The days of random media members selecting who deserves a UFC title opportunity are over, and Dana White couldn’t be happier. The UFC, after a year of testing and fine-tuning, has officially introduced its brand-new, AI-powered “Meta UFC Rankings” system, which was developed in collaboration with tech giant Meta.

In a new video posted to Meta’s Instagram page, the head honcho went straight to the point while revealing why the promotion decided to focus solely on algorithms and machine learning.

“Well, I think the old ranking system was a combination of laziness, bias, and no knowledge of the actual sport,” Dana White said. “I mean, all I care about is that the rankings are fair; they’re as close to perfect as possible.”

This technological update was honestly long overdue for Dana White, who had been against the subjective media voting panel for years. In fact, the head honcho did not shy away from speaking time and again against the old system.

One such breaking point came after UFC 307, when the media kept light heavyweight contender Khalil Rountree Jr. at No. 8, despite the fact that he pushed champion Alex Pereira to the brink in an all-out war.

“The morons strike again,” White wrote in his Instagram story. “Khalil Rountree fights that bada– fight against Pereira, and the morons rank him No. 8—keep him at No. 8. Literally this week, I have a meeting to try to fix the rankings and get all those know-nothing motherf—— out of it. So, hopefully this week I get this fixed.

“I can’t handle incompetence. I can’t take it anymore; it’s driving me crazy. And I can’t let people that I don’t believe know what the f— they are talking about deal with the rankings anymore. I just can’t do it. I have to figure out a solution.”

Now, finally, the software officially runs the show. The new system updates every Monday after an event, combining statistical modeling and machine learning with the UFC’s internal MMA expertise.

And unlike it being a popularity contest, it actually tracks actual measures such as win types, fighter activity, and recent momentum to guarantee that a fighter’s ranking accurately reflects true performance. At least that’s what Meta claims in the press release.

“The system combines statistical modeling and machine learning with the deep domain expertise of the UFC,” the press release read. “It evaluates a comprehensive set of objective metrics, including outcome probability, win type, fighter trajectory, and weight-class sensitivities.”

While fans can still toggle back to the old media poll on the website, the computer code has become the official law of the land as far as the promotion is concerned—and the UFC roster surely has some serious thoughts about the change.

Dana White’s newly introduced algorithm has the UFC roster divided

As soon as the computer model ran the calculations, the weight classes got truly shaken up, and fighters’ reactions were all over the place. On one hand, fighters who had benefited greatly from the new system were ecstatic.

UFC Bantamweight star Luana Santos‘ recent win over Karol Rosa shot her up to No. 3 in the world, and she made sure she celebrated the new spot by posting about it on social media. “I’M NUMBER 3 IN THE WORLD! ✨❤️,” she wrote.

Middleweight finisher Gregory Rodrigues also celebrated his new No. 9 ranking.

“UFC released its new AI-powered rankings by Meta today. I’m now ranked #9 in the middleweight division. Good to see the work being recognized. But I’m not done yet. It’s about time👊🏽,” he wrote on Instagram.

Featherweight Patrick Sabatini (now No. 7) and heavyweight Vitor Petrino (now top 10) also shared emotional posts about finally seeing their work pay off.

“A lot of people see a number,” Sabatini wrote on Instagram. “I see every early morning, every hard round, every sacrifice, every setback, everyone that supported me and every lesson that got me here and where I am going. Grateful. Blessed. Motivated.”

Meanwhile, Vitor Petrino decided to speak directly with his home audience.

“Every time closer to our goal!” he wrote in Portuguese. “TOP #10 in the World. Updated UFC rankings.”

Even Khabib Nurmagomedov‘s powerhouse former manager Ali Abdelaziz backed the system.

“I love the new ranking,” he wrote on X.

On the flip side, several fighters looked at the rankings and had no idea what was going on. Flyweight Charles Johnson was undoubtedly the most vocal critic after the AI placed him at the No. 15 spot.

Johnson pointed out what he perceived as strange logic: Lone’er Kavanagh rose all the way to No. 5 with a comeback win against Brandon Moreno, but he was knocked out just last year by ‘InnerG,’ who, after a defeat against Alex Perez earlier this year, bounced back with a stunning win over Bruno Silva in March.

“What am I lookin at 😆,” he wrote on X. “This 💩 gotta be a joke. Somebody playin I can’t take none this serious 😆”

Lightweight fan favorite Renato Moicano couldn’t resist throwing in a sarcastic jab either.

“For the first time this bulls— ranking is right,” he wrote on X after moving up in the rankings.

Meanwhile, bantamweight veteran Yana Santos wasn’t angry, just confused after seeing the division be shuffled around her while she still stayed at the No. 6 spot.

“Interesting update from the new Meta AI UFC rankings,” she wrote on X. “Luana Santos is now ranked #3, Raquel Pennington dropped to #15, Irene Aldana moved down as well, yet I remain at #6. Not complaining—just genuinely curious about the formula behind these rankings.”

Then there’s light heavyweight Dominick Reyes, who made no complaints at all. Instead, ‘The Devastator’ instantly started looking at how the new rankings could help the promotion move towards a unique tournament system.

Whether the algorithm achieves Dana White’s desired “perfection” or introduces a whole new set of issues remains to be seen. One thing is certain: fighters will be checking those rankings every Monday, and we will get to see some more interesting reactions.