What are point-in-time MMA rankings?
A point-in-time ranking is the ranking board exactly as it stood on a given date, kept as a snapshot instead of being overwritten when the next update comes out.
How it works
Each time a promotion publishes its rankings, the whole board is stored as a snapshot with its date. A snapshot stays valid until the next one replaces it, so the board for any day is the latest snapshot published on or before that day. Comparing two snapshots gives each fighter's movement: their previous rank minus their current rank.
The UFC's rankings are voted on by a panel of media members, and the champion sits above the numbered places. UFCalendar keeps every UFC board since 2013 and stores a new snapshot only when the board actually changed.
Worked example
Ask for the board on 14 November 2016 and you get the one published on 7 November 2016, because no update came out in between. A fighter who was #4 on the previous board and is #2 on this one has moved up 2 places (4 − 2 = +2).
Where to see it on UFCalendar
Get it from the API
The same data is served as JSON by the MMA Fight Data API. The endpoints that carry it:
GET /v1/rankings/{org}Official ranking boards, point-in-time back to 2013 for the UFC. Champions across every launch org.
GET /v1/fighters/{idOrSlug}/rankingsEvery official ranking row a fighter ever held, newest first.
UFC rankings history in the Fight API →