The UFC has launched a new AI-powered rankings system running alongside the traditional media rankings, with notable discrepancies drawing scrutiny. Jan Blachowicz appears 15th in the new light heavyweight list despite holding the 4th spot in the journalists' version, while fighters such as Kevin Borjas appear in the flyweight top ten despite a losing UFC record and no finishes. Veterans including Frankie Edgar, Brian Ortega, Josh Emmett, and Derrick Lewis have dropped out of their respective top-15s entirely, and there will be no pound-for-pound list in the AI system, which UFC president Dana White justified by calling the category too subjective. The AI rankings are not currently being used for matchmaking, with the traditional version remaining the operative tool.
The UFC's newly launched AI-powered rankings system is already generating controversy, with notable discrepancies between its outputs and the traditional media-voted standings raising questions about its methodology just days after going live.
The most striking anomaly in the light heavyweight division involves Jan Blachowicz, who sits fourth in the established journalists' rankings but appears at 15th in the AI version — a swing of eleven positions for a former UFC light heavyweight champion. Elsewhere, veterans Frankie Edgar, Brian Ortega, Josh Emmett, and Derrick Lewis have been dropped from their respective top-15s entirely under the new system. The UFC also confirmed there will be no pound-for-pound list in the AI rankings, with UFC president Dana White characterizing the category as too subjective to quantify algorithmically.
Perhaps the sharpest point of scrutiny involves Kevin Borjas, a 28-year-old flyweight from Peru who trains out of Pitbull Martial Arts Center. Borjas carries an overall record of 11-5 and has recorded zero takedowns per 15 minutes and zero submission attempts in his UFC appearances, with a striking accuracy of 42 percent. His placement inside the AI flyweight top ten despite a losing UFC record and no finishes has drawn immediate skepticism from observers.
Why it matters
- The Blachowicz discrepancy highlights how dramatically the AI system can diverge from consensus human evaluation, even for high-profile contenders.
- Borjas appearing in a top ten without a winning UFC record or a single finish raises legitimate questions about what inputs and weighting the algorithm is using.
- The absence of a pound-for-pound list removes a key reference point; fighters like reigning lightweight and now welterweight champion Islam Makhachev, ranked number one pound-for-pound in traditional polls, have no equivalent standing in the new system.
- UFC officials have confirmed the AI rankings carry no matchmaking weight for now, leaving the traditional version as the operative tool for booking fights.
