5 great UFC fights to look forward to in February

With the month of January now over for the UFC, fans of the promotion will be looking forward to February, which has a total of four events scheduled.

With a number of excellent-sounding bouts, as well as a major title fight, on tap for February, the second month of 2022 promises to be a big one for the UFC.

Whether or not any of these fights will go down as classics or even be remembered by the time 2022 comes to an end is anyone’s guess, but there’s definitely plenty to look forward to.

With that in mind, here are five great UFC fights to look forward to in February.

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#5. UFC middleweight bout: Jared Cannonier vs. Derek Brunson

Jared Cannonier could capture a middleweight title shot with a win over Derek Brunson in February

Current middleweight champion Israel Adesanya is set to defend his title in the main event of UFC 271 against Robert Whittaker. If ‘The Last Stylebender’ can get past the Australian for a second time, his next foe could well be decided on the event’s undercard.

That undercard sees Jared Cannonier face off against Derek Brunson. Not only is this a meeting of two of the top contenders in the world at 185 pounds, it’s also a clash of two of the most explosive men in the division, too.

A former heavyweight, Cannonier’s punching power has thus far translated remarkably well to middleweight. Since his move to the weight class, ‘The Killa Gorilla’ has gone 4-1 in the octagon, stopping David Branch, Jack Hermansson and Anderson Silva, with his only loss coming to Whittaker.

Brunson, meanwhile, has plenty of highlight reel finishes of his own, including KO’s of Uriah Hall and Edmen Shahbazyan. He is currently on a five-fight win streak, with his most recent victory coming over Darren Till.

Whether Brunson will want to risk exchanging shots with the powerful Cannonier or whether he’ll look to wrestle him is the biggest question thrown up by this fight. Either way, the winner will likely demand a title shot in 2022.

So with those kinds of stakes on offer, this clash is a must-see for any fan.

#4. UFC lightweight bout: Rafael dos Anjos vs. Rafael Fiziev

Can Rafael Fiziev step up to the elite level at 155lbs when he takes on Rafael Dos Anjos?

February 19’s UFC Fight Night card only has a handful of fights officially confirmed thus far, but one is the headline bout and it sounds like an absolute barnburner.

That bout will see former lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos face off with fast-rising contender Rafael Fiziev in what will be the first real elite-level test for ‘Ataman’. Right now, the lightweight division is a little short on prospects, but if Fiziev can win here, he’ll instantly enter title contention.

The native of Kazakhstan has looked fantastic thus far into his tenure with the promotion, recovering from a debut loss to reel off five wins in a row. Most recently, he stopped Brad Riddell with a spinning wheel kick in a genuinely wild highlight-reel moment.

However, if he wants to break into the elite level, he won’t find things easy against dos Anjos. The former champion is arguably past his best at this stage. Despite being 37 years old now, he looked excellent against Paul Felder in his most recent fight and is still dangerous in all areas.

Overall, this not only looks like an intriguing clash, it looks like a potential barnburner too, especially when you consider Fiziev has claimed four post-fight bonuses in his six octagon appearances. If nothing else, this fight makes a throwaway event well worth checking out.

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#3. UFC heavyweight bout: Tai Tuivasa vs. Derrick Lewis

Will Tai Tuivasa be celebrating with a shoey after he faces Derrick Lewis in February?

UFC 271’s co-headline bout will see a battle of heavyweights as Tai Tuivasa and Derrick Lewis face off. Based on their previous octagon appearances, it’s safe to say that nobody should blink when this one goes down.

Lewis is currently the UFC’s undisputed knockout king. He’s managed to pull off a ludicrous total of 13 KO’s or TKO’s across his six-year tenure in the octagon, setting a record in the promotion in the process.

Most recently, ‘The Black Beast’ made light work of up-and-comer Chris Daukaus, finishing him off in just over three minutes to erase the memories of his interim title loss to Ciryl Gane in August.

However, Tuivasa has been on a memorable run of his own, knocking out his last four opponents. His victories over Greg Hardy and Augusto Sakai were highly impressive. His trademark ‘shoey’ celebration has made him one of the heavyweight division’s most popular fighters.

Quite whether ‘Bam Bam’ can pull off a third knockout in a row by defeating Lewis is a massive question mark. However, the likelihood of this one going the distance seems very slim.

Both Lewis and Tuivasa could easily be labeled glass cannons somewhat and so it could well come down to which big man can land the first heavy shot.

Whichever way this fight goes, it seems that a knockout is likely to occur, meaning it’s a must-see clash for fans of brawlers in particular.

#2. UFC lightweight bout: Islam Makhachev vs. Beneil Dariush

Can Islam Makhachev claim another major scalp in the form of Beneil Dariush?

Despite plenty of fans believing he deserves an immediate shot at UFC lightweight kingpin Charles Oliveira, Islam Makhachev is set to fight at least once more before stepping into a title bout.

The training partner and protégé of former lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov will headline February 26’s Fight Night event against fellow top-ranked 155lber Beneil Dariush. The clash could be a trickier bout for the Dagestani than some might think.

Dariush not only possesses a phenomenal grappling game, being a highly regarded Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, but he has also developed a very dangerous striking game thanks to his work with the legendary Rafael Cordeiro.

Whether the Iranian-American has the skills to be able to defend the brutal wrestling and top game of Makhachev is another thing entirely. However, given he’s currently on a run of seven wins in a row, he’s definitely earned the right to try.

Should he make a mistake, though, there’s no doubt that he’ll fall victim to Makhachev, who has already submitted the likes of Thiago Moises and Dan Hooker in violent and impressive fashion.

Either way, the winner of this one could end up fighting for the lightweight title later in 2022, making it an absolutely unmissable fight.

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#1. UFC middleweight title: Israel Adesanya vs. Robert Whittaker

Will Israel Adesanya's rematch with Robert Whittaker bring another knockout for 'The Last Stylebender'?

Naturally, the biggest fight that the UFC has to offer in February is the lone title fight of the month. That title bout will see current middleweight kingpin Israel Adesanya defend his gold against former champion Robert Whittaker, the man he dethroned back in October 2019.

In the two years and four months that have followed since that bout, both Adesanya and Whittaker have found themselves on fascinating paths back to this rematch.

‘The Last Stylebender’ has defended his crown successfully on three occasions, turning back the challenges of Yoel Romero, Paulo Costa and Marvin Vettori. He also failing to become a double champion thanks to a loss to then-light heavyweight king Jan Blachowicz.

Whittaker, meanwhile, has not fallen to defeat since his knockout loss to Adesanya. ‘The Reaper’ has beaten Darren Till, Jared Cannonier and Kelvin Gastelum. While he wasn’t able to finish any of them, he has interestingly embraced more of a point-fighting style, something that may come in handy against Adesanya.

It’s this change in style for Whittaker that makes this rematch so intriguing. Their first meeting was one-sided, but should ‘The Reaper’ deploy a different gameplan this time around, who knows what might happen?

Essentially, this fight pits the best two middleweights on the planet against one another, making it one of the best title bouts the UFC could’ve put on all year, let alone in February.