It can be a thankless job doing the rankings, a bit like being an official, so in Steve's defence he is doing an excellent job and I know Steve, he is a genuinely good guy and a friend.

However, Mark has a good point regarding independent rankings;

For UK Muay Thai, you can be ranked with UKMF, ISKA, IKF,WRSA,WBC, GOLDEN BELT and probably a few more. Each one of these has their own rankings based upon the individual's fight record and achievements within the said organisation.

However, a fighter ranked no 1 with ISKA may not have the same ranking as say IKF and I understand this as it happens also in boxing with WBC, WBA etc. If you buy a copy of 'Ring' magazine you will see the WBC & WBA rankings separately but there is also a 'Ring magazines' independent rankings, which is based upon the overall fight record and achievements of the individual fighter not just what they achieved via a governing/sanctioning body.

So, each individual body will of course continue to publicise their rankings but an independent ranking should be implemented in my opinion. As an example: IMTRB - Independent Muay Thai Rankings Board (just an example suggestion that I randomly made up to give a flavour of the idea).

In saying all this, and this is an observation not criticism, my fighter Leigh Edlin is the IKF English & British Champion, ISKA British, Common-wealth and European champion but is not ranked anywhere on their sites.

So, even the more established bodies are having problems updating their records and so I can therefore sympathise with Steve for the tough job he has. Nevertheless, at the moment, the rankings he does are not independent.

Just my personal thoughts on this as it is a very debatable subject.

SHAUN