It’s tough to remember a time when UFC President Dana White made a more massive, multi-layered announcement than the one he delivered near midnight on Wednesday, February 19.
White took to Instagram and announced 14 fights, including three title bouts spread across three upcoming events. As an MMA journalist and hardcore fan for more than three decades, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t excited to hear all of the confirmed fights from the man himself.
Before we get into the particulars and top takeaways, here is a list of the fights White confirmed and the events they belong to.
New Fights Confirmed
UFC Fight Night London – March 22
- (1) Leon Edwards vs. No. 5 Sean Brady – Welterweight
UFC 314 in Miami – April 12
- (1) Alexander Volkanovski vs. (3) Diego Lopes – Vacant UFC Featherweight Championship
- (7) Michael Chandler vs. (12) Paddy Pimblett – Lightweight
- (5) Yair Rodriguez vs. Patricio Pitbull – Featherweight
- (10) Geoff Neal vs. (13) Carlos Prates – Welterweight
- (3) Virna Jandiroba vs. (1) Xiaonan Yan – Strawweight
- (15) Dan Ige vs. Sean Woodson – Featherweight
- Darren Elkins vs. Julian Erosa – Featherweight
- Sedriques Dumas vs. Michal Oleksiejczuk – Middleweight
- Sumudaerji vs. Mitch Raposo – Men’s Flyweight
- Alberto Montes vs. Roberto Romero – Featherweight
UFC 315 – May 10 in Montreal
- (c) Belal Muhammad vs. (4) Jack Della Maddalena – Welterweight Championship
- (c) Valentina Shevchenko vs. (2) Manon Fiorot – Women’s Flyweight Championship
- (8) Gilbert Burns vs. (12) Michael Morales – Welterweight (Moved from UFC 314)
MMA personality Jed I. Goodman caught most of the announcement.
Major Takeaways From Dana White’s Huge Fight Announcements
What’s Up With Ilia Topuria?
Volkanovski and Lopes are fighting for the vacant featherweight title. Per White, Ilia Topuria is moving up to lightweight, presumably to challenge Islam Makhachev for the title at 155 pounds. White said they didn’t have Topuria’s fight arranged just yet, but I wouldn’t be shocked to see him fight Makhachev in Spain sometime this summer or as part of International Fight Week at UFC 317 on June 28.
Volkanovski will have the rare opportunity to fight for a title while on a two-fight losing streak. He’s coming off KO losses to Makhachev and Topuria in his last two fights. Lopes gets the call after defeating Brian Ortega in September 2024 at Noche UFC.
What’s Up With Shavkat Rakhmonov?
Muhammad was supposed to make his first title defense against Rakhmonov in December 2024 at UFC 310, but the champion had to pull out with a bone infection. Rakhmonov stayed on the card and defeated Ian Machado Garry by unanimous decision.
Rakhmonov would have been the man to challenge Muhammad at UFC 315, but he is currently injured and plans to face the winner of Muhammad-JDM, per social media.
Maddalena was supposed to fight Edwards in the latter’s return to the Octagon in London, but he was moved into the title opportunity when Rakhmonov was injured, and Brady stepped in to replace JDM against Rocky.
Chandler-Pimblett Could Be Epic
Chandler might be the most overrated fighter in the division, but he is popular and exciting. If he loses to Pimblett, we could see Chandler fall out of the Top 10, and Pimblett might be one or two wins away from challenging for a title.
Pitbull Has Arrived
The Bellator legend’s signing with the UFC wasn’t confirmed until White made his announcement.
The fight with Rodriguez could win Fight of the Night, and it is an excellent matchup for Pitbull to prove he can compete in the UFC and for Rodriguez to show he’s still an elite featherweight.
Fiorot Gets Her Shot
After calling Shevchenko out for months, Fiorot will finally get her title opportunity in Montreal. This fight doesn’t jump off the page as a banger, but Shevchenko is an all-time great. The winner likely gets Weili Zhang, as the current strawweight queen has expressed a desire to move up to flyweight for a championship opportunity.
Wow, what a night for MMA.
