Right after Islam Makhachev defended his #1 position in the UFC, President Dana White also announced a potential change that could be revealed in the coming weeks
Dana White: Islam Makhachev is UFC’s Top 1, a new change will be revealed.
Islam Makhachev has completed a personal record with 4 consecutive title defenses in the lightweight division, the most in UFC history. Compared to his fellow champions who rose to the top in 2022, Makhachev is the only fighter still holding onto his title.
These accomplishments are enough for UFC President Dana White to acknowledge that Islam Makhachev is currently the top fighter in the promotion, even though he had previously repeatedly emphasized that Jon Jones was his personal pick for the top spot.
“Islam wants to fight anyone. He keeps competing, showing up, and performing exactly like a guy who has to take a short-notice fight when you’re the best in the world and the champion.”
“There’s no doubt anymore. He’s number one in the world, regardless of weight class, and undoubtedly the best to ever achieve this in this weight class.”
Islam Makhachev is currently the champion who has held his position the longest
Speaking about the UFC rankings again, this system was once criticized by UFC President Dana White, who argued that Jon Jones should be ranked above Makhachev.
In reality, the UFC rankings are not entirely determined by the promotion itself. The UFC gathers a “panel” consisting of media members, which includes 20 MMA websites, mainly focused on news and betting. The UFC collects this data and creates the rankings based on the collective opinions.
However, Dana White has repeatedly expressed dissatisfaction with the old ranking system. He once announced a collaboration with META CEO Mark Zuckerberg – the company that recently appointed Dana White to its board of directors – to introduce a new ranking system based on artificial intelligence (AI).
According to Dana White, the new ranking system could be unveiled in the next few weeks: “We’re still working on it, maybe we should release it in a couple of weeks, maybe 2-3 weeks from now. Definitely AI, we believe we have a good plan for this,” Dana White confidently stated.
Rankings are always a hot topic after each event and before the fights are scheduled. The unpredictability of fighter positions is a key element for the UFC to gather insights from MMA experts and, more broadly, from audiences around the world.
From these rankings, fighters also have to constantly battle for better positions, with the ultimate goal of securing title shot opportunities.
