The 10 | The Indie Darling Month Arrives

Almeida touches down in Las Vegas off a split decision loss in a bout with Alexander Volkov at UFC 321 in October, where he went 7-for-9 on takedowns and logged 10-plus minutes of control time in the 15-minute fight. He didn’t throw a single significant strike in the first round and landed just nine for the fight, compared to 24 for Volkov, and I’m fascinated to see how that result influences his decision-making and aggression going forward.

FULL FIGHTS: Bautista vs Lopez | Oliveira vs Sopaj  

A two-time winner on Dana White’s Contender Series who made two appearances in between Las Vegas visits, Kuniev landed on the frustrating side of a 2-1 verdict against Curtis Blaydes in Baku, Azerbaijan, last June. Regardless of the result, the fact that the debutant went the distance and did enough in the eyes of one official to beat the perennial Top 5 talent gives me plenty of reason to want to see what he does in his sophomore effort this weekend.

The other wrinkle here is that Almeida raised his hand to fill in here, replacing Ryan Spann, which ups the ante on his side and raises the stakes for Kuniev, who gets a second consecutive date with a Top 10 opponent. Heavyweight is in a holding pattern at the top, but fights like this will help organize things outside of the title picture for once things get moving again.

Amir Albazi vs Kyoji Horiguchi

After the way the division was turned on its head at the end of last year, you knew flyweight would be front and center in 2026, and after Alex Perez kicked things off by cementing his place in the Top 10 at UFC 324, Albazi and Horiguchi are poised to battle for a spot on the fringes of the title conversations.

Albazi has been in the mix for a while now, but injuries have limited him to just one appearance since his main event win over Kai Kara-France back in June 2023. He’s 17-2 overall, skilled in every phase, and has only lost to Brandon Moreno in the UFC, so if he can stay off the injured list and get by Horiguchi, “The Prince” will absolutely be a player in the 125-pound weight class.

Horiguchi’s raison d’être for returning to the UFC was to become the first Japanese champion in the promotion’s history, and after mauling Tagir Ulanbekov in his return bout in November, he gets the chance to push closer to contention with a relatively quick turnaround and solid step up in stature here. Unbeaten in his last seven and as elite an all-around talent as there is in the weight class, it shouldn’t surprise anyone if Horiguchi is fighting for gold before the end of the year, especially if he keeps putting up wins every couple of months.

There are several names to consider at the top of the division at the moment, so this most likely isn’t a “win, and you’re next” situation, but a strong showing on either side puts Albazi or Horiguchi into a marquee bout with a Top 5 opponent, and a win there could secure a championship opportunity.

Mario Bautista vs Vinicius Oliveira

These are the kinds of matchups that make me smile every week, and I love —LOVE — that it’s getting the main event treatment.

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Circling back to the Oscar theme, Bautista is a classic Best Supporting Actor nominee —one of those folks that doesn’t get as much credit as they deserve, but is rock solid every time out; you see his name on the fight card, you know you’re getting a good fight, no matter the opponent. After having his lengthy winning streak snapped by Umar Nurmagomedov last time out, you know the MMA Lab product is focused on halting Oliveira’s ascent and getting back into the win column in dominant fashion here.

Oliveira is 4-0 in the UFC through his first two years on the roster, following up his high-impact debut win over Benardo Sopaj with decision wins over Ricky Simon, Said Nurmagomedov, and Kyler Phillips. Bautista currently stands between him and the Top 10, and is the kind of solid step up in competition he needs in order to show he’s ready to face the collection of absolute studs that reside in the upper echelon of the division.

Flyweight had a moment a couple of years back where there was a host of promising, young talent climbing the ranks, and with most of those names now in the title picture or ranked, the winner of this one feels poised to claim the title as the top ascending name in the division. I’m also a sucker for a fight that was previously scheduled, scrapped and then put back together because it means the matchmakers are really keen to see how things shake out between the two combatants and in this case, I am too.

Jacobe Smith vs SeokHyun Ko

If you’ve read anything I’ve written in the past 13 months, you know how impressed I was with the DWCS Class of ’24 and that I think it could be the best collection of talent to come off the show yet. Allow me to present two more examples of why.

Unbeaten in 11 pro starts, Smith earned stoppage wins in each of his appearances last year, starching Preston Parsons in 73 seconds before submitting Niko Price in the second round at UFC 317. A standout wrestler at Oklahoma State, Smtih feels like a throwback to the ultra-athletic wrestle-boxers that thrived a couple of eras back, but with skills that match the modern game.

Ko surprised a bunch of people by dominating Oban Elliott in Baku, Azerbaijan, in June, grounding and grinding out “The Welsh Gangster” to win his debut. Few were as surprised with he did the same thing to Phil Rowe later in the year, and now the 32-year-old from South Korea is looking to take keep building on that momentum by handing Smith his first career loss.

These two are also part of that ascending pack making a push towards the Top 15 and cannot be overlooked as dark horses in the division. This truly feels like one of those fights that should tell us a great deal about where each man stands and what to expect from them going forward, and I cannot wait to see it.

Dan Ige vs Melquizael Costa

One of the featherweight division’s veteran stalwarts faces off with one of last year’s breakout fighters in his main card clash in Houston.

“Fluffy” hasn’t lost a fight in five years, building an eight-fight winning streak and climbing to No. 4 in the middleweight rankings in the process. After out-hustling Brendan Allen in Seattle in February, the DWCS Season 2 alum broke down Roman Dolidze before menacingly choking him out in the fourth round of their August main event.

This one is thrilling from both a stylistic and personality standpoint, as you know these two are going to be yapping at one another all week in the lead up to this fight… and once it gets underway. Both are pressure fighters that like to crowd and march down their opponents, so it’s going to be interesting to see who takes control of the dance and how the other responds.

There is some uncertainty about what’s happening at the top of the middleweight division at the moment, but that doesn’t take away from the importance of this fight.

UFC Fight Night: Moreno vs Kavanagh (Arena CDMX, Mexico City, Mexico —February 28)

Marlon “Chito” Vera vs David Martinez

The third bantamweight fight to make this collection is the second critical pairing between ranked talents looking to define where they stand at the outset of the year.

UFC MEXICO CITY: Tickets | VIP Experiences 

Vera, who sits at No. 8 in the rankings, was livid following his split decision loss to Aiemann Zahabi in Vancouver last year, believing he’d done enough to merit the victory. The popular standout from Ecuador has dropped three straight and four of his last five, but that includes his championship rematch with “Suga” Sean O’Malley and a loss to Cory Sandhagen, so how much are you faulting him for those?

Martinez made the most of a short-notice opportunity in September, shuffling out of his scheduled bout with Quang Le and into a co-main event pairing with Rob Font at Noche UFC in San Antonio, working his way to 29-28 scores across the board and the biggest win of his career. Positioned two spots behind Vera in the rankings, the 26-year-old now aims to improve on his rookie year and make a sudden entrance into the title conversation in the 135-pound weight class.

Even with some key bantamweight fights off the board already this year, the options abound, and whatever matchups come next are going to be fascinating. This feels like a crossroads fight for Vera, so it will be interesting to see how he responds following his frustrating result last time out.

Brandon Moreno vs Lone’er Kavangh

For the second year in a row, a pivotal flyweight pairing sits atop the marquee for the UFC’s annual venture to Mexico City, but in a surprising plot twist, one of the combatants has changed.

Moreno got the better of former title challenger Steve Erceg last March to earn his first win in Mexico City, steady himself in the rankings, and set up another big fight later in the year. Unfortunately for the two-time champion, he was on the business end of things at UFC 323, suffering a second-round submission loss to Tatsuro Taira that sends him into this year in an interesting position.