Monthly Report | March 2026

It became apparent very early on in the fight with Abdul-Malik that the Xtreme Couture product was in trouble; Belgaroui not only kept him at bay and on the end of long strikes, but when he did get inside, the Dutch kickboxer was able to leverage his height and ability to create space into a means of stuffing or quickly nullifying the takedowns. Each time he did, his confidence grew, and as the fight ticked on, Belgaroui put it on Abdul-Malik more and more.

READ: The Biggest Winners From UFC Seattle 

This was an exception showing on the back of a tremendous debut effort that largely got the “lemme see you do it again” treatment, including by me, but I will not make that mistake again. Belgaroui has a wealth of striking experience, trains with former two-division champ Alex Pereira and former light heavyweight titleholder Glover Teixeira, and is clearly making big gains in his understanding of MMA and understanding of how to best utilize his considerable weapons, and it makes him a legitimate dark horse in the 185-pound weight class.

I cannot wait to see who he gets matched up with next.

Honorable Mentions: Marwan Rahiki, Bia Mesquita, Kevin Vallejos, Shanelle Dyer, Danny Silva, Navajo Stirling, Casey O’Neill, Lance Gibson Jr., Lerryan Douglas, Joe Pyfer

Submission of the Month: Bia Mesquita makes quick work of Montse Rendon (UFC Fight Night: Emmett vs Vallejos)

When Demian Maia first arrived in the UFC, I was absolutely transfixed because he was the first Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace I remember playing exclusively to his strengths in the modern era. There were good jiu-jitsu players, and we saw lots of excellent grappling, but Maia strolled into the Octagon, said, “You better not let me get my hands on you,” and then made you pay dearly when he invariably dragged you into his realm.

Mesquita is giving me the same vibes right now.

For the second straight fight, the 10-time IBJJF world champion took her opponent to the canvas and quickly dominated, working to finish Monste Rendon faster than she was able to dispatch Irina Alekseeva in her debut last October. What made this one really stand out, however, is that she got Rendon to the ground by stinging her with a pair of shots in space.

The first counter right landed 17 seconds in as Rendon was loading up to throw a right of her own, and the second came three seconds later as the Mexican bantamweight attempted to grab a leg and buy herself some time. Mesquita knocked her off balance, chased her to the fence with more punches, and then spilled her to the canvas, where she started unloading elbows and punches.

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When Rendon stood, Mesquita turned her to the canvas effortlessly with a single leg and fell into side control, quickly floating into mount and offering her an unenviable dilemma: stay here and eat shots or give up your back and get choked out. Rendon eventually gave up her back, and Mesquita instantly sunk in the fight-ending choke.

The soon-to-be 35-year-old Leticia Ribeiro black belt, looks like a legitimate player in the bantamweight division and should get a chance to prove herself against a ranked opponent next time out. Truth be told, Mesquita should already be carrying a number next to her name, but that’s a battle to fight another day.

Honorable Mentions: Alberto Montes vs Ricky Turcios, Elijah Smith vs SuYoung You, Ion Cutelaba vs Oumar Sy, Michael Chiesa

Knockout of the Month: Alexa Grasso sleeps Maycee Barber (UFC Fight Night: Adesanya vs Pyfer)

Ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce your clubhouse leader in the Knockout of the Year race in the UFC.

This was gnarly and made even more memorable and vicious by how quickly Grasso followed up, how Barber tried to grab a single leg on referee Mike Beltran, and how she subsequently lay understandably dazed on the canvas for long enough that everyone rightfully started to get a little worried.

At the outset of this fight, it looks a lot like their first encounter, where Barber stayed too far outside and never really got anything behind too many of her strikes, leading to Grasso picking her apart and winning a decision running away. The key for Barber during the seven-fight winning streak she put together between her two appearances against Grasso was her aggression and — as she said throughout the week —a willingness to make fights ugly and thrive in that ugliness.

She wasn’t doing that on Saturday initially, and then when she did close the distance, Grasso instantly made her pay.

WATCH: Grasso Post-Fight Interview 

Barber came forward, the two began to exchange, and after Grasso pawed out with a right and avoided the return shot, she put a left hand flush on Barber’s chin that spun her to the ground with her right leg bent in an awkward angle, out while still sitting upright. Grasso immediately threw another couple of punches and wrapped up a rear-naked choke, dragging Barber back into her for a split second before Beltran could pry her off of the clearly unconscious Barber.

This was as big a statement win as Grasso could have earned and one she desperately needed after entering on a two-fight skid and having failed to secure a victory in three straight. She talked about a “healthy Alexa” being dramatically different than an “injured Alexa” and if this is how “healthy Alexa” fights, sign me up for an expedited return against another top contender… and a main event assignment at Noche UFC in September too, maybe in Guardalaraja as she requested.

Honorable Mentions: Rodolfo Bellato vs Luke Fernandez, Drew Dober vs Michael Johnson, Manoel Sousa vs Bolaji Oki, Vallejos vs Josh Emmett, Dyer vs Ravena Oliveira, Brando Pericic vs Louie Sutherland, Silva vs Kurtis Campbell, Iwo Baraniewski vs Austen Lane, O’Neill vs Gabriella Fernandes, Gibson Jr. vs Chase Hooper, Belgaroui vs Mansur Abdul-Malik, Douglas vs Julian Erosa

Fight of the Month: Mason Jones and Axel Sola light up The O2 Arena (UFC Fight Night: Evloev vs Murphy)

Mason Jones might be genetically predisposed to being unable to be in a boring, technical fight because while “The Dragon” constantly talks about wanting to avoid a brawl, be defensively responsible, and pick his opponents apart, the 30-year-old invariably gets into these back-and-forth slobberknockers that delight the crowd and leave both he and his opponent busted up at the end of the night.