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The first UFC event of March is now behind us, but there is still plenty of exciting action to look forward to for the rest of the month. While the big names like Jorge Masvidal and Colby Covington took center stage last Saturday, the rest of the month will feature some lesser-known but exciting talent.
While there may be no more PPV action in March, there are three more fight night cards to look forward to. The events will take place in Las Vegas on March 12, London on March 19 and Columbus on March 26.
These smaller events may not get quite as much attention, but there are still plenty of exciting fights coming up. The stars of tomorrow, as usual, can be found scrapping away lower down on the card and it will be no different at these upcoming events.
While the main events will get plenty of attention in the coming weeks, here are five under the radar UFC fights to look forward to in March:
#5. Gunner Nelson vs. Takashi Sato - UFC Fight Night London
Gunnar Nelson was once one of the most feared men in the UFC. He debuted back in 2012 and immediately made an impact, winning his first four fights, three of them by submission. However, he has not fought since September 2019 and so his return to the octagon is a fight to keep your eye on.
At his best, Nelson was a top welterweight and, while he lost his last two fights prior to this spell of inactivity, they were tough fights in Gilbert Burns and Leon Edwards. 'Gunni' is one of the most dangerous submission specialists in MMA on his day, so it will be interesting to see if he can still perform at that level.
Nelson was originally scheduled to face Claudio Silva in his return fight on March 19. However, Silva has since pulled out and Takashi Sato has stepped in as his replacement. Sato is 2-2 in the octagon and so his fight with Nelson will go a long way as to telling us just what sort of form the Icelandic fighter is in these days.
#4. Muhammad Mokaev vs. Cody Durden - UFC Fight Night London
Few debuts in recent memory have been as highly anticipated as Muhammad Mokaev's. 'The Punisher' may have only had six professional fights thus far, but his 20+ fight amateur career also has people talking. Mokaev has not lost any of these fights and on top of that he is just 21 years old.
While that would be enough on its own to get plenty of fans tuning into his upcoming octagon debut, there is an added storyline to this bout. His opponent, Cody Durden, drew significant criticism for comments in his most recent post-fight interview that many deemed racist.
Mokaev was one of those who called out Durden for his comments and requested to fight him in his UFC debut in the process. The UFC granted his wish and so this is the fight we will get March 19. An exciting debut with some serious bad blood involved makes this fight an absolute must-see.
#3. Jai Herbert vs. Ilia Topuria - UFC Fight Night London
The fight between Jai Herbert and Ilia Topuria is an intriguing one due to a number of different reasons. Much of the intrigue will come from the involvement of Topuria, who is undefeated but will be competing at lightweight for the first time in this fight.
While this might not seem like a big deal to some, Topuria competed for a world championship at Bantamweight during his time in Cage Warriors. He has exclusively competed at featherweight in the UFC, but lightweight is uncharted territory, so it will be interesting to see how that goes.
Herbert is another Cage Warriors alumni who once held the lightweight title in that promotion. He's clearly a more natural lightweight than his opponent, but given Topuria has been close to perfect thus far in his career, who knows how this one will play out.
#2. Alex Pereira vs. Bruno Silva - UFC Fight Night Las Vegas
Alex Pereira is a name many UFC fans may know thanks to the fact that he holds two wins over Israel Adesanya back in his kick-boxing days. This led to plenty of hype surrounding his octagon debut late last year and he did not disappoint, securing an incredible TKO win thanks to a flying knee and strikes.
With a ready-made storyline already in place between Pereira and Adesanya, fans will now track his performances eagerly. Should he add a few more performances like his last, he could earn himself a fast-track to a middleweight title shot before too long.
What makes this fight so interesting is that Pereira has a very tough opponent. Bruno Silva is undefeated inside the octagon and is riding a streak of seven straight KO or TKO victories. Whoever wins this bout has a very good chance of entering the middleweight rankings.
#1. Drew Dober vs. Terrance McKinney - UFC Fight Night Las Vegas
While this is not always the case, sometimes a fighter stepping in at short notice increases interest in a fight. That is very much the case here as Terrance McKinney, who competed just two weeks ago, has agreed to step in on short notice.
McKinney has been one of the biggest breakout stars in recent times as his two fights with the promotion thus far have been exceptional. After a stunning seven-second debut win, he showed a new dimension to his game with an impressive first-round submission win in his last fight.
Drew Dober is no slouch either and has fought some of the best in the division at lightweight. While he was unsuccessful in his bouts with Beneil Dariush and Islam Makhachev, he is a high-level fighter that could well derail the McKinney hype train. If he fails to do so, however, the UFC may have their next star in McKinney.
