- UFC CEO Dana White wants to change the sport’s ranking system.
- White said he talked to Mark Zuckerberg about how artificial intelligence could help.
- Zuckerberg has shared his passion for MMA online.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg could help improve the UFC’s ranking system, which has become a point of contention for UFC CEO Dana White.
White spoke with TNT Sports last week about the UFC’s ranking system ahead of UFC 308, which on Saturday saw undefeated Ilia Topuria defend his featherweight championship title against Max Holloway in Abu Dhabi.
During the interview, the UFC president said the current ranking system “drives me crazy.”
The ranking system is generated by a voting panel comprised of media members from select outlets. The members vote on who they consider the top fighters based on weight class and pound-for-pound rankings. This system has been used since 2013.
“I could go on and on and on, but I won’t,” White said. “We literally had meetings this week to work on it. I actually talked to Mark Zuckerberg, too, about AI.”
The Meta cofounder has spoken about his passion for mixed martial arts several times. During an interview in 2022 with podcast host Joe Rogan, Zuckerberg said he got into mixed martial arts because it requires your full attention.
“What’s a thing that’s both super engaging physically, but also intellectually, where you can’t afford to focus on something else?” Zuckerberg said. “I think, to some degree, it’s like MMA is like the perfect thing because if you stop paying attention for one second, you’re going to end up on the bottom.”
Zuckerberg has chronicled his martial arts journey on his Instagram account. He shared a video of himself training with Khai Wu in 2022 and pictures of himself after earning a blue belt in jiu-jitsu in 2023.
Zuckerberg has also attended UFC events. White nearly helped organize a fight between Zuckerberg and Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
White has criticized the UFC’s ranking system in the past, including during a press conference earlier this month.
“I can’t handle the incompetence,” White said, adding that he would prefer if the UFC didn’t handle the rankings.
White then talked about artificial intelligence, telling reporters that “there has to be a third party or AI or something that does the rankings.”
“I believe there is bias with the media, too. It’s impossible not to be biased,” White said.
Representatives for the UFC and Meta did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
