Dana White defends UFC rankings and rules out changing the scoring system for fights

D. White defended the UFC's rankings and scoring system. Photo: Reproduction/YouTube UFC

One of the most important names in the dissemination of MMA in the world, Dana White understands the dynamics of sport and business like few others. In a conversation with fans promoted by 'ESPN', the 'boss' clarified points that generate controversy in the UFC. Among the topics, attention was drawn to the talk about ranking in the organization and whether there is a possibility of adopting the 'open score' (open punctuation, in English) in confrontations.

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“Obviously, rankings are very important. We always try to follow the rankings and it's incredible when we have the champion against the first place, or the first against the second. But often, there's a fight that everyone wants to see, and we're going to do it. We know every number and every little detail necessary to make a fight. All the athletes who left the Contender (Series), I know how many people watched these fighters' fights in the Contender and this continues to be updated because it remains in the system”, stated the agent.

White also criticized and ruled out any possibility of adopting the 'open score' within your organization. The scoring model allows athletes and their team to be informed of the partial result in the interval between one round and another. For Dana, this system can leave room for fights to lose excitement, as it can give an athlete, with an advantage, the possibility of 'spinning' a possible fight in his favor.

“If a guy knows he's winning the first two rounds, he can easily stay away from his opponent for a whole round and make the fight horrible. If you already know you're guaranteed two rounds, all you'll need to do is stay away from your opponent for another five minutes. This makes for very bad third rounds. It will never be perfect. There will always be a fight to make you mad or angry, to make you lose your bets. At the end of the day, watching the fight and waiting for the result is fun”, concluded the UFC president.

Last year, White ended up attracting attention for being a fierce critic of some controversial results in Ultimate. A great example happened in UFC 247, when Jon Jones overcame Dominick reyes in the unanimous decision of the judges. In the clash in question, valid for the light heavyweight belt (up to 93kg), for many, including Dana, 'Bones' was defeated, but, on the cards, the then champion retained his title.