UFC chief Dana White is enlisting Mark Zuckerberg’s help to correct the organization’s pound-for-pound rankings.
White has long campaigned for UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones as the top pound-for-pound and greatest fighter of all time despite his lack of activity.
Following Jones’ first successful defense of the heavyweight title on Saturday, he moved up the pound-for-pound list but is still short of the top spot White religiously claims belongs to him.
As a result, White called on the tech giant to help solve what he believes is a flawed system.
‘I have to get rid of these CLOWNS!!’ White wrote on top of a screenshot of the list on his Instagram story. ‘@zuck Let’s get this AI deal done ASAP!!!!!’
Dana White called for tech giant Mark Zuckerberg’s help to fix the UFC’s ranking system
White has long insisted that Jon Jones should be the No 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the UFC
The UFC rankings are voted over by a panel of MMA journalists across different outlets.
With Jones’ placement being an ongoing point of contention for White, he has previously threatened to replace the panel with artificial intelligence. However, the media continues to cast their ballots, with their results posted on the UFC’s official website.
Jones put on a masterclass against Stipe Miocic, which ended in a third-round TKO, at UFC 309 in Madison Square Garden.
The victory moved him from third place to second, swapping slots with UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira. The move seems drastic, considering Pereira defended his title three times this year, scoring knockouts in each outing.
On the other hand, Bones’ last fight before 309 was in March 2023, when he submitted Ciryl Gane to win the vacant heavyweight strap. Poatan has fought six times and won five straight between Jones’ last two fights.
Jones moved to second in the UFC pound-for-pound rankings, overtaking Alex Pereira
Pereira defended his UFC light heavyweight title in three knockout victories this year
UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev sits atop the list after one fight in June
Jones was scheduled to face Miocic at UFC 295 in November 2023 – a pay-per-view that Pereira saved in Jones’ absence – but pulled out due to a severe shoulder injury. Nonetheless, Pereira’s recent success proves more worthy than Jones’ lone defense.
Sitting on top of the pound-for-pound ranks is lightweight champion Islam Makhachev, who stepped into the Octagon once this year in a submission win over Dustin Poirier in June. Apart from Jones and Pereira’s swap, the rest of the list remained the same post-UFC 309.
A specialist team at Fight Minds has already released an AI-generated UFC rankings system on their Vercel App.
While White insists that artificial intelligence would rightfully rank Jones atop, the Fight Minds list has Pereira on top, with Jones and Makhachev at second and third, respectively.
