Grading the Biggest UFC Fights for February and March

The UFC's first event of 2023 went down on Saturday night in Las Vegas, but the fights themselves were quickly overshadowed by the announcements company president Dana White made after the fact.

In the span of a few breaths, White dropped the main event for UFC 285 on March 4 in Vegas, and the main and co-main events for UFC 286 on March 18 in London, England.

The UFC 285 headliner will see former light heavyweight champion Jon Jones battle former interim heavyweight champ Ciryl Gane for the heavyweight throne, which is vacant after Francis Ngannou cut ties with the promotion.

UFC 286 will be headlined by a welterweight title trilogy fight between reigning champion Leon Edwards and former champ Kamaru Usman, while the co-main event will see Justin Gaethje battle Rafael Fiziev in a clash of top-ranked lightweight strikers.

Given that we also know the main and co-main events for UFC 284, set for February 12 in Perth, Australia, it seems like a good time to grade the biggest fights coming up over the next two months.

Keep scrolling for our take.

UFC 284, the promotion's long-awaited return to Australia, will be topped by an absolutely massive fight, as featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski hikes up to lightweight to challenge Islam Makhachev for a second title.

Champion vs. champion fights are always a big deal, but this one is particularly special, as both men are among the top pound-for-pound fighters in MMA. In fact, if you encounter a pound-for-pound ranking list that doesn't have Volkanovski in the No. 1 spot, it probably shouldn't be taken seriously.

Given that both men are pound-for-pound talents, it goes without saying this is a very competitive matchup on paper. As a matter of fact, DraftKings actually has the lightweight champ Makhachev as a sizable -315 favorite to beat the pound-for-pound king. That's due in large part to the fact that he'll be the much bigger man in the cage, but it's also because he's an incredible fighter himself, with the grappling chops to drown pretty much anybody on the mat—much like his mentor, Khabib Nurmagomedov.

All that to say, this is one of the best matchups on the combat sports calendar right now. The only reason we won't give it the highest grade possible is that Volkanovski's trip up to lightweight has made things a little complicated at featherweight, the division he currently rules. We'll get to that in a moment.

Grade: A

With Volkanovski headed up to lightweight to challenge Makhachev in the UFC 284 main event, the UFC has decided to create an interim featherweight title to keep the division moving in the champion's stead.

That interim featherweight title fight will also go down at UFC 284, with the USA's Josh Emmett taking on Mexico's Yair Rodriguez in the co-main event.

There's a lot to like about this fight. First and foremost is the way the two fighters match up on paper. The No. 5-ranked Emmett is arguably the most dangerous knockout puncher in the weight class, while the No. 2-ranked Rodriguez is easily its flashiest striker—with plenty of stopping power himself.

Unfortunately, there are some obvious points against this matchup too. The most obvious is that its interim title stakes might not even be necessary—as is so often the case.

Yes, Volkanovski is taking a brief hiatus from the featherweight division, but he has always been a very active champion and has repeatedly stated his intention to actively defend both belts should he collect another one at UFC 284. So there's no reason to assume he's going to abandon his duties as featherweight champion for too long.

The other problem with this matchup is that Emmett and Rodriguez arguably aren't even the best fighters in the weight class beyond Volkanovski, which is definitely what you want from an interim title fight.

Former champion Max Holloway is still ranked ahead of both of them, at No. 1, and while he's riding a decisive loss to Volkanovski, he has soundly beaten every other featherweight he's come across for what feels like eons. He's even got a recent win over Rodriguez.

England's Arnold Allen, ranked one spot ahead of Emmett at No. 4, also deserves a mention. With 12 straight wins in the rearview mirror, he is arguably more deserving of this opportunity than Emmett or Rodriguez, and he only seems to have been excluded because his latest win, over Calvin Kattar, came as the result of a fluky knee injury. That's not his fault.

We're not saying Emmett vs. Rodriguez isn't a great fight. As we've already covered, it's a banger on paper. But it's definitely not perfect either.

Grade: B+

We've been talking about Jon Jones' potential move up to heavyweight for years and years and years—since long before he vacated the light heavyweight title and began bulking up to make the transition between divisions.

At Saturday's post-fight press conference, Dana White finally made Jones' heavyweight move official, announcing that the former light heavyweight champ and bona fide MMA legend will meet former interim champ Ciryl Gane in the main event of UFC 285 on March 4 in Las Vegas. The fight will determine the new UFC heavyweight champion after Francis Ngannou parted ways with the promotion, which White also made official Saturday.

This is a huge fight—and not just because it will crown a new king in the UFC's heaviest weight class. Jones, who ruled over the light heavyweight division for years, is arguably the greatest fighter in MMA history. Gane, meanwhile, is probably the best heavyweight in the UFC now that Ngannou's gone. Former champ Stipe Miocic might have a thing or two to say about that, but at this point, talking about him feels a bit like talking about Bigfoot. We just never see him in the cage anymore. Gane is the man in the weight class right now, particularly after he walloped fellow contender Tai Tuivasa in his last fight.

Still, there's no need to beat around the bush. This fight is a consolation prize.

As big as it is, it pales in comparison to a potential fight between Jones and Ngannou—which we know both men wanted, but the UFC was unwilling to pay for. Not only is Ngannou the scariest puncher in all of MMA today, but he also beat Gane with a pretty convincing decision less than a year ago. He is a scarier, more credible challenge to Jones' incredible dominance than his fellow Frenchman, and arguably any fighter the former light heavyweight champ has faced to date.

Again, we're not here to tear Jones vs. Gane apart. Let's just put it this way. If we were really marking the UFC's work on this one in a school setting, their test would be returned not just with a grade, but a note, scrawled in red ink.

"You can do better—apply yourself!"

Grade: B

UFC 286, the promotion's March 18 return to London, England, will be co-headlined by a dynamite lightweight showdown, as third-ranked American Justin Gaethje takes on No. 6-ranked Rafael Fiziev.

This is a hugely important matchup for the lightweight division. In fact, there's a reasonable chance the winner will get the next crack at the winner of Volkanovski's and Makhachev's lightweight title fight at UFC 284—though No. 4 contender Beneil Dariush would definitely have something to say about that.

While Gaethje is riding a loss to former champion Charles Oliveira, he holds a pretty recent win over Michael Chandler and is a former interim champ himself. Fiziev, meanwhile, is riding six straight wins in the Octagon, most recently knocking out former lightweight champ Rafael dos Anjos. Both guys are firmly in the title mix.

The real appeal of this fight, though, is how these two lightweights match up on paper.

While Gaethje is a wrestler at his roots, he has evolved into one of the division's top knockout threats and has really sharpened up his striking technique under the tutelage of coach Trevor Wittman. Fiziev, meanwhile, is one of the sharpest strikers in the weight class, having long honed his skills under the masters at Tiger Muay Thai in Phuket, Thailand. He's got plenty of power himself too, which was on full display in his win over dos Anjos. If potential for violence is the metric, this might be the best fight on the UFC calendar right now.

The other cool thing about this fight is that it could signal the beginning of a new chapter in the lightweight division. Gaethje, who has three times fought for the title, is firmly entrenched near the top of the weight class, but Fiziev is a much newer face. If he wins, it would be a definite changing of the guard.

It just doesn't get much better than this.

Grade: A+

After weeks of speculation, it's finally official: Leon Edwards and Kamaru Usman will meet for a third and probably final time in the main event of UFC 286 in London.

The fight has felt inevitable since Edwards scored the biggest upset of 2022, knocking the long-reigning pound-for-pound king Usman out with a fifth-round head kick to claim the welterweight title. That stunning victory brought the Brit to 1-1 against the Nigerian American, who defeated him by decision in their first meeting back in 2015.

The 1-1 score alone was grounds for a tiebreaking trilogy fight, but Usman deserves the opportunity regardless as one of the most dominant UFC champs in recent memory.

Thankfully, the UFC was able to make it happen. As for the outcome? That's anybody's guess.

A purely logical approach suggests that Usman should win. He won his first fight with Edwards and was winning most of the second. He can probably make it happen this time if he doesn't chow down on another knockout strike.

Then again, Edwards did have some real success in the early going of their second fight and may perform even better the third time around. Last but certainly not least, it was still much less than a year ago that Usman was knocked clean out. Those kinds of losses take a toll on fighters—particularly if they don't give themselves enough time to recover. We really don't know how the former champ will look.

It is an endlessly compelling fight. There's only one real point against it: Outside of the stunning head kick that Edwards used to end their second meeting, both of his first two fights with Usman have been pretty lacklustre in terms of real action. They weren't bad, but they weren't great either.

The third fight will definitely be tense. Incredibly tense. But it's probably not going to be a barnburner.

Grade: A

Gambling problem? Call 877-8-HOPENY/text HOPENY (467369) (NY).

If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800-GAMBLER (1-800-426-2537) (IL/IN/LA/MD/MI/NJ/PA/TN/WV/WY), 1-800-NEXT STEP (AZ), 1-800-522-4700 (CO/KS/NH), 888-789-7777/visit ccpg.org (CT), 1-800-BETS OFF (IA), visiting OPGR.org (OR), ConnexOntario 1-866-531-2600 (CA-ONT), or calling 1-888-532-3500 (VA).

Odds and lines subject to change. 21+ (19+ CA-ONT) (18+ NH/WY). Physically present in AZ/CO/CT/IL/IN/IA/KS/LA (select parishes)/MD/MI/NH/NJ/NY/OR/PA/TN/VA/WV/WY/CA-ONT only. Eligibility restrictions apply. See terms at draftkings.com/sportsbook. DraftKings operates pursuant to an Operating Agreement with iGaming Ontario. Please play responsibly.