{"id":133416,"date":"2025-09-10T09:36:10","date_gmt":"2025-09-10T09:36:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/133416\/"},"modified":"2025-09-10T09:36:10","modified_gmt":"2025-09-10T09:36:10","slug":"dominick-cruz-exposes-ufcs-hidden-formula-for-rankings-and-matchmaking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/133416\/","title":{"rendered":"Dominick Cruz Exposes UFC\u2019s Hidden Formula For Rankings And Matchmaking"},"content":{"rendered":"

Fans often hear the criticism that MMA isn\u2019t always a true sport but rather a carnival of hype and attraction. To some extent, that rings true, especially when one considers how UFC matchmakers like Sean Shelby and Mick Maynard pair fighters from very different spots in the rankings. Adding to the confusion is the often-unexplained nature of the official rankings themselves. Recently, former two-time UFC bantamweight champion<\/a> Dominick Cruz weighed in on the issue, making a bold claim about how the system really works.<\/p>\n

Dominick Cruz Claims UFC Matchmaking Depends on Contract Value and Not Actual Performance<\/p>\n

In a recent appearance on Demetrious Johnson\u2019s MightyCast<\/a>, former bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz gave his take on how UFC rankings and matchmaking really work. According to \u2018The Dominator,\u2019 a fighter\u2019s name value and the buzz they bring to the sport often matter more than their actual performances inside the Octagon. He even suggested that fighters with bigger contracts may be placed higher in the rankings, regardless of results.<\/p>\n

Cruz started with, \u201cMy experience, the way the rankings are made are according to how you wrote your contract last. 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\u2019s notice for a title, I have an opportunity to renegotiate my contract, and I can probably get a good chunk.\u201d<\/p>\n

He continued, \u201cSo 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cruz explained that once a fighter locks in a lucrative contract, their pay does not decrease just because they lose a fight. Since the UFC would still be paying them \u201ctitle money,\u201d the promotion is more likely to match them against higher-ranked fighters to justify that payout.<\/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 said. \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<\/p>\n

ALSO READ: Khabib Nurmagomedov\u2019s Coach Reveals New Details Behind His Rejection of $100M Floyd Mayweather Fight<\/a><\/p>\n

Cruz concluded by explaining that even if a fighter loses multiple high-level bouts, the UFC won\u2019t immediately push them down the rankings. Instead, the promotion will continue matching them with top contenders in order to justify their contract value. Only when a new deal is signed at a lower rate would they likely face lower-ranked opponents.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven if I lost the title, even if I lost two in a row, they\u2019re still giving me top 5 because I\u2019m getting paid so much they want to see me get beat to death for that money,\u201d Cruz said.<\/p>\n

For the unversed, Cruz officially retired from competition in February, spent years in the UFC\u2019s championship pay bracket as the bantamweight king. Though injuries often limited his activity, he still headlined several high-profile bouts against top names such as T.J. Dillashaw<\/a>, Urijah Faber, Cody Garbrandt, and Henry Cejudo.<\/p>\n

Cruz\u2019s explanation also sheds light on why the UFC often books fights and even championship bouts that don\u2019t always align with the rankings. Examples include Colby Covington receiving a third welterweight title shot against Leon Edwards or Sean O\u2019Malley being lined up for a rematch with Merab Dvalishvili for the bantamweight crown at UFC 316.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>May 9, 2020; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Dominick Cruz (blue gloves) with Dana White (right) during UFC 249 at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports<\/p>\n

Moreover, fans were left puzzled when BMF champion Max Holloway debuted at No. 8 in the lightweight rankings just days after his last-second knockout of Justin Gaethje at UFC 300. Despite the loss, \u2018The Highlight\u2019 remained ranked above Holloway in the division.<\/p>\n

Adding to the confusion, Islam Makhachev still holds a spot in the lightweight rankings even after vacating the title earlier this year. He is now set to face welterweight champion Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 322 in New York City.<\/p>\n

Similarly, every time Conor McGregor returned to action<\/a>, he was positioned just one win away from either a title opportunity or another massive marquee fight, largely due to the value of his contract. So if someone has a massive contract with the promotion owing to their brand value or prestige, they are more likely to receive the top billing regardless of the rankings.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Fans often hear the criticism that MMA isn\u2019t always a true sport but rather a carnival of hype…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":133417,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[444],"tags":[49,48,641,638,82],"class_list":["post-133416","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mma","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-fighting","tag-mma","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133416","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=133416"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133416\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/133417"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=133416"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=133416"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=133416"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}