UFC Unveils Algorithmic Ranking System to Replace Media Voting

The UFC has introduced a new algorithmic ranking system in which wins and quality of opposition account for 95% of a fighter's rating, with finish bonuses providing a modest boost and decisions offering none. Manual adjustments are no longer permitted, and the system penalizes inactivity beginning at 18 months without a fight, while the value of a victory decays after five years and becomes fully obsolete after ten. Fighters competing across multiple weight classes will carry separate divisional rankings, and there will be no pound-for-pound list under the new format. Notable early changes include Pat Sabatini and Nathaniel Wood entering the featherweight top ten, Navajo Stirling ranking twelfth at light heavyweight, and Dricus Du Plessis dropping from eighth to fifteenth at middleweight.