There’s a new No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the UFC.
Islam Makhachev, who referred to his title fight on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden as “the biggest fight of my life,” seized his opportunity, defeating Jack Della Maddalena to claim ownership of the Welterweight title.
With this win, Makhachev became just the 11th fighter in UFC history to become a double-champion, holding the title in two different weight classes. This win also marks his 16th in a row, tying the all-time win streak record held by Anderson Silva. UFC CEO Dana White reflected on Makhachev’s win post-fight night and said the Dagestanian is “headed towards GOAT talk.”
On the co-main fight of the night, two of the greatest female fighters of all time clashed for hold of the flyweight title.
No. 1 pound-for-pound ranked Valentina “Bullet” Shevchenko successfully defended her flyweight belt against the No. 2-ranked Zhang Weili, marking her second defense of the title this year. With this win, Shevchenko also establishes her name among the best to ever step into the octagon.
The energy for fight week in New York City was electric in the days leading up to UFC 322, with heated press conferences and weigh-ins giving fans a taste of the tension between the fighters before their matchups at MSG for one of the highest-anticipated cards of the year.
UFC 322 delivered on those expectations, with high-octane moments within the walls of the Garden, both inside and outside the octagon.
Highlights from the Preliminary rounds
When you come into the home of the Knicks with the last name of Ewing, you’ve got to deliver and honor the legacy of the name in the building. Ethyn Ewing did exactly that in his preliminary matchup with Malcolm “The Machine” Wellmaker, defeating him by unanimous decision.
Joining the card on just two days’ notice, Ewing stepped in to replace the injured Cody Haddon, who dropped out due to injury. The fight was one of the best of the prelims, an action-packed back-and-forth that saw Ewing complete one of the biggest upsets of the year.
For the final prelim matchup, Bo Nickal landed a head kick on Rodolfo Viera in round three for the second knockout of the night, and the first of four knockouts in a row right before the main card.
It was a bounce-back statement win from Nickal, the former Penn State wrestler, who was removed from the main card earlier this month.
Just moments before the main card started, a brawl broke out in the crowd between MMA fighter Dillon Danis and members of Makhachev’s team. Danis, a former Conor McGregor training partner and controversial figure in the MMA community, made several comments towards Makhachev and his team weeks before the fight. Danis was officially banned by the UFC.
“You will never see Dillon Danis at a UFC fight ever again,” White said after the conclusion of 322.
A main card made for MSG
The main card started off with knockout after knockout for the first three fights. After Nickal’s head kick to close out the prelims, Benoît Saint Denis kept the streak going, kicking off the main card with a clobbering left hand to Beneil Dariush’s head, ending the fight in just 16 seconds.
The first of three welterweight matchups of the main card began as Carlos Prates, a member of the “Fighting Nerds” martial arts team, faced off against former champion Leon Edwards. The viral Brazilian star made easy work of Edwards, who has now lost his last three fights.
Their matchup was highlighted by two moments: Prates staying unfazed by Edwards’ punches while in a grapple and Prates’ mean left hand to Edwards’ chin, making the former champ hit the mat in the second round.
For the final main card matchup before the title bouts, the Ecuadorian Michael Morales completed the fourth knockout in a row to defeat Philadelphia native Sean Brady, handing him his first loss in over three years. Morales now jumps into the title contention conversation, staying undefeated in his UFC career.
A grapple for two titles
In the first title defense of the night, Valentina Shevchenko asserted her dominance over the former strawweight champion, Zhang Weili, to maintain her flyweight belt. She remains the #1 ranked pound-for-pound women’s fighter in the UFC
This was a match defined by its time spent on the ground, as Shevchenko was consistently able to keep control of Zhang in the grapple. Zhang, an all-time great out of China, moved up from strawweight to flyweight to contend for the belt, going from 115 lbs to 125 lbs. Shevchenko’s size and wrestling expertise were too much for Zhang, resulting in a unanimous 50-45 decision after five rounds.
Islam Makhachev and Jack Della Maddalena’s title bout followed the theme of the women’s flyweight fight, a fight spent mostly on the ground. In this case, it was the challenger that proved to be worthy of controlling the belt.
Makhachev was successful in almost all of his takedowns, keeping the match on the mat, denying Della Maddalena an ounce of room. Makhachev dominated the ground game in all five rounds, ending up in yet another 50-45 unanimous decision to make him a double champion. “This is the dream. All my life for these two belts.” Makhachev said directly after the win.
Makhachev looks ahead to the next major UFC card to defend his title, anticipated to be at the White House for the first sporting event ever held at the presidential residence. “Donald Trump, let’s go open the White House. I am coming.” Makhachev said.
