MMA Rankings FAQ

A fighter’s ranking is determined by a diverse set of criteria detailed below:
– A fighter’s last 3 fights
– A fighter’s recent activity over the last 5 years of competition,
– The caliber of competition they are facing
– Method of victory or loss of their fights (decisions, knockouts, submissions, etc.)
– Overall skill level and progression of skills (declining or ascending)
– Fight performance, regardless of final outcome

How often are your rankings updated?
Rankings are updated after each major event (UFC, Bellator).

Does inactivity or suspension have any impact on a fighter’s ranking?
If a fighter has not fought in over 15 months they are eliminated from the rankings. Even if they have a fight booked, they will not be eligible for the rankings until they fight. If a fighter announces their retirement they are immediately removed from the rankings.
Fighters on suspension, not due to injury, are ineligible for the UFC rankings. Once their respective suspension ends, if a fighter still has activity within 15 months they will return to rankings.

How do you rank fighters if they lose due to a controversial decision?
Rankings are based on actual fighter performance, rather than solely on the outcome which many times are decided by judges or referees that result in human error.

A few examples of controversial outcomes are the disqualification losses of Erick Silva’s fight against Carlo Prater and Jon Jones’ loss to Matt Hamill. Anyone who actually watched those fights, knows who should have won. Silva or Jones’ ranking were not effected despite losses now present on their records.

Controversial decisions are another story. A few memorable decisions over recent years (Sean Sherk vs. Evan Dunham, Leonard Garcia vs. Nam Phan, Leonard Garcia vs. Chan Sung Jung, Mauricio Rua vs. Lyoto Machida, etc.) have drawn the ire of most mixed martial arts fans. There is a distinct difference between a close fight and a robbery. If a fight is close and could have gone either way, judges’ decision, still results in the winner being ranked higher. If it is a complete robbery and nearly all other MMA websites scored the fight towards the losing fighter (MMAdecisions.com) that is taken into account in the rankings.

Why not have Bellator Rankings, One FC Rankings, or PFL rankings?
Despite those promotions possessing solid talent rosters, there is simply not enough demand to produce rankings. User can filter World rankings or view Non-UFC Rankings.