Fight Coverage
MONTHLY REPORT | FEBRUARY 2025
Looking Back On Some Of The Standout Performances From February
After easing into the year in January with just a pair of events, business picked up inside the Octagon in February, with each of the four Saturdays of the month featuring a UFC fight card from a different location.
Opening in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, before venturing to Sydney, Australia, returning home to Las Vegas, and then jetting off Seattle, February produced a wealth of impressive performances and memorable moments. As is always the case, some stood out more than others, and as we do each time the calendar flips, it’s time to hand out some imaginary hardware for our favorite efforts from this month.
This is the Monthly Report for February 2025.
Breakout Performance: Nassourdine Imavov Shines in Saudi Arabia (UFC Fight Night: Adesanya vs Imavov)
Heading into his headlining bout opposite two-time former champ Israel Adesanya in Riyadh, the question facing Imavov was whether or not the Russian middleweight was ready to take the next step forward in the division and establish himself as a legitimate title threat in the 185-pound weight class.
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The answer was a resounding, emphatic “YES!” as the 29-year-old pushed his winning streak to four with a second-round stoppage win over “The Last Stylebender,” elevating himself to the No. 1 contender position in the division with the victory.
Posting wins over Roman Dolidze, Jared Cannonier, and Brendan Allen in 2024 made it clear that Imavov was a Top 10 fighter in the division, even Top 5, but history is littered with very good fighters that never managed to graduate to being full-blown contenders, and this was Imavov’s first real chance to establish himself as such. While his short-notice loss to Sean Strickland at the start of 2023 has aged well given the journey Strickland has been on since, there is something about seeing a promising talent get their hand raised against an established standout like Adesanya.
The manner with which Imavov dispatched the former champion elevates the performance as well, as this wasn’t a hard-fought, grimy decision, but rather a resounding stoppage just 30 seconds into the second round.
Middleweight was front and center throughout the month, and no one used that more to their advantage than Imavov, who heads into March as the top-ranked contender in the division.
Honorable Mentions: Vinicius Oliveira, Quillan Salkilld, Gabriel Santos, Tallison Teixeira, Jose Delgado, Austin Vanderford, Mansur Abdul-Malik, Jean Silva
Submission of the Month: Valter Walker Hits His Finisher on Don’Tale Mayes (UFC Fight Night: Cannonier vs Rodrigues)
Professional wrestlers have finishing moves, not MMA fighters, though it seems someone neglected to pass that information on to Valter Walker.
For the second straight fight, the Brazilian heavyweight earned a first-round finish by heel hook, following up his verbal submission win over Justin Tafa last year in his sophomore appearance in the Octagon with a similar result earlier this month against Don’Tale Mayes. Unlike the first time “The Clean Monster” broke out what is quickly becoming his signature hold, this time Walker’s decision to attack the dangerous submission was clear and decisive — a direct choice, rather than his taking a flyer in the waning moments of the round like he did at UFC 305 in Perth.
Walker wasted little time closing the distance, collecting Mayes, and depositing him to the canvas, and after as soon as it was clear that “Lord Kong” wasn’t going to quickly clamber to his feet, Walker shifted his focus to securing the finish. He needed to adjust his positioning and purchase on the heel, but once he did, Mayes was quick to tap.
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Connecting on a rare submission once is novel and exciting, but when you’re able to purposefully attack and complete the hold twice, it becomes your calling card and a thing that everyone in the division should be wary of going forward, like when Aleksei Oleinik was securing Ezekiel chokes and submissions from scarf hold position back in the day. Walker has now officially entered that territory, and it will be interesting to see if he’s able to continue this run next time out.
The energetic younger half of The Fighting Walker Brothers has established himself as must-see TV every time out, just like his older brother Johnny, and if he does happen to snatch up another heel hook next time out, we’re officially going to have to come up with a cool name for the surging heavyweight’s finishing maneuver.
Honorable Mentions: Santos vs Jack Jenkins, Gabriel Bonfim vs Khaos Williams, Melquizael Costa vs Andre Fili, Ion Cutelaba vs Ibo Aslan
Knockout of the Month: Ricky Simon’s Hellacious Homecoming (UFC Fight Night: Cejudo vs Song)
Climate Pledge Arena became deafening as soon as Ricky Simón’s right hand sent Javid Basharat twisting to the canvas, and the partisan crowd remained in full throat as the Pacific Northwest staple celebrated his return to the win column.
Ricky Simon Knocks Out Javid Basharat In Round 1 | UFC Seattle
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Ricky Simon Knocks Out Javid Basharat In Round 1 | UFC Seattle
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Entering on a three-fight winning streak and competing in his home state for the first time in nearly eight years, Simon struggled to get Basharat to the canvas in their early grappling exchanges. But just over three minutes into the round, with the two in space, Simon pawed with a jab and followed with a right down the pipe, finding Basharat’s jaw and sending him crashing to the canvas in a heap.
The follow-up blows were academic; the fight was done and Basharat was out.
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This was a much-needed return to the win column for Simon, a long-time fixture in the bantamweight rankings who fell out of the Top 15 as a result of losses to Song Yadong, Mario Bautista, and Vinicius Oliveira. But you couldn’t have asked for a more emphatic finish and a performance that serves as a clear reminder that Simon remains an experienced and dangerous veteran posted up on the doorstep of the rankings, looking for a way back in and ready to turn back any hopefuls looking to make their way into the mix at his expense.
There is a lot of year left, but this was one of the cleanest finishes of 2025 so far.
Honorable Mentions: Terrance McKinney vs Damir Hadzovic, Shamil Gaziev vs Thomas Petersen, Quillan Salkilld vs Anshul Jubli, Imavov vs Israel Adesanya, Jose Delgado vs Connor Matthews, Modestas Bukauskas vs Rafael Cerquiera,
Fight of the Month: Rongzhu and Kody Steele Steal The Show (UFC 312)
Fighting is weird sometimes because you get instances like this where two guys that have trained together in the past and clearly have a genuine fondness for one another will spend the better part of 15 minutes trying to bring violence down upon the other, then smile and share an embrace when the final horn sounds.
Two fights after Quillan Salkilld kicked off the night in Sydney in explosive fashion, Rongzhu and Steele teamed up to set the bar for Fight of the Night honors at UFC 312 impossibly high.
Relatively early on, it became clear that these two were just going to throw down, with Rongzhu showing greater composure and superior shot selection, while the promotional newcomer Steele launched himself into every exchange, resulting in a wildly entertaining slobberknocker where the 24-year-old veteran garnered the victory and each man pocketed some bonus money at the end of the night.
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While there will invariably be times in the months ahead where an ultra-technical battle takes top honors in this category, sometimes you just have to give the nod to a classic punch-up where both individuals accept that they’re going to get a little bloody and charge forward into battle.
Honorable Mentions: Fares Ziam vs Mike Davis, Vinicius Oliveira vs Said Nurmagomedov, Alonzo Menifield vs Julius Walker, Rob Font vs Jean Matsumoto, Anthony Hernandez vs Brendan Allen
UFC Fight Night: Adesanya vs Imavov took place live from anb Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on February 1, 2025. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!