Dana White pleads with Mark Zuckerberg for help after UFC 309 rankings update as Jon Jones and Alex Pereira react
Dana White has called for the help of Mark Zuckerberg to fix the UFC rankings once and for all. White aired his frustrations yet again on social media in the aftermath of UFC 309, as Jon Jones wasn’t named the No.1 best pound-for-pound men’s fighter. Whtie previously put on a private UFC event for Zuckerberg@ufc - twitter Jones traded spots with Alex Pereira and moved up to second following his KO win over Stipe Miocic, while Islam Makhachev remained the No.1 UFC men’s pound-for-pound (P4P) fighter. The top eight on the list is made up of current UFC champions, with featherweight king Ilia Topuria fourth, followed by Belal Muhammad and Dricus Du Plessis. UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili appears next on the list and he is followed by British sensations Tom Aspinall and Leon Edwards. Alexander Volkanovski takes the last top ten spot as the No.1 ranked featherweight fighter. “I have to get rid of these clowns!” White said on his Instagram story on Monday night. “Mark Zuckerburg, let’s get this AI deal done ASAP!” White controls matchmaking and negotiates business deals within the UFC, but doesn’t oversee the ranking system. It was introduced in February 2013 to enable fans to clearly identify the best fighters in the UFC’s massive roster that consists of more than 700 fighters from over 75 countries. More than 20 members of the media determine the ranks every single week. They collectively vote on who should be included in the top 15 fighters for each weight class, as well as the P4P rankings regardless of division. In an interview with TNT Sports last month, White said that he would be happy if the UFC rankings were compiled, in part, by AI – pretty much throwing every ounce of shade in the direction of those media members. White was furious with the media members yet again@danawhite via Instagram Jones could’ve broke multiple of Stipe’s ribs with his devastating kick at UFC 309Getty He also revealed discussions had taken place with Meta CEO Zuckerberg, who is a massive UFC fan. “The ranking system drives me crazy, from the P4P to each division there’s huge mistakes,” he told Adam Catterall. “I could go on and on and on, but I won’t…We literally had meetings this week to work on it. I actually talked to Mark Zuckerberg, too, about AI, so yeah. “I’m totally going to fix the rankings. We’re going to make a lot of strong moves here coming into 2025.” The UFC CEO has also previously aired his frustrations at those who decide the rankings within his promotion. Last month, he referred to those who vote on the rankings as ‘morons’ after they failed to promote Khalil Rountree Jr up the light-heavyweight rankings following his war with Alex Pereira. Rountree was bloodied up in the championship rounds of his fight against PereiraGetty The Brazilian successfully defended his UFC title with a fourth round TKO victory over a very brave Rountree in October. Although Pereira eventually got the better of Rountree, the latter put on an incredible performance and was actually winning the bout on the judges scorecards before the fight was stopped. The result left many MMA fans confused too, as they wondered how Rountree remained No.8 in the rankings after going toe-to-toe with the kickboxing icon on the feet. Pereira reacted to the update rankings on Instagram, saying: “With this change, only I would already be happy”, alongside a photo of the P4P rankings. The image showed Pereira had marked Jones as the No.1 ranked P4P men’s fighter and demoted Makhachev to No.2, while humbly keeping himself at third. UFC heavyweight champion Jones also chipped in on the conversation. “Being ranked number 2 pound per pound at 37 years old, I’m happy with that,” he said on X after his clash with Miocic at UFC 309. Jones sent Miocic into retirement during the pair’s main event bout at Madison Square Garden with a brutal spinning back kick that he said he had been working on for months. He is currently on a 20-fight unbeaten streak in the UFC that spans over 14 years. There has been no confirmation to date if he will see AI play a role in the UFC P4P rankings, but it remains a very interesting prospect. UFC Men's pound-for-pound rankings Islam Makhachev C Jon Jones C (rank increased) Alex Pereira C (rank decreased) Ilia Topuria C Belal Muhammad C Dricus Du Plessis C Merab Dvalishvili C Tom Aspinall IC Leon Edwards Alexander Volkanovski Alexandre Pantoja Max Holloway Sean O’Malley Sean Strickland Charles Oliveira (Newly ranked)
Dana White has called for the help of Mark Zuckerberg to fix the UFC rankings once and for all.
White aired his frustrations yet again on social media in the aftermath of UFC 309, as Jon Jones wasn’t named the No.1 best pound-for-pound men’s fighter.
Jones traded spots with Alex Pereira and moved up to second following his KO win over Stipe Miocic, while Islam Makhachev remained the No.1 UFC men’s pound-for-pound (P4P) fighter.
The top eight on the list is made up of current UFC champions, with featherweight king Ilia Topuria fourth, followed by Belal Muhammad and Dricus Du Plessis.
UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili appears next on the list and he is followed by British sensations Tom Aspinall and Leon Edwards.
Alexander Volkanovski takes the last top ten spot as the No.1 ranked featherweight fighter.
“I have to get rid of these clowns!” White said on his Instagram story on Monday night. “Mark Zuckerburg, let’s get this AI deal done ASAP!”
White controls matchmaking and negotiates business deals within the UFC, but doesn’t oversee the ranking system.
It was introduced in February 2013 to enable fans to clearly identify the best fighters in the UFC’s massive roster that consists of more than 700 fighters from over 75 countries.
More than 20 members of the media determine the ranks every single week.
They collectively vote on who should be included in the top 15 fighters for each weight class, as well as the P4P rankings regardless of division.
In an interview with TNT Sports last month, White said that he would be happy if the UFC rankings were compiled, in part, by AI – pretty much throwing every ounce of shade in the direction of those media members.
He also revealed discussions had taken place with Meta CEO Zuckerberg, who is a massive UFC fan.
“The ranking system drives me crazy, from the P4P to each division there’s huge mistakes,” he told Adam Catterall.
“I could go on and on and on, but I won’t…We literally had meetings this week to work on it. I actually talked to Mark Zuckerberg, too, about AI, so yeah.
“I’m totally going to fix the rankings. We’re going to make a lot of strong moves here coming into 2025.”
The UFC CEO has also previously aired his frustrations at those who decide the rankings within his promotion.
Last month, he referred to those who vote on the rankings as ‘morons’ after they failed to promote Khalil Rountree Jr up the light-heavyweight rankings following his war with Alex Pereira.
The Brazilian successfully defended his UFC title with a fourth round TKO victory over a very brave Rountree in October.
Although Pereira eventually got the better of Rountree, the latter put on an incredible performance and was actually winning the bout on the judges scorecards before the fight was stopped.
The result left many MMA fans confused too, as they wondered how Rountree remained No.8 in the rankings after going toe-to-toe with the kickboxing icon on the feet.
Pereira reacted to the update rankings on Instagram, saying: “With this change, only I would already be happy”, alongside a photo of the P4P rankings.
The image showed Pereira had marked Jones as the No.1 ranked P4P men’s fighter and demoted Makhachev to No.2, while humbly keeping himself at third.
UFC heavyweight champion Jones also chipped in on the conversation.
“Being ranked number 2 pound per pound at 37 years old, I’m happy with that,” he said on X after his clash with Miocic at UFC 309.
Jones sent Miocic into retirement during the pair’s main event bout at Madison Square Garden with a brutal spinning back kick that he said he had been working on for months.
He is currently on a 20-fight unbeaten streak in the UFC that spans over 14 years.
There has been no confirmation to date if he will see AI play a role in the UFC P4P rankings, but it remains a very interesting prospect.
UFC Men's pound-for-pound rankings
- Islam Makhachev C
- Jon Jones C (rank increased)
- Alex Pereira C (rank decreased)
- Ilia Topuria C
- Belal Muhammad C
- Dricus Du Plessis C
- Merab Dvalishvili C
- Tom Aspinall IC
- Leon Edwards
- Alexander Volkanovski
- Alexandre Pantoja
- Max Holloway
- Sean O’Malley
- Sean Strickland
- Charles Oliveira (Newly ranked)
