UFC President Dana White has revealed plans to implement dual fighter ranking systems through an innovative partnership with tech giant Meta.
The multi-year collaboration, which establishes Meta as the UFC’s first-ever official “fan technology partner,” will feature both traditional media-based rankings alongside a new artificial intelligence system.
“I’ve had a huge problem for many years with our ranking system, which is done by the media,” White explained during the recent partnership announcement. “So I got together with Meta and Mark [Zuckerberg] to do an AI ranking system. The AI will rank the fighters. So we will do an AI and a human ranking. So we’ll have both.”
This new approach comes after White expressed significant frustration with current media-determined rankings, particularly regarding former light heavyweight and current heavyweight champion Jon Jones‘ position in the pound-for-pound list.
“Jon Jones is ranked number three pound for pound in the world. Most ridiculous, embarrassing, stupid, know-nothing-about-fighting ranking of all time,” White stated emphatically. “But don’t worry, my friend, AI will be here soon, and this will all be fixed.”
White continued his critique of the current system: “We get all these bums that know nothing about fighting out of this and get AI in here, and we can fix all these rankings.”
The UFC executive made his position on Jones crystal clear: “Jon Jones is the number one pound-for-pound fighter in the world. It’s undebatable. Anybody who even tries to debate this with me, you’re just hating on Jon Jones.”
Early reports suggest an AI-generated ranking already circulating online places Jones at number one, followed by Islam Makhachev, Kamaru Usman, Alexander Volkanovski, and Max Holloway completing the top five.
Critics have pointed to Jones‘ limited activity—just two bouts in five years—as justification for his current media ranking, including his most recent victory against Stipe Miocic, who himself had been absent from competition for three years.
The Meta partnership extends beyond just rankings. White emphasized that the collaboration will “create this unbelievable fan experience for UFC fans through all of the technology that they’re working on right now,” including advancements in AI, virtual reality, and other emerging technologies.
This partnership represents one of the UFC’s most ambitious technological initiatives to date and signals the organization’s determination to modernize how fighters are evaluated while enhancing the overall fan experience through cutting-edge technology.
The new ranking system is expected to debut later this year as the first major rollout from this “massive long-term partnership” between the UFC and Meta.
