Highlights
UFC Monthly Report | February 2024
Handing Out Accolades To The Athletes That Impressed Us Most Over The Last Four Weekends
Despite still frigid temperatures, business in the Octagon started to heat up in February, as four consecutive weekends of events kicked off an extended run of shows every Saturday that will culminate with UFC 300 on April 13 in Las Vegas.
While there were impressive newcomers and emerging names that showed out during the second month of the year, the fighters taking home imaginary hardware in this month’s edition of the Monthly Report are all tenured talents, with a new champ leading the way.
Breakout Performance: Ilia Topuria
Some may argue with the decision to highlight Topuria’s title-winning effort against Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298 as the breakout performance of the month because the new champion entered with nary a blemish on his resume and positioned as a legitimate threat to seize the throne, but it’s how he unseated Volkanovski and the ripple effects that has caused that made him the obvious choice here.
Ilia Topuria: El Matador | ESPN MMA
Unlock MORE of your inner combat sports fan with UFC Fight Pass! Fighting is what we live for. And no one brings you MORE live fights, new shows, and events across multiple combat sports from around the world. With a never-ending supply of fighting in every discipline, there’s always something new to watch. Leave it to the world’s authority in MMA to bring you the Ultimate 24/7 platform for MORE combat sports, UFC Fight Pass!
Ilia Topuria: El Matador | ESPN MMA
/
Just a month after plenty of folks debated Dricus Du Plessis edging out Sean Strickland to claim the middleweight title, citing the incorrect, but often suggested, “you have to really beat the champ to win the belt” idea following their competitive five-round battle, Topuria waltzed into Anaheim brimming with confidence and made sure there were no questions about who the better man was that evening.
No one had been able to beat Volkanovski at 145 pounds prior to their meeting, and Topuria did it in under two rounds, settling the Australian against the fence with a crushing right hook that, save for another lovely piece of business we’ll discuss shortly, could have been the Knockout of the Month, as well.
Order UFC 299: O'Malley vs Vera 2
This was an ultra-talented, unbeaten 27-year-old seizing his place atop the division, just like he said he would, and establishing himself as a potential cornerstone for the UFC going forward.
Prior to the contest, Spanish sports luminaries lined up to wish him luck, and since his victory, he’s graced the cover of the nation’s largest sports publication, MARCA, and walked onto the pitch at the Santiago Bernabeu ahead of Real Madrid’s last match, and his profile is only going to continue to grow as the sport becomes bigger in Spain and he continues to thrive inside the Octagon.
This was a changing of the guard in a division with a history of long-reigning champions (save for one), and it will be interesting to see if Topuria can forge a comparable legacy for himself in the years to come.
Honorable Mentions: Anthony Hernandez, Daniel Zellhuber, Manuel Torres
Submission of the Month: Brian Ortega submits Yair Rodriguez (UFC Mexico City)
In terms of technique and execution, Ortega’s third-round arm triangle choke to submit Rodriguez over the weekend in Mexico City was exquisite, but the fact that he was even still in the fight given how things started is what puts him over the top in the race for Submission of the Month honors.
Returning for the first time in 18 months following multiple surgeries, Ortega rolled his ankle while being introduced. He jumped up to continue stretching and getting loose, and when he landed, his right ankle buckled, and it felt like a bad omen. Moments into the fight, it seemed like we were getting confirmation that things just weren’t meant to go his way on Saturday night, as Rodriguez sat him down on the canvas was a clean shot that kicked off a barrage of offense that appeared to have us heading towards a quick finish in the co-main event.
Brian Ortega Post Fight Interview | UFC Mexico City
Unlock MORE of your inner combat sports fan with UFC Fight Pass! Fighting is what we live for. And no one brings you MORE live fights, new shows, and events across multiple combat sports from around the world. With a never-ending supply of fighting in every discipline, there’s always something new to watch. Leave it to the world’s authority in MMA to bring you the Ultimate 24/7 platform for MORE combat sports, UFC Fight Pass!
Brian Ortega Post Fight Interview | UFC Mexico City
/
But Ortega endured, staving off a finish and working his way back into the fight before the round expired before seizing all the momentum back in the second, appearing to break the will of Rodriguez as he dominated from top position. As the third round began, the two-time title challenger was locked in and simply marched across the Octagon and completed his mission.
WATCH UFC FIGHT PASS INVITATIONAL 6 ON UFC FIGHT PASS
The Californian put Rodriguez on the canvas with haste, settled into top position, and slowly worked to set up the choke, sinking the hold in at such an angle that his entire body was hidden behind the former interim champ’s elevated arm and shoulder. Rodriguez tapped and, just like that, Ortega was back in the win column.
This performance was emblematic of what makes Ortega such an entertaining fighter and dangerous threat in the featherweight division, as he not only showcased his elite finishing abilities on the ground, but his resilience and grit, as well, taking a serious shellacking during the opening round, only to rise up, rally back, and secure the finish less than a minute into the third.
Honorable Mentions: Molly McCann vs. Diana Belbita, Rodolfo Vieira vs. Armen Petrosyan, Anthony Hernandez vs. Roman Kopylov
Knockout of the Month: Randy Brown stops Muslim Salikhov (UFC Fight Night: Dolidze vs Imavov)
Topuria’s knockout of Volkanovski was vicious — a clean right hook that twisted his jaw and turned out his lights — but this month’s Knockout of the Month winner goes to the finish that I saw people sharing en masse on IG as soon as the highlights became available.
Just after the midway point of the opening round, Brown hit Salikhov with a beautiful one-one-two — two long jabs followed by a straight right — rotating off to his left ever so slightly after each punch so that when he triggered the right hand, it drove straight through the veteran welterweight’s chin and spun him to the canvas in a heap.
Everyone loves crazy, spinning, wild knockouts, but there is something about the clean, crisp fundamentals exhibited here that made it so much more appealing.
Brown was the longer, rangier fighter and used it to full advantage, operating in space, keeping Salikhov at the end of his punches and kicks, and when the opportunity presented itself, he turned a basic combination and pure fundamentals into a blistering finish— the best of his UFC career, in my opinion — and picked up a second straight victory.
Honorable Mentions: Carlos Prates vs. Trevin Giles, Dan Ige vs. Andre Fili, Zhang Mingyang vs. Brendson Ribeiro, Ilia Topuria vs. Alexander Volkanovski
Fight of the Month: Robert Whittaker vs Paulo Costa (UFC 298)
Penciled in against one another a couple times prior to finally sharing the Octagon at UFC 298 in Anaheim, Whittaker and Costa showed why the matchup was one the UFC was always eager to go back to as soon as things got started.
While some folks prefer a slobberknocker or a classic brawl, I lean more towards an entertaining clash of styles and dynamics when it comes to my favorite fights, and this one hit that mark. Whittaker brought his signature technical striking, darting in and out, throwing and landing at a higher clip than Costa, who cracked on with power shots that clearly had an impact, but were less in number.
Dana White On The Opening Of UFC PI Mexico
Each came out of their corner sharp to start the fight, and as they pressed on, Whittaker pulled away, his superior conditioning affording him the ability to continue stringing together combinations and punctuating sequences with clean shots. Though Costa could only muster single offerings, they connected with force when they landed, and that impact kept things tense throughout the 15-minute affair.
Although it didn’t feature any major shifts in momentum like the lone Honorable Mention this month, this was a close, competitive battle between two divisional stalwarts that was well worth the wait and deserving of the Fight of the Month designation for February.
Honorable Mentions: Amanda Lemos vs. Mackenzie Dern
UFC 298: Volkanovski vs Topuria took place live from Honda Center in Anaheim, California on February 17, 2024. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC Fight Pass!
