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With just one more show to go in the month of February, March is almost upon us in the world of the UFC. And with that, four events are set to take place, including a major pay-per-view.
With four major UFC events set to go down in March, it stands to reason that there are a number of intriguing bouts booked for the month.
Sure, no title bouts are set to take place over the next four weekends, but that doesn’t really matter, as there will almost certainly be some amazing action to keep an eye on inside the octagon.
With that in mind, here are five great-sounding UFC fights set to go down in March.
#5: Edson Barboza vs. Bryce Mitchell – UFC 272
Current featherweight prospect Bryce Mitchell may well be better known for spreading strange conspiracy theories – or for tearing his scrotum in a bizarre accident involving a power drill – than his fighting skills. But in fact, ‘Thug Nasty’ is a genuinely excellent talent.
Since debuting in the octagon back in 2018, the native of Arkansas has reeled off five wins in a row. While four of them came via decision, the other saw him use the promotion’s second-ever twister to submit Matt Sayles.
Essentially, Mitchell is a grappling ace with a rapidly developing striking game. While he’s currently ranked at #11 in the division, 2022 might be the year that he bursts onto the elite level.
That’s why his upcoming fight with Edson Barboza at UFC 272 sounds like such a fantastic bout. ‘Junior’ is arguably past his prime at this point, but his victories over Makwan Amirkhani and Shane Burgos demonstrated that if he’s given a chance, he’s just as dangerous as ever.
A win over Barboza won’t net Mitchell a shot at featherweight kingpin Alexander Volkanovski, but it’d definitely send a signal to the rest of the division that he’s for real.
More importantly, the fight – on paper at least – looks like a classic striker vs. grappler affair. With the styles of both men, fireworks could ensue when they clash – making this one of the best fights on tap in March.
#4: Paddy Pimblett vs. Rodrigo Vargas – UFC Fight Night 204
The UFC’s return to London on March 19th is set to be headlined by a major heavyweight bout between prospect Tom Aspinall and veteran contender Alexander Volkov. While that fight sounds like an excellent one, it arguably isn’t the most intriguing one booked on the card.
That award goes to the lightweight clash between Paddy Pimblett and Rodrigo Vargas. Sure, neither ‘The Baddy’ nor ‘Kazula’ are currently close to a title shot or even ranked in the top ten, but once the show comes around, it’s likely that this fight will garner all the attention.
Simply put, Pimblett is one of the brightest prospects to hit the promotion in some time, with his natural charisma and ability on the microphone drawing obvious comparisons to Conor McGregor’s early days in the octagon.
Can ‘The Baddy’ actually fight, though? Judging by his debut win over Luigi Vendramini, the answer is yes. Sure, he took way too many punches than he probably should have done – but he also displayed vicious finishing skills to take out his Brazilian foe in the first round.
Vargas is probably another step up for the Liverpudlian prospect – he’s 1-2 in the octagon, but one of those losses came via DQ after he knocked out Brok Weaver with an illegal knee. Essentially, ‘Kazula’ is a highly dangerous and aggressive fighter in all areas.
However, that aggression may well play into Pimblett’s hands, allowing ‘The Baddy’ to continue his rise to stardom. If he can pull out a big win in front of his countrymen, then his hype train may become hard to slow down – making this one of March’s most intriguing fights.
#3: Curtis Blaydes vs. Chris Daukaus – UFC Fight Night 205
With respect to the clash between Tom Aspinall and Alexander Volkov in London, next month’s most intriguing heavyweight bout is set to headline the Fight Night event on March 26th. The fight will see Curtis Blaydes face off with Chris Daukaus.
Blaydes suffered a devastating knockout loss at the hands of Derrick Lewis in the early part of 2021, but while the defeat derailed his title hopes temporarily, he bounced back well in September by outpointing Jairzinho Rozenstruik.
Thanks to his awesome wrestling skills and heavy hands, at his best, ‘Razor’ may well still be the biggest threat to the division’s top two fighters – champion Francis Ngannou and former interim champ Ciryl Gane.
However, if he wants to get close to a title shot, he’ll need to overcome a tricky opponent in Daukaus. The Philadelphia-based heavyweight is coming off his own knockout loss to Lewis, but prior to that, he’d reeled off four wins in the octagon, all via stoppage.
Quite how he’ll deal with Blaydes’ powerful takedowns is a massive question mark, but it’s safe to say that he possesses the kind of punching power that could give ‘Razor’ a lot of problems on the feet, making this one a tricky fight to pick.
Overall, then, with the winner likely to move directly into title contention, this is one heavyweight bout in March that can’t be missed.
#2: Thiago Santos vs. Magomed Ankalaev – UFC Fight Night 203
The first UFC Fight Night event of March sees a major light-heavyweight fight in the headline spot, as prospect Magomed Ankalaev faces his toughest test to date in the form of former title challenger Thiago Santos.
With current champion Glover Teixeira set to battle top contender Jiri Prochazka at some point in 2022, it’s debatable as to who should claim the next title shot following that bout. While Santos is unlikely to reach that point with a win here, the same cannot be said for Ankalaev.
The native of Dagestan has been on a truly dominant run since arriving in the octagon in 2018. Right now, he’s riding a winning streak of seven bouts, including finishes of Dalcha Lungiambula and Ion Cutelaba.
His most recent wins over Nikita Krylov and Volkan Oezdemir weren’t quite so explosive, but were still mightily impressive. It’s arguable that with Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier now gone, his wrestling is the best that the UFC's light heavyweight division currently has to offer.
Santos, meanwhile, is coming off a win over Johnny Walker, and while that fight wasn’t overly fun to watch, ‘Marreta’ usually delivers the goods inside the octagon. A brutal striker, the Brazilian is more than willing to fight fire with fire – and could well be seen as a glass cannon of sorts.
He’ll definitely be the most dangerous foe that Ankalaev has faced thus far into his career. But if the Dagestani can overcome the former title challenger, then it’d be hard to deny him his own shot at the gold – making this a must-see fight for all fans.
#1: Colby Covington vs. Jorge Masvidal – UFC 272
While it isn’t a big-time title bout, there can be no doubt that the most intriguing fight that the UFC has to offer in March is the welterweight clash between Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal.
The two bitter rivals are set to headline the first event of the month in the form of UFC 272, and given their star power, they could well turn the pay-per-view into one of the biggest hits of 2022.
As most people are now well aware, ‘Chaos’ and ‘Gamebred’ were once close friends and training partners as part of American Top Team, but a nasty split that saw Covington depart the team a couple of years ago turned them into hated enemies.
However, while we’re sure to hear much more about their rivalry in the coming weeks, will the fight deliver the goods inside the octagon?
The likely answer is yes. While ‘Chaos’ would seem to have a clear path to victory by looking to emulate Kamaru Usman’s wrestling-based victory over Masvidala at UFC 251, he may prefer to use a different gameplan.
In his 2019 win over Robbie Lawler, Covington instead unleashed a volume-based pressure striking attack – and if he tries the same thing against Masvidal, who is widely considered one of the best boxers in the UFC, then we could be in for a genuine classic.
Either way, whenever the bad blood flows like it will here, an unmissable fight ensues – making this clash the most intriguing one booked for March.
