Sherdog’s Top 10: Can’t-Miss Fights of February

True superfights still carry a special feel in the world of mixed martial arts.

Islam Makhachev will defend the undisputed Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight crown for the first time when he confronts reigning featherweight titleholder Alexander Volkanovski in the UFC 284 main event on Feb. 11 at the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia. There, Volkanovski seeks to become just the second man—Conor McGregor was the first—to hold UFC championships at 145 and 155 pounds simultaneously.

Makhachev, 31, enters the cage with the wind of an 11-fight winning streak in his sails. The Khabib Nurmagomedov protege last appeared at UFC 280, where he submitted Charles Oliveira with an arm-triangle choke and captured the lightweight title in the second round of their Oct. 22 pairing. Volkanovski, meanwhile, has rattled off 22 consecutive victories on his way to becoming one of the sport’s pound-for-pound greats. The 34-year-old Australian last competed on July 2, when he completed his trilogy against Max Holloway with a unanimous decision over the Hawaiian at UFC 276.

The hotly anticipated Makhachev-Volkanovski showdown is but one can’t-miss fight in February. Here are nine more:

Tatsuro Taira vs. Jesus Santos Aguilar
UFC Fight Night 218
Feb. 4 | Las Vegas
Early returns on the undefeated Taira look quite promising. The 23-year-old Japanese prospect improved to 12-0 in October, when he put away C.J. Vergara with an armbar in the second round of their encounter at UFC Fight Night 212. It was the sixth submission victory of Taira’s career but his first via armbar. Aguilar, 26, nailed down his spot on the UFC roster during Week 5 of Dana White’s Contender Series, as he took care of Erisson Ferreira da Silva with a third-round guillotine choke on Aug. 23. The former Ultimate Warrior Challenge champion has won eight bouts in a row.

Johnny Eblen vs. Anatoly Tokov
Bellator 290
Feb. 4 | Inglewood, California
Eblen now must prove he has staying power, as he puts his Bellator MMA middleweight title on the line for the first time. The 31-year-old American Top Team standout struck gold in June, when he was awarded a five-round unanimous decision over Gegard Mousasi in the Bellator 282 headliner. Eblen wrestled collegiately at the University of Missouri, where he was a national qualifier as a senior. His transition to MMA has gone swimmingly. Tokov, 32, steps into the cage with a 31-2 record and does so on the strength of seven straight wins. The well-rounded Russian has delivered more than half (17) of his 31 career victories by knockout, technical knockout or submission.

Yair Rodriguez vs. Josh Emmett
UFC 284
Feb. 11 | Perth, Australia
With the aforementioned Volkanovski’s attention occupied elsewhere, two of the Top 5 contenders at 145 pounds the call to arms for the interim UFC featherweight championship. The dynamic Rodriguez owns a 9-2 record inside the Octagon, his resume highlighted by victories over Dan Hooker, Alex Caceres, B.J. Penn and Chan Sung Jung. He last fought at UFC on ABC 3, where he was awarded an injury-induced technical knockout against Brian Ortega on July 16. Emmett finds himself on a five-fight winning streak. The 37-year-old Team Alpha Male export last competed in June, when he eked out a contentious five-round split decision over Calvin Kattar in the UFC on ESPN 37 headliner.

Elvin Espinoza vs. Damir Ferhatbegovic
PFL Challenger Series 4
Feb. 17 | Orlando, Florida
Espinoza carries a perfect 7-0 record that includes two wins inside the Professional Fighters League, but the 29-year-old Nicaraguan has yet to impress PFL brass enough to warrant a spot on the main roster. He trains under Dietter Navarro and Bryan Roque at DK Fitness in Miami. Espinoza last appeared on Aug. 5, when he took a unanimous decision from Corey Jackson at PFL 7. Ferhatbegovic, 28, has not tasted defeat in more than five years. The Bosnia-Herzegovina native made his promotional debut in March, as the former Valor Fighting Challenge titleholder punched out B.J. Bland in the first round of their PFL 5 confrontation.

Taila Santos vs. Erin Blanchfield
UFC Fight Night 219
Feb. 18 | Las Vegas
Santos wants another crack at the undisputed women’s flyweight championship, having given longtime titleholder Valentina Shevchenko a real run for her money in a split decision defeat in June. The setback snapped a four-fight winning streak for the Astra Fight Team standout, who rose to the top of the division with victories over Molly McCann, Gillian Robertson, Roxanne Modafferi and Joanne Wood. Now Santos serves as a litmus test for a true blue-chip prospect at 125 pounds. Blanchfield, 23, steps into the Octagon having rung up seven straight wins. The onetime Eddie Bravo Invitational champion last fought at UFC 281, where she submitted McCann with a kimura a little more than three minutes into their Nov. 12 encounter.

John Lineker vs. Fabricio Andrade
ONE on Prime Video 7
Feb. 24 | Bangkok, Thailand
Brazilian rivals get a chance to settle their score when Lineker faces Andrade for the vacant One Championship bantamweight title. Their first bout ended in a no contest due to an accidental third-round groin strike from Andrade on Oct. 22. Lineker had been stripped of the 145-pound championship prior to the match due to his inability to make weight—a recurring theme throughout his career. “Hands of Stone” has secured 17 of his 35 professional victories by knockout or technical knockout. The no contest with Lineker closed the book on a seven-fight winning streak for Andrade. He rode consecutive first-round finishes of Li Kai Wen, Jeremy Pacatiw and Kwon Won Il to his first title shot.

Yaroslav Amosov vs. Logan Storley
Bellator 291
Feb. 25 | Dublin
Amosov—who courageously put his career on hold to take up arms against Russia in his native Ukraine—will defend his Bellator MMA welterweight championship when he makes his first appearance in nearly two years and rematches the four-time NCAA All-American wrestler. He defeated Storley by split decision at Bellator 252 in November 2020 and then dethroned Douglas Lima for the 170-pound title seven months later. Amosov, whose record sits at a perfect 26-0, has not fought since. Storley remained active in the Ukrainian’s absence and put himself back in contention with a three-fight winning streak. He laid claim to the interim welterweight crown on May 13, when he edged Michael Page by split decision in the Bellator 281 main event.

Tatiana Suarez vs. Montana De La Rosa
UFC Fight Night 220
Feb. 25 | Las Vegas
Intrigue surrounds Suarez’s long-awaited returned. The gifted but snakebitten flyweight has not suited up since she took a unanimous decision from Nina Nunes at UFC 238 on June 8, 2019, as injuries have kept her sidelined for almost four years. Suarez won Season 23 of “The Ultimate Fighter” as a strawweight in 2016, then put together decisive victories over Viviane Pereira, Alexa Grasso and Carla Esparza prior to her showdown with Nunes. Now 32, she has never fought more than twice in a calendar year. De La Rosa holds a 5-3-1 record across her nine assignments inside the Octagon. The Elevation Fight Team rep last competed at UFC Fight Night 205, where she dropped a unanimous decision to Maycee Barber on April 23.

Philip De Fries vs. Todd Duffee
KSW 79
Feb. 25 | Liberec, Czech Republic
De Fries has lorded over the Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki heavyweight division for nearly five years, his title reign covering seven successful defenses as champion. The 36-year-old Sunderland, England, native marches into his latest outing on the heels of a 10-fight winning streak. De Fries last fought at KSW 74, where he needed a little more than four minutes to submit Ricardo Prasel with a bulldog choke on Sept. 10. Once tagged as a future superstar, the mercurial Duffee has never managed to meet the great expectations that were set for him. He has not competed since his September 2019 battle with Jeff Hughes at UFC Fight Night 158 ended in a no contest due to an accidental eye poke. Duffee, 37, has five sub-minute finishes to his credit.