February UFC & MMA Preview: Short Month Features Double-Headers

UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs Spivak

• Date: Saturday, Feb. 4
• Venue: UFC APEX, Las Vegas, NV
• Broadcast: ESPN+

After a canceled bout in November, Derrick Lewis and Sergey Spivak are rescheduled for this Saturday. The UFC odds remain similar to their original bout, with Spivak as the favorite. Bettors should expect a short and brutal fight as the 1½-rounds total indicates.

UFC Fight Night: Vera vs Sandhagen

• Date: Saturday, Feb. 18
• Venue: UFC APEX, Las Vegas, NV
• Broadcasts: ESPN+

A potential bantamweight title eliminator pits Marlon Vera against Cory Sandhagen. The odds are tight here, with Sandhagen slightly favored. But that shouldn’t phase Vera who has won half his UFC bouts (4-4) as a dog. This includes upsetting Sean O’Malley as a +230 underdog.

UFC Fight Night: Krylov vs Spann

• Date: Saturday, Feb. 25
• Venue: UFC APEX, Las Vegas, NV
• Broadcast: ESPN+

Capping it off is UFC’s fourth and final event this February. Light heavyweight contenders meet when Nikita Krylov faces Ryan Spann. These fighters tend to finish their fights, so the best UFC bet here is for their match to go under the round total. As for who should win, it might be a pick’em or lean toward Krylov.

ONE Fight Night 7: Lineker vs de Andrade II

• Date: Friday, Feb. 24
• Venue: Jakarta Convention Center, Indonesia
• Broadcast: Amazon Prime

ONE Championship returns to Amazon Prime as Brazilian rivals John Lineker and Fabricio de Andrade settle things for the ONE Featherweight Championship. Their first bout, which was a barnburner, was cut short due to an accidental groin strike. Lineker was favored then. The lines should tighten for this one.

UFC 284: Makhachev vs Volkanovski

• Date: Saturday, Feb. 11
• Venue: RAC Arena, Perth, Australia
• Broadcast: Pay-per-view, ESPN, UFC Fight Pass

The two best fighters in the world meet in Australia in this “champion vs. champion” main event. UFC Featherweight Champion Alexander Volkanovski moves up to challenge newly minted UFC Lightweight Champion Islam Makhachev for his belt. The odds favor Makhachev quite significantly.

In the co-main event, Yair Rodriguez and Josh Emmett meet to decide the interim featherweight champion. Rodriguez is favored slightly on the online gambling lines even if Emmett has won five straight and has not lost since 2018.

LFA 152: Valente vs Bekoev

• Date: Friday, Feb. 10
• Venue: Grand Casino Hotel & Resort, Shawnee, OK
• Broadcast: UFC Fight Pass

Middleweight grapplers are featured in LFA’s first main event this February. Azamat Bekoev should be a sizable favorite as he takes on Renato Valente. The former is 6-3 in major MMA organizations, while the latter is 3-3.

LFA 164: Mariscal vs Faria

• Date: Friday, Feb. 17
• Venue: Horseshoe Hammond Casino, Hammond, IN
• Broadcasts: UFC Fight Pass

Jose Mariscal and Guilherme Faria meet for the LFA’s second event this February. The odds should lean on Faria here despite both being similar in age, size, and winning streaks (two). Faria has fought in more events and trains out of the prestigious Team Alpha Male gym.

Mariscal vs Faria really dope cardhttps://t.co/w7fTjNXiDI#LFA153

— Rot (@TheRottOne) January 13, 2023

BKFC 36: Adams vs Belcher

• Date: Friday, Feb. 24
• Venue: Pontchartrain Convention Center, Kenner, LA
• Broadcasts: FITE TV

This heavyweight showdown is picking up steam as Arnold Adams puts his title on the line against former UFC contender Alan Belcher. Adams is making his second title defense and already owns wins over the gritty Joey Beltran (two). The lines should be close here, with chalk leaning toward Adams.

Bellator 290: Bader vs Fedor

• Date: Saturday, Feb. 4
• Venue: Kia Forum, Inglewood, CA
• Broadcasts: CBS, YouTube

Bellator’s first of two events this month features the last hurrah for “The Last Emperor.” Fedor Emelianenko gets one last crack at Ryan Bader’s Bellator heavyweight title. The online odds have Emelianenko as a moderate underdog in what should go under 1½ rounds, just as the first did.

Bellator 291: Amosov vs Storley

• Date: Saturday, Feb. 25
• Venue: 3Arena, Dublin, Ireland
• Broadcast: Showtime

Bellator’s second event also features another rematch. This time, Yaroslav Amosov defends his welterweight title against Logan Storley. Amosov narrowly defeated Storley years ago, marking the only time the latter lost. As two of MMA’s best grapplers, expect betting action to go back-and-forth between the two.