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With one other action-packed month of MMA within the books, MMA Junkie looks at the very best fights from March 2025: Listed below are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s Fight of the Month award for March.
At the underside of the post, tell us if we got it right by voting in your alternative.
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Nominees
Nominee: Nasrat Haqparast def. Esteban Ribovics at UFC Fight Night 253
Nasrat Haqparast (18-5 MMA, 10-4 UFC) and Esteban Ribovics (14-2 MMA, 3-2 UFC) placed on an exciting slugfest at lightweight in the course of the major card.
Haqparast, an underdog within the fight, won for the fifth straight time, 4 of which have been decisions, against Ribovics, who won Fight of the Night honors for the second straight bout.
Nominee: Ozzy Diaz def. Djorden Santos at UFC 313
Ozzy Diaz (10-3 MMA, 1-1 UFC) beat Djorden Santos (10-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) with a unanimous decision of their light heavyweight showdown that was stuffed with motion.
Diaz and Santos landed the eighth most combined strikes in UFC middleweight history – 270 total, with Diaz with a narrow edge at 136-134. Even where they landed their strikes was nearly even.
Nominee: Shauna Bannon def. Puja Tomas at UFC Fight Night 255
Shauna Bannon was in serious trouble before rallying to attain her first UFC finish against Puja Tomar.
Just moments after getting dropped by a clean left high kick, Bannon (7-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) was capable of whip up an armbar off her back and submit Puja Tomar (9-5 MMA, 1-1 UFC) within the second round of the strawweight bout.
Nominee: Loopy Godinez def. Julia Polastri at UFC on ESPN 64
Loopy Godinez (13-5 MMA, 8-5 UFC) was buoyed by the support of the Mexico crowd in a unanimous decision victory over Julia Polastri (13-5 MMA, 1-2 UFC) of their strawweight bout, and managed to survive a late surge.
After being a step ahead for nearly all of an entertaining contest, Godinez was forced to go on the defensive as Polastri threw caution to the wind down the stretch. It wasn’t enough, however it definitely brought the fans to their feet.
The winner
The winner: Justin Gaethje def. Rafael Fiziev at UFC 313
One other Justin Gaethje vs. Rafael Fiziev fight, one other thriller.
That’s what played out as Gaethje defeated Fiziev of their unexpectedly booked rematch, earning a hard-fought unanimous decision with scores of 29-28 from all three judges. The lightweight bout was the UFC 313 co-main event.
Gaethje (26-5 MMA, 9-5 UFC) first beat Fiziev (12-4 MMA, 6-4 UFC) by majority decision within the Fight of the Night in March 2023 at UFC 286. This fight unfolded very like that encounter, with each men throwing and landing heavy punches throughout the quarter-hour.
However it was Gaethje who landed probably the most significant strike of the fight within the second round when he ducked under a jab and dodged an uppercut before countering with an uppercut of his own that dropped Fiziev to the canvas. It nearly ended the fight, but Fiziev survived.
The third round began in Fiziev’s favor, but Gaethje – who promised a throwback version of himself from his WSOF days heading into UFC 313 – was relentless with volume and power punches that began wearing on his opponent because the round unfolded. It was a powerful way for Gaethje to shut out the fight, which resonated with the judges.
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