UFC rankings are theatre because the promoter books the fights, not the rankings
Every other major sport with rankings lets the numbers force the matchups. Tennis seeds by ranking. Boxing at least pretends the sanctioning bodies mandate contenders. The UFC does the opposite. The rankings are a media panel's opinion, and then the matchmakers ignore them whenever a bigger fight sells. A number five jumps three number ones because he has a following. A champion defends against a returning star instead of the actual top contender. That is not a sport ranking its athletes, that is a promotion protecting its pay-per-view calendar. I am not even mad about it as entertainment. I am mad that we pretend the ladder means something. If the belt can skip the queue, the queue is decoration. Either let the rankings dictate the next title shot, the way [the published rankings](https://www.ufc.com/rankings) imply they should, or stop printing them and just admit it is a booking sheet.