Label the source, data cutoff and update date separately so readers can tell exactly what an MMA table covers.

A published MMA table should tell the reader three things without making them hunt through the article:

1. Where the records came from
2. Which fights the table includes
3. When the table itself was last materially updated

Put that information in a short note immediately below the table. Keep the article’s original publication date and last-updated date near the byline as separate page metadata.

Use separate labels for separate facts

“Updated September 22, 2026” is not enough. It could mean the article was copy-edited, the source was checked or new fight results were added. Use explicit labels instead.

Label	What it means	Example format
Source	The record, dataset or commission result used to build the table	Source: UFCStats.com event and fight pages
Data through	The latest included event, bout date or complete reporting period	Data through: December 31, 2025
Source accessed	When a changing online source was retrieved or checked	Source accessed: September 22, 2026
Table updated	When the published counts, definitions or methods last changed	Table updated: September 22, 2026
Published	When the article first appeared	Published: September 13, 2026
Article updated	When the page received a substantive editorial change	Article updated: September 22, 2026

These dates answer different questions. The data-through date defines the sample. The source-accessed date identifies when a live source was consulted. The table-updated date records the publication’s own work.

An access date does not preserve the source as it appeared on that date. For a continuously changing dataset, DataCite recommends citing a fixed slice or snapshot where available, or adding an access date and time when citing the live dataset. It cautions that a live citation limits reproducibility because revisiting it may not return the resource as cited (DataCite).

A practical note for an MMA table

For a year-by-year page such as UFC Fight Outcomes by Method and Year, a completed note could read:

Source: UFCStats.com event and fight pages. Data through: December 31, 2025. Source accessed: September 22, 2026. Table updated: September 22, 2026. Counts include UFC bouts dated from January 1, 2020 through December 31, 2025; no contests and overturned results are reported separately.

This is a format example, not a description of that linked page’s current dataset. Replace every field with the table’s actual scope. Do not write “current,” “latest” or “all UFC fights” without a cutoff and a defined bout pool.

If one table combines several records, name each source and its role. For example:

Sources: State athletic commission result sheets for official outcomes; UFCStats.com for round, time and method fields. Data through: December 31, 2025. Sources accessed: September 22, 2026. Table updated: September 22, 2026.

Link to the precise dataset, event index or result page when possible—not merely the provider’s homepage. If the source supplies a version or update date, preserve it under Source version or Source updated. Never infer the source’s update date from the day it was accessed.

Keep the note attached to the table

A reader may arrive through search, scan directly to the numbers or copy the table without reading the introduction. The table should therefore remain understandable on its own. The Australian Government Style Manual recommends notes below a table to explain how to interpret the information and identify its source; it says not to put that material in the table title or caption (Australian Government Style Manual).

Use the caption for the table’s subject and scope:

UFC finishes by method, 2020–2025

Use the note for provenance and freshness:

Source: UFCStats.com event and fight pages. Data through: December 31, 2025. Table updated: September 22, 2026.

Update dates only when the corresponding fact changes

Change Table updated when the counts, definitions, exclusions, source records or methodology change. Do not advance it for punctuation, layout or an unrelated paragraph edit. If you check the live source and find no change, advance Source accessed, not Table updated.

Preserve the original Published date. Schema.org defines datePublished as the date of first publication and dateModified as the date a creative work was most recently modified (Schema.org: datePublished, Schema.org: dateModified). Google recommends a clearly labelled, user-visible publication or update date, with equivalent dates kept consistent in structured data (Google Search Central).

A clean publication workflow is:

• keep Published unchanged;
• change Article updated and the corresponding structured dateModified after a substantive page revision;
• change Table updated only when the table or its methodology changes;
• advance Data through only after adding newly eligible fights;
• record a new Source accessed date whenever the live records are checked.

That gives an MMA reader enough information to judge whether a finish rate, decision split or title-defense count is current—and enough detail for another researcher to understand the sample before comparing the number.