The 10 | Who is Ready For The Madness?

Borralho opened his UFC career with seven straight wins to land opposite Nassourdine Imavov last September in Paris in what felt like a title eliminator. Things didn’t go his way, and now it’s time for the Fighting Nerds rep to reset and steady himself in the rankings. “RDR” raced out of the gates with four wins in nine months (and change) but faltered when trying to go “5 in 12” last October. He acknowledged it was too much and he shouldn’t have done it, and like his Brazilian opponent, de Ridder now gets the opportunity to show he’s learned from that setback and is a genuine contender in this division.

NEWS: Jiří Procházka And Carlos Ulberg Fight For Light Heavyweight Title At UFC 327

As much as I wish this one was being contested over five rounds, I do think it will be incredibly instructive regarding where these two fit in the middleweight hierarchy. Sean Strickland just made a massive statement in Houston, and now these two get the chance to follow suit.

Max Holloway vs Charles Oliveira

There’s not a lot more that needs to be said beyond the fact that this is a fight between two absolute legends that carries real divisional stakes along with the BMF title hanging in the balance.

Originally scheduled to take place in December, this one was postponed and pushed to this card, and that has probably worked out in the favor of Lemos and Robertson because now it’s getting the co-main event shine it deserves.

READ: Monthly Report | February 2026

At 38 years old and a couple years removed from challenging for the strawweight title, Lemos is in that interesting pocket of her career many standout contenders eventually reach where she seems better than most in the division, but maybe a step behind a couple others. The fun wrinkle to that is that she beat current champ Mackenzie Dern two years ago, and so a couple quality showings against top competition could put her right back in the mix. Robertson, meanwhile, has been charging forward in the division for the last couple years, earning four straight wins at strawweight. She faltered against Tabatha Ricci, the one opponent she’s faced during that run with some forward momentum, so how she does here against a Top 5 talent like Lemos will be telling.

This feels like a bout that could go any number of ways, and those matchups always fascinate me. Yes, Robertson has a very clear approach that she needs to execute, but her submission game is such that even if she’s down on the cards late in the third, all she needs is a slight opening to shift things.

Josh Emmett vs Kevin Vallejos

Who doesn’t like this type of matchup? Seriously. If a fight between a tenured contender with menacing power and a rising prospect doesn’t feel like a good thing to you, I don’t know that we can be friends. Sorry; those are the rules.

Emmett will be 41 by fight day, but he still hits like a ton of bricks and is by far the most experienced fighter Vallejos has ever faced. He’s beaten guys in this same position countless times and will present a difficult puzzle for the young Argentine to solve. The 24-year-old Vallejos went 3-0 in his rookie campaign last year, wrapping things up with a nasty second-round knockout win over Giga Chikadze, and now gets the chance to take another step forward in the division. He’s rightfully getting fast-tracked here, but the key will be whether his development matches the pace of his push.

Just as middleweight is starting to get moving, so too are the featherweight ranks. This is one of two featherweight main events this month and four fights in the 145-pound weight class on this list, which shows you how crucial this month will be in terms of helping map out Q2 and beyond.

UFC Fight Night: Evloev vs Murphy (The O2 Arena, London, England — March 21)

Nathaniel Wood vs Losene Keita

The second featherweight bout featured in this collection is a fascinating preliminary card pairing in London between a tenured veteran that has been trying to break into the Top 15 and a newcomer hoping for a re-do after his initial debut didn’t go as planned.

Wood has gone 6-1 since moving to featherweight, with three wins on either side of a foul-filled decision loss to Muhammad Naimov. He looked scalpel-sharp against Jose Miguel Delgado at UFC 321 and has the crisp fundamentals to frustrate just about anyone outside of the rankings and likely plenty inside too. Keita was scheduled to make his UFC debut in Paris against Patricio Pitbull but missed weight by three pounds, resulting in the bout being scrapped. The former Oktagon MMA standout is 16-1 overall and a tremendous prospect, but there is a little more pressure on him now than there was before his September miscue.

Can Wood keep rolling and spoil Keita’s second chance at a first impression or will the 28-year-old debutant get a strong win straight away to announce his presence as a player in the featherweight division?

Roman Dolidze vs Christian Leroy Duncan

Five weeks after Alexander Volkanovski successfully defended his title, Evloev and Murphy meet at The O2 in order to — in all likelihood — figure out who will face the Australian legend next.

Evloev, who turned 32 in February, is 9-0 in the UFC and 19-0 overall, with his last three wins coming against Diego Lopes (who took it on short notice as his UFC debut), Arnold Allen, and Aljamain Sterling. He’s a dominant grappler with solid hands and a genuine threat to claim the title. Murphy delivered one of the best knockouts of 2025 in August, planting a spinning back elbow in the forehead of Aaron Pico to push his winning streak to nine, his unbeaten streak in the UFC to 10, and his record to 17-0-1 overall. He’s hyper-technical, deceptively dangerous, and a bona fide contender.

Someone is leaving London with their first professional loss and their championship ambitions paused for the time being, and figuring out who that will be is going to be so much fun to watch.

UFC Fight Night: Adesanya vs Pyfer (Climate Pledge Arena, Seattle, WA — March 28)

Julian Erosa vs Lerryan Douglas

The folks on Sesame Street would say this is the one of these things that’s not like the others, but if you’ve followed this series for any amount of time, you know there is always a “one for me” and this month, this is it… and it’s going to be glorious!

Erosa is allergic to a boring fight and is the perfect introductory opponent for Douglas, who earned a contract last season on Dana White’s Contender Series, has won five straight, all by stoppage, and carries the nickname “Gunslinger” for clear and valid reasons. These two are going to meet in the center of the Octagon, touch gloves, and get after it, and I cannot wait.

It genuinely feels like a huge portion of the fan base has either lost their appreciation for bouts like this or never had one in the first place, and that’s a shame because as much as I love fights that carry serious stakes, a quality bruhaha between two dudes that just love to sling leather is all it takes to put a smile on my face. This is going to be an electric fight and you’re not going to want to miss it; thank me later.

Alexa Grasso vs Maycee Barber

Three years after their initial meeting, Grasso and Barber will share the Octagon for a second time, and it comes at the precise right time for both, honestly.

Grasso has lost consecutive contests and is without a win since upsetting Valentina Shevchenko to claim the flyweight title. She’s been swept on the scorecards in each of her last two fights and needs to show she’s still capable of maintaining a place in the Top 5 by righting the ship here. Barber returned from an extended hiatus and some scary health issues in December, collecting a quality win over Karine Silva. Despite being on a 7-fight winning streak, she still needs a recent Top 5 win to really be considered a contender.

Their first meeting in February 2021 was a crossroads moment where Grasso ascended to the next level and Barber was shown to still need some more seasoning. Now, Grasso comes in on a skid and Barber has rebuilt some momentum, and it will be interesting to see who ends up benefitting from this timely rematch in Seattle.

Israel Adesanya vs Joe Pyfer

This is the elevated version of the fight between Emmett and Vallejos and that matchup archetype; it’s like going from having a terrific steak dinner to taking it up a notch by adding a whole lobster and springing for a more expensive bottle of wine.

Adesanya returns for the first time since being stopped by Nassourdine Imavov last February in Saudi Arabia and is searching for his first win since reclaiming the middleweight title against Alex Pereira at UFC 287, which feels like eons ago now. It’s his first fight with someone outside the Top 10 since his impromptu main event opposite Anderson Silva way back at UFC 234, and it will be fascinating to see where he’s at in this one. For Pyfer, it’s a massive opportunity against one of the most accomplished champions in the history of the division as well as a global superstar. A win here won’t necessarily bring him a title opportunity, but it will thrust him into the thick of the chase and show that he’s ready to swim with the sharks in the 185-pound waters.

Can “The Last Stylebender” dial up something special or will Pyfer pick up the biggest win of his career and shake up the middleweight rankings?