GOAT Index ranks the seven major MMA promotions in the world - UFC, PFL, ONE, RIZIN, KSW, ACA and OKTAGON - on one and the same scale, as an independent site. Reaching across the walls between promotions, an in-house rating makes visible who is really the strongest.
Independent and neutral
Tied to no promotion and no management, every organisation is judged by the same yardstick, with no favours.
Updated continuously
Results are taken in every week. From newcomers to legends, the rankings never stop moving.
Transparent accuracy
Fight predictions come with a published hit rate. Hits and misses alike stay on the record, in a form anyone can check.
How the rankings work
The GOAT Index rankings are produced by an in-house rating algorithm. The point is that the vast body of results from seven promotions is connected as one single large network. By joining up who beat whom, and how, across promotion boundaries, fighters who never met in the cage can still be compared.
The rating weighs more than a win-loss count: it takes in the strength of the opposition, the manner of the win (finish or decision), activity, and how firmly the record is established. A fighter who has been away a long time is rated with less confidence, one who keeps performing with more - the aim is a ranking that shows where each fighter stands right now.
The formula itself is not published. To rule out arbitrary adjustment or favouritism towards particular fighters, and to keep the ranking fair, the internal formula and its coefficients are kept private. What the site shows is the pure rating, which stands for ability, and the consensus rating, which stands for overall standing.(A few internal figures, such as the conservative adjustment, are also kept private.)
The predictions are marked against the results, in public
Sites that publish win probabilities tend to get loud only when they are right. GOAT Index does the opposite and keeps the overall hit rate on permanent display. Every event keeps its prediction next to the result, and missed calls are never deleted. Being checkable in numbers is what makes a ranking and a prediction worth trusting.
About the operation
GOAT Index is run independently by one person who loves the sport. It exists to promote no particular person and no particular organisation, and so that the data and the computed results stay in the foreground, nothing is published about the operator personally. The value of the site lies not in who built it but in how accurate and how verifiable it is.
Neutrality and advertising
To cover running costs the site uses advertising and affiliate programmes. However, rankings, ratings and the order of listing are never adjusted for an advertiser or for a fee. Content that carries advertising is marked PR in plain sight. Rankings, fight predictions and the rest of the data are computed entirely apart from advertising.
Rankings = decided by the algorithm alonePrediction accuracy = publishedSponsored content = marked PRRank adjusted for a fee = never
The conversation continues on Discord.
Objections to the rankings, the newcomers worth watching, calls for the next event - a community where fans can talk it over.
Every week. The latest results are taken in, and title changes or the rise of a newcomer are folded into the rankings as they happen.
Q. How recent is active? Is two years not too long?
A fighter who has fought within the past two years is listed as active. That may look generous, but at the top of the sport a gap of more than a year for surgery and rehabilitation is not unusual. Rather than drop a genuine contender for taking a short break, two years matches how the sport actually works. When a fighter goes a long time without a bout the confidence in the rating falls, and the rank drifts down on its own.
Q. How is the division decided? What about fighters who move up or down?
The ranking follows the division of the most recent bout. A fighter who usually competes at featherweight but fights once at lightweight appears on the side of the division actually contested. That is why some fighters move between divisions, and it is deliberate: the listing shows where each fighter is competing now.
Q. Why is the formula not published?
To keep the ranking fair. Publishing the formula and its coefficients would open room for arbitrary readings and for gaming. Trust is shown instead through the results themselves and through the published prediction accuracy, which anyone can check.
Q. What is the difference between the pure rating and the consensus rating?
The pure rating is a measure of ability with the confidence folded in; the consensus rating is a measure of overall standing. Either can be used for sorting, depending on what is being looked for.
Q. A fighter is missing from the list.
The scope covers fighters with bouts in the seven major promotions who meet certain conditions. The scope widens as the data comes together.
Contact
Reports of data errors and listing issues, and enquiries about coverage or partnership, are welcome through Discord or the contact page. Every report received goes towards better accuracy.
Disclaimer:The rankings, ratings and fight predictions on this site are analysis and estimation by an in-house algorithm, and are not a guarantee of any result. Care is taken over the accuracy of the published data, but neither completeness nor currency is guaranteed. This site neither recommends nor solicits any form of gambling. This site uses advertising and affiliate programmes, and a purchase made through a link may earn the operator a fee (rankings and ratings are not adjusted for any fee).
Promotion names, brand names and fighter names belong to their respective owners.