5 great UFC fights to look forward to in February

#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.