Former UFC bantamweight Dominick Cruz claims that the UFC isn’t dictating rankings on fighters’ achievements but on money.
The two-time champion announced his retirement this year and has since become one of ESPN’s top television analysts. The fighter, who understands the behind-the-scenes operations of the promotion, voiced his opinion that UFC bases its rankings on finances. Cruz isn’t the only one to feel this way, as many fans have questioned the system. Recently, fans were surprised when BMF titleholder Max Holloway debuted at No. 8 in the UFC lightweight rankings just days after knocking out Justin Gaethje. Gaethje was ranked higher than Holloway despite being on the receiving end of the knockout.
On the other hand, Islam Makhachev remained in the UFC lightweight rankings despite vacating the belt earlier this year. He’ll face UFC welterweight champion Jack Della Maddalena in the UFC 322 main event.
In a sit-down with Demetrious Johnson, Cruz disclosed that many fighters in the rankings aren’t being accorded their position based on merit. He believes UFC matchmakers continue pairing top-ranked fighters with big opponents even after a string of losses.
“My experience, the way the rankings are made are according to how you wrote your contract last,” Cruz said. “So if I wrote a big contract to fight you and I renegotiate at fight No. 4 and then they ask me for a favor to fight you on one week’s notice for a title, I have an opportunity to renegotiate my contract and I can probably get a good chunk. So let’s say I negotiate really well and I get up to more money than anybody in the division and then I lose to you. I’m still making that money.”
“Now that they’re paying me, you’re telling me, I just lost, they’re going to give me No. 10 now?” Cruz continued. “But I’m making money to fight for a title. They’re not going to pay me title money [for that], never. You see what I mean? So that’s the true ranking, it’s how much your contract is written for.”
“Even if I lost the title, even if I lost two in a row, they’re still giving me top 5 because I’m getting paid so much they want to see me get beat to death for that money,” Cruz said.
Cruz and Johnson also discussed whether MMA at the UFC level should still be considered a sport, given the seemingly unpredictable nature of the rankings and how they can affect a fighter’s career.
“Once a fighter can surrender to the fact that rankings aren’t based off your skill, it’s based off of who wants to watch you, then you’re ranked. … I think that still makes it a sport, it’s just wrapped in a different package and we’re all OK with it or we’re not,” Cruz said. “I still signed up. I’m still here. I’m still going to do it. I’m still going to sign.”
Cruz, who retired from competition in February, was in the championship pay bracket for years as the UFC’s reigning bantamweight champion. Injuries limited his bookings, but he still competed in several high-profile bouts against the likes of Urijah Faber, Cody Garbrandt, T.J. Dillashaw, and Henry Cejudo.
