UFC
Top Five UFC Fights To Look Forward To In February
South African superstar Dricus du Plessis returns to the Octagon to defend his middleweight championship in one of the five most-anticipated fights in the UFC in February, writes Quintin van Jaarsveld.
Israel Adesanya v Nassourdine Imavov
When: Saturday, 1 February 2025
Former two-time middleweight champion Adesanya aims to get back on track when he headlines UFC Saudi Arabia against rising contender Imavov.
The future UFC Hall of Famer lost to reigning 185-pound king Dricus du Plessis last time out in August, which came on the heels of a shock loss to Sean Strickland that ended his second reign as champion.
Imavov, meanwhile, is on a roll. He’s secured three wins in a row over former title challenger Jarod Cannonier, Roman Dolidze and, most recently, Brendan Allen and can take a big leap closer to the title if he can defeat one of the all-time greats in Adesanya.
Shara Magomedov v Michael Page
When: Saturday, 1 February 2025
The co-main event of the Riyadh card promises to be a banger as local favourite Magomedov trades blows with Brit Page.
“Shara Bullet” is unbeaten in his 15-fight career and scored the pick of his dozen knockouts in his last dance against Armen Petrosyan in October.
Page makes the move up to middleweight from welterweight, where he’s in the top 15 and coming off a decision loss to then-undefeated contender Ian Machado Garry in June.
Dricus du Plessis v Sean Strickland
When: Sunday, 09 February 2025
Middleweight ruler Du Plessis heads back Down Under looking to bury another rival in the main event of UFC 312 at the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney.
The first-ever South African UFC champion vanquished Adesanya in his first title defence in Perth in August and now aims to put his rivalry with Strickland to bed.
After losing the title to “Stillknocks” in Vancouver last January, Strickland scored a dominant decision victory over former title challenger Paulo Costa in June to cement himself as the No. 1 contender.
Zhang Weili v Tatiana Suarez
When: Sunday, 09 February 2025
A second title will be on the line at UFC 312 as strawweight queen Zhang squares off against undefeated challenger Suarez in the co-headliner.
“Magnum”, who sits second on the women’s pound-for-pound list, is in her second reign as 115-pound champion and is coming off a decision win over Yan Xiaonan in their historic all-Chinese title clash in April.
A dominant force, Suarez is a perfect 10-0 and has already taken down a former champion in Jessica Andrade, who she submitted last August.
Henry Cejudo v Song Yadong
When: Sunday, 23 February 2025
Cejudo, one of the most decorated combat sports athletes of all time, steps back into the Octagon for a pivotal bantamweight main event battle against Song at UFC Seattle at the Climate Pledge Arena.
“Triple C,” an Olympic gold medalist in freestyle wrestling and former two-division UFC champion, has since coming out of retirement in 2023 lost back-to-back fights against then-kingpin Aljamain Sterling and future title holder Merab Dvalishvili and is in desperate need of a win.
Song, meanwhile, is an up-and-comer looking to score the biggest win of his career and rebound from a decision loss to former champion Petr Yan in March.