“I just can’t handle incompetence,” UFC head honcho Dana White told TNT Sports last year, making it clear how fed up he was with the current state of the rankings. He knows the divisional standings have been a bit all over the place lately. The current system, voted on by a group of media members handpicked by the UFC, has been around since 2013. But Dana felt the need for a serious upgrade. That’s what he pushed for, a complete overhaul by bringing AI into the mix, hoping to finally add some consistency and fairness to the rankings.

That’s where Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta stepped in. Back in April, the UFC announced a multi-year partnership with Meta, centered around a concept they’re calling “Fan Technology.” The goal? To elevate the fan experience and make interactions with the sport more immersive and engaging. A key part of that plan also includes using AI to fix the long-standing issues with the rankings. But since that system hasn’t been implemented yet, the problems seem to be growing even more complicated.

Aaron Bronsteter, MMA Broadcaster/Reporter for Sportsnet, has brought up one of the serious problems about the women’s rankings, wrote on X, “I’m unsure if those doing the rankings are watching the fights on a week-to-week basis if Luana Santos, who won an actual bantamweight fight impressively, is unranked, while Chelsea Chandler, who has never won a fight at the contracted bantamweight limit, remains #15. Nonsense.”

For those unversed, what Aaron Bronsteter is pointing out here is the ongoing issue of neglect when it comes to UFC rankings. He highlighted a clear example: Chelsea Chandler, who’s lost two straight fights, is still holding the #15 spot in the women’s bantamweight division. Meanwhile, Luana Santos, who’s 5-1 in the UFC, is nowhere to be found on the list.

It wasn’t just Bronsteter raising eyebrows, fans were quick to chime in after seeing his post. Many called out the UFC for failing to maintain the rankings properly, and the criticism didn’t stop there. Some also pointed out other glaring issues, like questionable placements for big names such as Ilia Topuria and Max Holloway. So, let’s take a look at what the fans are saying.

Fans share their unhinged reaction to the UFC rankings shake-up 

One user jokingly summed it up: “Stunning but unsurprising all at once. They really need to get the rankings fixed.” Clearly amused by the chaos, they highlighted just how messy things have become. But things got even more unfiltered when another fan took a shot at the entire women’s bantamweight division, saying: “There’s only like 30 women in the BW division, which includes multiple women that have since changed divisions. 1-0 as a UFC BW should get you ranked.” That comment was clearly aimed at Luana Santos, who recently moved back up from strawweight and picked up a solid win over Tainara Lisboa, yet still finds herself left out of the rankings. 

Another user pointed out, “Why are Ilia and Max still ranked featherweights when both said they aren’t fighting there anymore? We will never know.” And honestly, there’s truth to that. Despite both Max Holloway and Ilia Topuria making it clear they’ve moved up to lightweight, they’re somehow still ranked #1 and #3 at featherweight. Meanwhile, another fan went off, writing, “Add also the ranking spots occupied by Colby, Chandler, and the nonsense regarding the P4P.” It’s a clear jab at Michael Chandler’s 2-3 UFC record and Colby Covington’s inactivity—yet both still hold top rankings.

One fan broke down the ranking process in a brutally honest fashion: “It’s all very simple—if the ranking officials know who the fighter is, they stay ranked forever (Usman, Colby, Cejudo, Chandler, Costa, Walker, etc). If they don’t, the fighter has to win six straight or beat two guys they’ve heard of to crack the top 15.” And honestly, that’s a pretty fair take. It often takes lesser-known fighters several solid wins to break through, while big names tend to stick around longer, even after inactivity or losses. All things considered, touché.

So, until we actually get those AI-powered rankings—and honestly, we don’t even know exactly how they’ll work—there’s no real guarantee the ranking issues will ever be fully fixed. With that in mind, do you think the UFC will seriously address the problems with their rankings? Or is it just going to stay the same? Drop your thoughts in the comments below.