Dana White is president of the UFC. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram/UFC
O UFC may be about to change its rankings system, which currently lists the top 15 fighters in each weight category. In a press conference after the Contender Series, the organization's president, Dana White, revealed that the organization is discussing the possibility of expanding the rankings to have 20 athletes.
White explained that the idea came up in a matchmaking meeting, where he realized that the welterweight division (up to 77kg) had practically all fights scheduled. According to him, this makes it difficult to create new confrontations and opportunities for athletes who are outside the top 15.
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“The welterweight division would be a good example. We're in matchmaking, and literally every division in the top 15 has fights. One of the things we talked about last week in matchmaking was, now extending our rankings to 20 instead of 15,” said White.
What would change in the new UFC rankings?
The expansion of rankings It could benefit other divisions that also have a large number of competitive fighters, such as bantamweights (up to 61,2kg) and lightweights (up to 70,3kg). On the other hand, it could be a challenge for more scarce categories, such as the men's flyweights (up to 56,7kg), which already have difficulty filling the top 15 with relevant names.
Dana White did not give a date for implementing the change in rankings, but said he is in talks with his team to assess the feasibility of the proposal. The UFC rankings are updated weekly by a panel of journalists specialized in MMA, who vote for the best fighters in each division and the weight-for-pound ranking.
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