With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best fights from March 2026: 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.
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Nominee: Vitor Petrino def. Steven Asplund at UFC Fight Night 269
Vitor Petrino and Steven Asplund put on a rare long, entertaining and bloody heavyweight fight, but as it wore on, it turned largely into a one-sided affair.
Asplund (7-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) stayed determined while absorbing some hellacious punches. He fought through a mess of red on his face, but Petrino (14-2 MMA, 7-2 UFC) remained happy to dish it out and got the victory on the scorecards.
Nominee: Marwan Rahiki def. Harry Hardwick at UFC Fight Night 269
Marwan Rahiki vs. Harry Hardwick had the makings off an memorable recent banger after two rounds, but then the bout was waved off.
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After Rahiki (8-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) unloaded a barrage of heavy shots over two rounds in the featherweight matchup, while also taking some blows of his own, Hardwick (13-5-1 MMA, 0-2 UFC) was unable to make it into the third round. Hardwick told his team his jaw was broken and he was unable to continue. The fight was waved off and Rahiki was awarded the TKO win after two rounds.
Nominee: Ricky Simon vs. Adrian Yanez at UFC Fight Night 271
Ricky Simon and Adrian Yanez had a back-and-forth bantamweight fight, and despite no point deductions, the judges still could not pick a winner.
It was a competitive clash from the outset with both men busting each other up over the first 10 minutes. Yanez (17-6-1 MMA, 6-3-1 UFC) turned it on in a big way in the final frame, nearly finishing Simon (22-7-1 MMA, 10-6-1 UFC) at the final bell. He didn’t get the stoppage, but some 10-8 scores ultimately made it a majority draw.
Nominee: Tofiq Musayev def. Ignacio Bahamondes at UFC Fight Night 271
Tofiq Musayev and Ignacio Bahamondes left it all in the octagon – quite literally, as both spilled a ton of blood on the canvas.
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The back-and-forth battle went the distance, with each fighter having a huge moment. It wasn’t without controversy, though, as Musayev (23-6 MMA, 1-1 UFC) got away with a few clear fouls, but in the end, he earned the nod on the judges’ scorecards over Bahamondes (17-7 MMA, 6-4 UFC).
The winner: Mason Jones def. Axel Sola at UFC Fight Night 269
Mason Jones and Axel Sola put on a fight to remember in London.
In a lightweight matchup marked with Fight of the Night potential coming in, Jones (18-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC) and Sola (11-1-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) put on a bloody three-round battle. It was a back-and-forth contest with each man landing some strong shots, and ultimately it went the three-round distance.
In the end, Jones, who survived a flash knockdown from a spinning back elbow in the first round, was awarded the unanimous decision by scores of 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28 after rallying to open a gruesome cut below Sola’s eye and land clean with better punches, kicks, knees and elbows.
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Following the fight, both men were exhausted and could barely stand. Jones had his hand raised in the center of the octagon, and is now 3-0 since returning to the promotion for a second stint in May 2025.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Fight of the Month for March 2026: Bloody slugfest in London
