UFC president Dana White is not happy with the latest fighter rankings that were released earlier this month.
White is never afraid to speak his mind, and he was furious with the rankings published in the wake of UFC 307 on October 5.
Each of the eight UFC men’s weight divisions has a one-to-15 ranking system, with the four women’s divisions also following suit.
A fighter’s ranking usually dictates their next opponent. Normally, a fighter entering the UFC will have several fights with unranked opponents before progressing to bouts with a ‘top 15’ fighter if they successfully negotiate their earlier bouts.
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For example, Paddy ‘The Baddy’ Pimblett fought five non-ranked opponents before eventually competing against ‘ranked’ King Green at UFC 304 in Manchester. The Liverpool-born lightweight won the contest, which allowed him to gain a ranking in the division.
In June 2024, when speaking on JRE Fight Companion, UFC commentator Joe Rogan explained how the rankings are decided - adding that he normally agrees with the rankings.
“Based on who’s winning it’s voted on,” he explained.
“It’s based on the experts, [they] are deciding, like the press… they’re the best rankings we currently have available, and most people agree on them.
“They’re very close to what I would say are accurate. I only very rarely disagree with the rankings.”
However, White’s opinion of the current rankings is less than positive.
"The morons strike again,” he said in a video posted to his Instagram story.
“Khalil Rountree fights that bad ass fight against [Alex] Pereira, and the morons keep him at #8.
“Literally this week, I have a meeting to try to fix the rankings and get all these know-nothing, do-nothing motherf***ers out of it."
The fight White referred to was the light heavyweight championship fight between Rountree Jr and Pereira at UFC 307 in Salt Lake City, Utah.
The Brazilian came away as the winner after a fourth-round knockout. But Rountree Jr impressed onlookers with his persistent will to exchange with the champion.
UFC and MMA fans, in general, judge fighters based on their performance level rather than just the result of a fight. In contrast, boxers are widely written off if they sustain a loss.
The UFC ranking panel is made up of 21 media outlets, according to Essentially Sports. The pound-for-pound list is also considered, and then an aggregate is decided.
The pound-for-pound list is more debatable as the fighters included are largely unlikely to compete, given the fact they are all in different weight divisions.
White did not hold back with his thoughts on the pound-for-pound list when speaking to journalist Kevin Iole in August 2024.
He ranted about how he thought UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones should be the pound-for-pound number one.
"Jon Jones is ranked number three pound-for-pound in the world,” he said.
"The most f****** ridiculous, embarrassing, stupid, know-nothing about f****** fighting ranking of all time.
"Jon Jones is the number one pound-for-pound fighter in the world, period, end of story.
"To have anybody above Jon Jones right now, just goes to show that you know absolutely f****** nothing.”
Topics: UFC, Dana White, UFC News
Luke Davies