UFC 322 fight card — Makhachev vs. Della Maddalena: Top storylines to watch

A pair of title bouts top an absolutely loaded return to Madison Square Garden on Saturday when UFC 322 comes to New York. In the main fight, Islam Makhachev will be looking to add another divisional title as he takes on Jack Della Maddalena in the welterweight championship. Meanwhile, in the co-feature, former women’s strawweight champion Zhang Weili moves up to 125 pounds to challenge flyweight queen Valentina Shevchenko.As we draw closer to this weekend’s must-see event, let’s take a closer look at the biggest storylines surrounding UFC 322. 1. Islam Makhachev can be even greater. The 34-year old native of Dagestan in Russia is aiming to become the 11th UFC two-division champ when he takes on Della Maddalena and defends his 170-pound championship. Makhachev has not lost a UFC match since his second fight in 2015. He won that fight by knocking out Adriano Martins in the first round. If he wins on Saturday, he will equal Anderson Silva’s UFC records of 16 consecutive victories. Makhachev is already on the list of greatest fighters of the 32-year-old promotion. But, he’s still a long way from his teammate Khabib Nurmagomedov who, in 2020, retired as the lightweight champion and pound for pound king. Makhachev is more complete than Nurmagomedov, who holds the record for most UFC light-weight title defenses. 

2. You should never doubt Jack Della Maddalena. Even though he was a 2-to-1 underdog to win the title, the Australian heavyweight is still the best in his division, even if the path he took to get there wasn’t typical. Della Maddalena is on an 18-fight winning streak, after losing his two first pro fights in 2016. He was fortunate to have a chance at Belal Muhammad’s title when Shavkat Rahmanov’s injury opened the door. JDM, who had not been active due to injuries, had only appeared one time in the past 20 months. He had also just won back-to-back split-decision wins (Bassil hafez and Kevin Holland), but needed to knock out 37-year old Gilbert Burns last round in 2024 in order to stay on top of the rankings. Once he was given his title shot, at UFC 315 in 2016, he improved his game significantly by blocking all Muhammad’s attempts to take him down over the first 3 rounds. This led to a tough decision victory that earned him a spot among the top 10 P4P fighters. Della Maddalena knows that he must have an even more aggressive ground game against a grappling master like Makhachev. He has therefore enlisted his fellow countrymen Alexander Volkanovski (the UFC featherweight champion) and Craig Jones (a jiu jitsu expert), for his first defense of the title. JDM makes up in spirit, will and willingness to endure hell to win the fight against Makhachev what he lacks in technical ability. For Makhachev to unseat him, he will surely have to earn it the hard way. 3. Call Valentina Shevchenko-Zhang Weili what it is: a women’s MMA superfight Already among the most decorated fighters in UFC strawweight history as a two-time champion, Zhang will join Makhachev in pursuit of a second title in as many divisions on Saturday when she moves up to 125 pounds against the two-time flyweight queen Shevchenko. From a betting perspective, this matchup ranks with the Amanda Nunes-Crissy Cyborg featherweight championship bout from UFC 232 in 2018 as the most decorated women’s MMA matchup. Zhang, 36, is undefeated in the Octagon – she has only lost to Rose Namajunas twice. Shevchenko (37), meanwhile, has a record of 14-1-1 (against everyone but Nunes) at the UFC. She lost twice to Nunes in bantamweight and avenged that loss in their three-fight trilogy. Shevchenko also has the same number of titles as Nunes in UFC Women’s History. Two fighters at an historic moment, with so many accolades and so much on the line. And, even better, it’s likely that the winner of this fight will have won the biggest victory in each fighter’s (and incredible) career.
4. The welterweights will be in full force. There are 15 welterweights in the UFC rankings. This is a division that has a lot of contenders for titles. The title will be on the line in Saturday’s main fight, but two other well-matched matches on the PPV card could shake up the overall picture of the title (just a week after the incredible Ian Machado Garry vs Muhammad co-main bout at UFC Qatar). Sean Brady is 18-1 with only Muhammad as his sole loss in the pro ranks. He brings a 3-fight winning streak to a mouthwatering fight against Michael Morales who is 18 0 with 13 knockouts. In the meantime, former champion Leon Edwards is looking to break a two-fight losing streak when he takes on Carlos Prates’s explosive striking, who has a UFC record of 5-1 with five spectacular knockouts. UFC 322 will feature five of the division’s top 10 fighters, showcasing the wide range of talent available at welterweight. 

5. Bo Nickal, three-time NCAA wrestler champion, is up for a referendum. Three years and eight fights after beginning his professional MMA career the former Penn State star has transformed from a promising prospect to one of MMA’s most questioned figures. Nickal, 29, is 7-1 in his pro career but his only defeat was a disaster in May when grappling expert Reinier de Ridder wore him out with knees in the body during Round 2. Nickal had just fought Paul Craig and won by decision after a terrible striking performance. Nickal was booed as he refused to go for a takedown. Nickal’s talent is not lacking. The ground game that Nickal used to win three stoppages in his UFC debut beginning in 2023 is still strong, both from a submission and wrestling perspective. Nickal’s critics point to his delusional answers as to where he is at. For example, in a 2024 video interview, Nickal claimed that he was a -1000 favorite to face Khamzat Chimaev. Chimaev has since won the UFC Middleweight Title. Nickal will return in the featured prelim against Rodolfo Viera (36), a 36-year old submission expert who has been 6-3 since his UFC debut. Nickal is the betting favorite but the jury has yet to decide if he will be able to mix his wrestling and striking in a way that complements each other while also living up to all the pressures of being a highly-coveted prospect. 

2025-11-10 22:36:19