Publish confirmed facts. Attribute the source. Preserve uncertainty. Never turn a rumor into a record.
Source priority
For current champions, rankings, scheduled fights, cancellations and official results, the promotion or sanctioning body is the primary authority. Official statistical systems are preferred for performance figures. Established public fight-record databases support full-career histories, identity resolution and older regional bouts.
Reporting may help locate a claim, but it does not replace a primary record when one is available.
Verification before publication
- Confirm the athlete, event and date—not merely a matching name.
- Record the source URL and the date checked.
- Require an official announcement before showing an upcoming bout as confirmed.
- Require a source-backed championship designation before applying a belt symbol.
- Check reciprocal fighter links and record arithmetic before deployment.
Records and rankings
Professional MMA record is the career total reported by the cited career source. Promotion record covers bouts within one organization. Performance statistics are source-specific measures and are not blended across incompatible providers.
Rankings are dated snapshots from the named organization. Fight Atlas does not create an unofficial ranking and present it as an official one.
Conflicting sources
When credible sources disagree on a material fact, Fight Atlas does not silently choose one. The affected field stays unchanged or displays a clearly labelled source difference, with both values and their provenance, until the conflict can be resolved.
Original news and analysis
Fight Atlas publishes its own reporting, briefings and analysis. Articles are written independently and cite the underlying evidence; source material is never copied into a substitute article.
Confirmed facts, Fight Atlas analysis and developing information are labeled separately. A headline is updated when the underlying event changes.
Rumor watch
A rumor is eligible only when it originates with an identifiable reporter, athlete, manager or organization and has genuine public-interest value. Anonymous social chatter, engagement bait and invented matchmaking are not publishable.
Rumor Watch must name the origin, state that the claim is unconfirmed and avoid changing any fighter record, ranking, event page or championship status. If an official source confirms or rejects the report, the article is updated and relabeled.
Corrections and accountability
Confirmed errors are corrected at the data level so every affected profile and reciprocal fight link updates consistently. Material changes receive a refreshed verification date and source. See the corrections standard for the evidence needed to review a claim.