With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best fights from March 2023: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s Fight of the Month award for March.
At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting on your choice.
Nominees
Shavkat Rakhmonov def. Geoff Neal at UFC 285
Shavkat Rakhmonov (17-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC) and Geoff Neal (15-5 MMA, 7-3 UFC) went blow-for-blow and toe-to-toe in their matchup of welterweight contenders, but ultimately a standing submission ended the slugfest.
To conclude a back-and-forth battle that saw both men stunned, Rakhmonov submitted Neal with a standing rear-naked choke at the 4:17 mark of Round 3. The result kept Rakhmonov’s finishing rate at 100 percent, as no opponent has yet to make is the distance – let alone beat him.
Vitor Petrino def. Anton Turkalj at UFC Fight Night 221
Vitor Petrino (8-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) stayed unbeaten and picked up a win in his UFC debut in a fun light heavyweight slugfest with Anton Turkalj (8-2 MMA, 0-2 UFC).
Petrino defeated Turkalj by unanimous decision in a bout where each man had their moments. Petrino landed the more significant damage, however, and the judges rewarded him for it with winning scorecards in the Fight of the Night.
Entertaining from start to finish! 🍿@VitorPetrino and Anton Turkalj are walking away with your FOTN honors!
[ B2YB @ToyoTires | #UFCLasVegas ] pic.twitter.com/TJchneaNgw
— UFC (@ufc) March 12, 2023
Justin Gaethje def. Rafael Fiziev at UFC 286
The lightweight clash between Justin Gaethje (24-4 MMA, 7-4 UFC) and Rafael Fiziev (12-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) tore the house down as everyone expected it would.
Former interim UFC champ Gaethje won a majority decision over Fiziev after an insane three rounds of high-paced action. Both fighters had their moments, but it was Gaethje who emerged victorious on the scorecards of a closely-contested affair.
Leon Edwards def. Kamaru Usman at UFC 286
Leon Edwards (21-3 MMA, 13-2 UFC) defied the odds once again when he overcame a crucial point deduction to defeat Kamaru Usman (20-3 MMA, 15-2 UFC) for the second time in three head-to-head matchups.
Edwards defeated Usman by majority decision to retain the promotion’s welterweight title, using a kick-heavy attack and defending key takedowns in the high-stakes contest on his home soil in London.
2️⃣5️⃣ minutes in the books!
Drop those scorecards NOW 📝 #UFC286 pic.twitter.com/zPXEkDIpEC
— UFC (@ufc) March 19, 2023
CJ Vergara def. Daniel Lacerda at UFC on ESPN 43
CJ Vergara (11-4-1 MMA, 2-2 UFC) put himself in consideration for Comeback of the Year honors with an insane rally against Daniel Lacerda (11-5 MMA, 0-4 UFC).
After taking a hellacious beating in front of his hometown crowd in San Antonio to start the flyweight bout, Vergara somehow managed to turn the tides on Lacerda and finished the fight by TKO late in the second round.
NEVER COUNT OUT THEM TEXAS BOYS!!!!!!!! 🤯@CJVergara1991 flips the script to get the finish! #UFCSanAntonio pic.twitter.com/UOZ8qLMxOW
— UFC (@ufc) March 25, 2023
The winner
The winner: Gaethje vs. Fiziev
Gaethje snapped Fiziev’s winning streak by earning a majority decision win in a highlight anticipated lightweight co-headliner at UFC 287.
“The Highlight” was awarded Rounds 2 and 3 by one judge, and a second gave him Rounds 1 and 3. The third judge gave Fiziev Rounds 1 and 2, but gave Gaethje a 10-8 in Round 3, which caused a draw on his scorecard.
To start off Round 1, Fiziev fired with a body kick, but the first leg kick out of Gaethje drew a big reaction from Fiziev. Fiziev pressured and continued to attack the body. Both men threw heavy leather and landed. Gaethje shot for a takedown, but Fiziev was wise to it. To close out the round, Fiziev landed a big knee up top.
Fiziev landed two big body shots to kick off Round 2. An accidental eye poke by Gaethje caused a momentary break in the action. Gaethje went up top with a head kick which was partially blocked. Gaethje then went low with another hard leg kick, followed by a blitzing combination of punches. Fiziev’s body strikes started to pile up, as he threw more at a higher rate.
In the final round, Fiziev landed a big right hand, followed by a left hook which connected clean, but Gaethje ate it. Gaethje landed a left hook and shot for a takedown which Fiziev stuffed. Gaethje then landed two stiff jabs as a mouse formed under Fiziev’s eye. Gaethje’s output significantly increased, but Fiziev countered with a short left. Gaethje started to cause some serious damage to a bloodied up Fiziev, landing an uppercut followed by a takedown to close out the fight.
Gaethje returned to the win column after getting submitted by Charles Oliveira in a lightweight title fight last May at UFC 274. Meanwhile, Fiziev saw his six-fight winning streak snapped.