Top Five UFC Fights To Look Forward To In February

Alexander Volkanovski v Diego Lopes

Sunday, 1 February SA time

Pure carnage.

That’s what fight fans can expect in UFC 325’s co-headliner as two of the most ferocious fighters in mixed martial arts go to war.

It’s “The Hangman” versus “The God of War”, a New Zealand scrapper against a former French Army Special Forces paratrooper. Both men are highly skilled, yet this won’t be an MMA contest; it’ll be an all-out battle between bloodthirsty marauders.

The winner of this lightweight fire-fight could and should face the winner of the much-anticipated BMF title fight between champion Max Holloway and Charles Oliveira going down in March, giving these two warriors all the more reason to tear each other apart.

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Rafael Fiziev v Mauricio Ruffy

Sunday, 1 February SA time

The hits keep on coming as two of the best strikers in the stacked lightweight division go blow-for-blow at UFC 325.

A compact and fearless stand-up fighter, Fiziev snapped a three-fight losing streak when he defeated Ignacio Bahamondes in June. Ruffy, a lanky, free-flowing striker, scored one of the best knockouts of 2025 when he slept King Green with a spinning wheel kick in March.

The unpredictable Brazilian suffered his first loss inside the Octagon in September, a tap-out defeat to Saint Denis, but he won’t have to worry about being outgrappled in this one. Thus, the stage is set for a thrilling striking duel.

Mario Bautista v Vinicius Oliveira

Sunday, 8 February SA time

Top-15 bantamweights have the honour of headlining the first Fight Night event of the Paramount+ era.  

It’s a classic clash between a divisional mainstay in Bautista and a rising star in Oliveira. The former had an eight-fight win streak snapped by Umar Nurmagomedov in October, while the latter is a perfect 4-0 in the UFC.

These are two all-action all-rounders, one with tons of experience, and the other with heaps of potential and momentum. Will Bautista bounce back, or will “Lok Dog” continue his rapid rise up the 135-pound rankings? 

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Sean Strickland v Anthony Hernandez

Sunday, 22 February SA time

South African-based fight fans know Strickland all too well after his series of bouts with the country’s first UFC champion, Dricus du Plessis.

The outspoken American had excuses after dropping the middleweight title to “Stillknocks” in their first meeting in January 2024 and now, a year after being pieced up in the lopsided rematch, claims he was pressured into the sequel by the UFC despite carrying an injury.

All of his talking will finally turn into action when he takes on the surging Hernandez in UFC Houston’s headliner at the Toyota Center. Hernandez is a nasty, non-stop savage on an eight-fight win streak and can all but lock in his first title shot with a victory over ex-champion Strickland.

“Tarzan”, in turn, can put himself right back in the title picture by taking down the high-flying “Fluffy.”