ESPN released the UFC schedule for late February and March 2026, featuring key Fight Nights and numbered events. Highlights include UFC Fight Night: Strickland vs. Hernandez on Feb 21 in Houston, Moreno vs. Kavanagh on Feb 28 in Mexico City, and UFC 326: Holloway vs. Oliveira 2 on Mar 7 in Las Vegas. Others: Emmett vs. Vallejos (Mar 14, Apex), Evloev vs. Murphy (Mar 21, London), and Adesanya vs. Pyfer (Mar 28, Seattle). This update solidifies the early-year calendar post-UFC 325, aiding fan planning and fighter camps. It impacts middleweight (Strickland), flyweight (Moreno), featherweight (Holloway, Emmett, Evloev), and middleweight again (Adesanya). Expect ticket sales and weigh-in hype soon, with potential reshuffles.
The UFC has officially released its Fight Night and numbered-event schedule for late February and March 2026, mapping out a busy six-week stretch that touches multiple divisions and spans four cities across two continents.
The run opens on February 21 in Houston, where middleweight champion Sean Strickland headlines against Hernandez. Strickland, 35, carries a 31-7 record and owns one of the most active striking outputs in the division at 6.04 significant strikes landed per minute. The American southpaw out of Xtreme Couture stands six-foot-one with a 76-inch reach and has the gold to defend.
A week later, on February 28, the UFC heads to Mexico City for a flyweight main event pitting Brandon Moreno against Kavanagh.
The centerpiece of the stretch is UFC 326 on March 7 in Las Vegas, where featherweight champion Max Holloway rematches Charles Oliveira. Oliveira, 36, holds a 37-11 record and brings a relentless submission threat — 2.6 submission attempts per 15 minutes — alongside a takedown rate of 2.22 per 15 minutes. The Brazilian out of Chute Boxe Diego Lima is currently ranked third in the lightweight division and eleventh in the pound-for-pound standings, making his move to featherweight for this rematch a compelling cross-divisional storyline.
The schedule continues March 14 at the Apex with Josh Emmett facing Vallejos, followed by a London card on March 21 featuring Movsar Evloev against Murphy.
The stretch closes March 28 in Seattle, where former middleweight champion Israel Adesanya returns against Joe Pyfer. Adesanya, 36, carries a 24-6 record and a striking style built on precision — 48 percent accuracy and 4.03 significant strikes per minute — with the six-foot-four Nigerian fighting out of City Kickboxing.
Why it matters
- Strickland puts middleweight gold on the line to open the run, keeping the 185-pound title picture active
- Holloway vs. Oliveira 2 at UFC 326 is a high-profile rematch with pound-for-pound implications in the featherweight division
- Adesanya's return in Seattle has direct consequences for the middleweight rankings, where he sits eighth
- The London card gives European fans a live event, with Evloev's featherweight ranking also in play
Sunday, March 8, 2026
