-tier organizations
Individual events
Individual events are not inherently considered notable because, on the whole, the coverage they receive is routine in nature (consisting of the event announcement, who is going to take part, and the results). To be considered for a standalone article, the article will need to demonstrate the event's lasting effect using references from reliable and diverse sources that are both independent of the subject and show that the duration of coverage lasted beyond the end of the event. Should an event be evaluated as lacking in individual notability, alternatives to deletion (such as merging) should be preferred over outright deletion in accordance with WP:PRESERVE.