Be it the P4P rankings debate or the rankings dilemma, UFC CEO Dana White faced a backlash from the combat sports community last year after claiming that the rankings team might have been somewhat biased. However, the UFC head honcho assured fans that the entire team would be replaced with AI. Now, after joining the Meta Board of Directors, White seems determined to revolutionize the rankings system as he announces the introduction of AI.

Last year, while talking with TNT Sports, the UFC CEO was asked about the fall of the rankings system. Dana White assured that they would execute a deal with Meta AI and reframe the ranking system as a whole. “We literally had meetings this week to work on it. I actually talked to Mark Zuckerberg about AI, too. I’m totally going to fix the rankings. We’re going to make a lot of strong moves here coming into 2025.”

Months after his initial announcement about using Meta AI as the foundation for UFC rankings, the UFC CEO was asked about it again during the UFC 311 post-fight press conference. Reporters pressed Dana White for an update on the progress of integrating AI into the organization’s systems, to which White emphasized that they are working on it and will announce it in the near future, “We’re still working on it, and actually, we should be announcing that in the next few weeks, right? Yeah, like two or three weeks.”

It must be noted that Dana White might be persuading the Meta CEO to accelerate work on the AI system, considering that the UFC CEO is a member of the tech giant’s board of directors. According to Mark Zuckerberg, Dana White will “add a depth of expertise and perspective that will help us tackle the massive opportunities ahead with AI, wearables, and the future of human connection.”

Well, the UFC CEO is on a crusade to change the ranking system after last year’s fiasco. However, former dual-weight champion Daniel Cormier has questioned his quest. Let’s have a look at what the former UFC fighter had to say.

Daniel Cormier gives a hard-hitting reality check to the UFC CEO Dana White

After the UFC 307 clash between Alex Pereira and Khalil Rountree Jr., there was a debate about ‘The Warhorse’ ranking despite his amazing performance against ‘Poatan’. The MMA community believes that despite the loss, Rountree Jr. showcased immense fighting abilities and called for his move up in the rankings, but he was never awarded that. Fans grilled Dana White for it. However, Daniel Cormier believes that all the rankings were fair.

While having a conversation with his audience on his YouTube handle, Cormier asserted, “When talking about rankings, there is no easy way to rank anything, especially fighting. One of the biggest issues Dana had with the rankings was Khalil Rountree staying where he was prior to the fight with Alex Pereira.”

He further added, “Khalil did really well… But at the end of the day, he still lost. So on what grounds are we really moving him up? Especially when the other guys didn’t really fight. I believe that when you change this and they will, it’ll lead to a different set of complaints from people… I think we got to just get the people in a position that knows what they’re talking about if we want those rankings to change for the better guys.”

Daniel Cormier’s debate is compelling; however, it must be noted that the American fighter gave the light-heavyweight champion one of the toughest challenges of his UFC career. The fight could have gone the distance, but Pereira’s expertise ensured that Rountree Jr.’s advance was halted. Regardless, what’s your take on the hubbub? State your thoughts in the comments below.