Cage Rating

Cage Rating is how we rank fighters. It answers one question: based on results, who is best right now?

Results, not statistics

Every UFC fight from the last 20 years is replayed in order, one event at a time. Beat a highly rated opponent and you gain a lot; beat a low-rated one and you gain little. Lose to someone rated well below you and it costs you. A fighter's rating is the sum of everything they have achieved, weighed by who they did it against.

Only the result counts — not the method, the stats, or the scorecards. A no-contest changes nothing.

Time off and certainty

The fewer fights we have seen recently, the less certain the rating. Uncertainty grows during layoffs, and the rankings lean on the cautious side, so a fighter returning from a long break has to prove themselves again. Fighters who haven't competed in 18 months drop out of the rankings until they return, and every ranked fighter needs at least three UFC fights.

Undisputed titles

Winning an undisputed UFC title fight earns a bonus that fades over time — it halves every three years. Interim belts, BMF fights and tournament finals don't count.

Divisions and champions

Fighters are listed in their official UFC division, and the reigning champion is always first in their division. The pound-for-pound lists, kept separately for men and women, adjust for the fact that some divisions are deeper than others, and a champion always sits above anyone they recently beat.

How it differs from the Strength Score

The Strength Score grades a fighter's whole résumé. Cage Rating is about now: recent results move it quickly, and time away counts against it.

Rating and rank history

Every fighter's profile has a Cage Rating tab showing how their rating moved fight by fight and where they ranked — pound-for-pound and in their division — after every UFC event. Fighters who changed weight class get one line per division. Ranks can move on nights a fighter doesn't compete: hover a point to see who they passed or who passed them, and why.