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This weekend marks the final UFC event of February, and while it doesn’t feature a packed card, March promises to be much more loaded with major fights.
The UFC is set to present four events in March, all of which feature some tremendous fights, including a number of title bouts.
With two major pay-per-views on tap, March could well be the biggest month for the world’s top MMA promotion in some time.
Here are five of the best UFC fights to look forward to in March 2023.
#5. Justin Gaethje vs. Rafael Fiziev – UFC 286
March 18th sees the octagon travel to London, and unlike their last few visits to the UK, this time will see the promotion present a major pay-per-view event in the form of UFC 286.
This means that the card is more stacked than usual. While most eyes will be on the headliner – more on that later – the co-main event is almost as good, as it features two lightweight action heroes in the form of Justin Gaethje and Rafael Fiziev.
One of the biggest criticisms of the top fighters in 155lbs has been their reluctance to face off with rising prospects who don’t have the biggest names. That will change here, with Gaethje clearly willing to risk his reputation against ‘Ataman’.
Right now Fiziev doesn’t have much star power, but it’s safe to say that he’s extremely dangerous in the octagon. The native of Kazakhstan climbed to #6 in the division’s rankings following his knockout win over Rafael Dos Anjos, and he’s now riding a lengthy six-fight win streak.
More to the point, he’s won bonus awards for his last five performances, making him the ideal foe for ‘The Highlight’, who seemingly never fails to thrill.
Gaethje has not fought since his loss to Charles Oliveira in their lightweight title bout last May, but a win here would throw him right back into contention, especially now that ‘Do Bronx’ no longer holds the belt.
Unlike Oliveira, though, Fiziev is much more likely to engage ‘The Highlight’ on the feet. Both men prefer offense over defense, meaning that this bout could see both men take some serious damage.
Therefore, fireworks are almost guaranteed in this fight, and whoever wins is likely to propel themselves up the ladder.
#4. Marlon Vera vs. Cory Sandhagen – UFC on ESPN 43
The final UFC event of March will see two of the promotion’s top bantamweights face off in the headliner, as Marlon Vera takes on Cory Sandhagen.
This fight was initially supposed to take place in February, but that month’s loss is definitely March’s gain, as this one could prove to be an outright classic.
‘Chito’ Vera is arguably the dark horse at 135lbs. He’s won five of his last six bouts, with his only loss coming at the hands of Jose Aldo back in 2020.
More importantly, though, he remains the only fighter in the UFC to stop the fast-rising Sean O’Malley, and his last bout saw him dispatch former bantamweight kingpin Dominick Cruz with a vicious head kick.
Arguably more than any other fighter in the 135lbs division, the native of Ecuador is a truly ruthless finisher from all areas, and he doesn’t really have any weaknesses. If anything, he ought to be considered more of a title threat than he is.
If he can get past Sandhagen, though, it’d be difficult to deny him a shot at the top. ‘The Sandman’ has lost decisively to just two fighters in the octagon – current champion Aljamain Sterling, and former titleholder Petr Yan.
Outside of those bouts, his fight with TJ Dillashaw was highly controversial and could have been scored the other way, and most recently, he pieced up Song Yadong for a fourth-round TKO.
Like Vera, Sandhagen is dangerous both on the feet and on the ground, and he’s practically as aggressive as ‘Chito’ too.
Therefore, it seems highly unlikely that this one will go the distance, and based on their previous bouts, it could be one of the best clashes of 2023.
#3. Petr Yan vs. Merab Dvalishvili – UFC Fight Night 221
March’s first UFC Fight Night card will also be headlined by a major bantamweight clash, as former titleholder Petr Yan faces off with brutal grappler Merab Dvalishvili.
Unlike the previously mentioned Vera vs. Sandhagen clash, it must be pointed out that there is a chance that this fight might fail to deliver the goods.
After all, Dvalishvili’s approach tends to involve him clinching with his foe to rough them up before taking them down to continue the beating. Unless he finds takedowns easy to come by, this can make some of his fights a slog to watch.
However, it’s hard to dispute his effectiveness, and he’s now riding an eight-fight win streak dating back to 2018.
More importantly, the last time he fought a truly explosive striker, he produced one of the best fights of 2021 when he came from behind to beat Marlon Moraes.
The pressure in this bout, though, is almost all on Yan. ‘No Mercy’ was once considered unstoppable, but he’s been a little exposed recently, losing to both Aljamain Sterling and Sean O’Malley.
His second clash with Sterling in particular should be worrying for his fans when it comes to this fight with Dvalishvili. After all, he was taken down and dominated by ‘The Funk Master’ in the early going.
However, if the Russian can get back to his best, chaining brutal combinations together on the feet at rapid speed, ‘The Machine’ may find things hard going, especially if he can’t close the distance.
Essentially, if both men deliver their best, this should be a great fight to watch, and even if it isn’t, it still pits two of the world’s best 135lbers against one another – making it a must-see fight in March.
#2. Leon Edwards vs. Kamaru Usman – UFC 286
The main event of UFC 286, which will see the promotion travel to London on March 18th, is a huge rematch for the welterweight title.
Last year saw Leon Edwards shock the world by knocking out longtime titleholder Kamaru Usman, but can he do it again? In many ways, it’s the ultimate question.
In their encounter last year, which was a rematch of their initial 2015 meeting, ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ recovered from a bad first round and seemed to be dominating proceedings. By the time the fifth round began, Edwards was essentially three rounds down.
That domination should probably give Usman hope that he can regain his title, but it’s hard to believe that the head kick that knocked him out won’t be playing on his mind.
To add to that, when you consider that ‘Rocky’ also took the Nigerian down in the first round, it’s safe to say that the native of Birmingham will probably come into this trilogy bout with plenty of confidence.
Overall, it’s difficult to pick a clear-cut winner in this one, making it one of the most intriguing title fights in some time.
When you add in the fact that the London crowd is likely to be deafening in support of Edwards, it means that this bout is an absolutely must-see affair. In any other month, it’d be the biggest fight on offer – but March 2023 is far from normal.
#1. Jon Jones vs. Ciryl Gane – UFC 285
The biggest fight of March 2023 is almost certainly the month’s first pay-per-view headliner.
UFC 285 goes down on March 4th, and its main event will see a new heavyweight champion crowned for the first time since 2021, as former light-heavyweight kingpin Jon Jones faces former interim champ, Ciryl Gane.
Put simply, it doesn’t get any bigger than this. Putting his various indiscretions to one side, Jones is widely recognized as one of the greatest fighters to ever set foot inside the octagon. He reigned over the 205lbs division essentially from 2011 to 2020, and has still never really lost a fight.
His heavyweight debut has been talked about for years, and so the fact that it’s finally happening is a huge deal in itself, especially as it’s coming in a title bout.
Would it have been more intriguing to see him face Francis Ngannou, who departed the UFC earlier this year without actually losing his title? For sure.
However, Gane is definitely the next best thing. The Frenchman has only ever lost to Ngannou and gave ‘The Predator’ some problems in that bout. More importantly, he’ll enjoy a size advantage over Jones and clearly hits harder than ‘Bones’ too.
Despite that, Jones’ wrestling could give him an advantage based on what we saw when Gane fought Ngannou – but only if ‘Bones’ takes to heavyweight properly.
Either way, this is one of the most intriguing fights in recent years, and regardless of the winner, it should set the tone for the heavyweight division’s future.
