More than 13 years after launching their initial rankings system, which was based on weekly voting from a large group of media members, the UFC have altered the way that rankings will be determined going forward.
Partnering with Meta, the UFC unveiled their revised rankings known as the Meta UFC Rankings on Monday, utilizing their new system, which is an algorithmic data-driven model that has been developed internally and is “based on measurable performance instead of opinion or popularity.”
The previous rankings system will begin to transition to the new Meta system beginning this week and will be updated every Monday, per an official press release.
UFC CEO Dana White told TNT Sports in a 2024 interview that he had reached out to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg about using artificial intelligence to improve upon the current system.
A UFC representative clarified to Sportsnet that the new rankings are not actually being dictated by artificial intelligence, but rather an intuitive, data-driven algorithm that will mathematically assess an athlete’s performance in each of their bouts, paired with their previous bouts, to determine a numerical rating that will account for their placement in the rankings.
Activity will also be a factor for athletes, as long periods of inactivity will cause their rating to erode after a certain duration elapses without having competed.
For many years, the rankings have been a hot button issue within the sport, with issues ranging from inactive fighters remaining ranked, athletes protecting their ranking by rejecting bouts with unranked or lower ranked athletes and members of the voting panel working for defunct media entities.
While promotional officials acknowledge that there will always be disagreements on rankings placements based on personal opinion, the Meta UFC Rankings algorithm aims to remove any sort of individual biases from the equation.
The first incarnation of the new Meta rankings is available here.
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