Dominick Cruz reveals potentially significant issue with UFC\u2019s current rankings.<\/p>\n
During a recent interview on the MightyCast<\/a> podcast, Cruz was asked about the UFC\u2019s rankings system and made some unique claims about how fighters are slotted.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u201cMy experience, the way the rankings are made are according to how you wrote your contract last,\u201d Cruz said.<\/p>\n \u201cSo 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\u2019s notice for a title, I have an opportunity to renegotiate my contract and I can probably get a good chunk. So let\u2019s say I negotiate really well and I get up to more money than anybody in the division and then I lose to you. I\u2019m still making that money.<\/p>\n \u201cNow that they\u2019re paying me, you\u2019re telling me, I just lost, they\u2019re going to give me No. 10 now?\u201d Cruz continued. \u201cBut I\u2019m making money to fight for a title. They\u2019re not going to pay me title money [for that], never. You see what I mean? So that\u2019s the true ranking is how much your contract is written for.\u201d (h\/t MMA Fighting<\/a>)<\/p>\n Fans were perplexed when BMF titleholder Max Holloway debuted at No. 8 in the UFC lightweight rankings just days after knocking out Justin Gaethje at UFC 300. Gaethje was ranked higher than Holloway despite being on the receiving end of the buzzer-beating knockout.<\/p>\n