A flurry of knockouts and a pair of dominant title wins underscored the action. UFC 322 card on Saturday from Madison Square Garden in New York.
Islam Makhachev became a two-division champion and used a dominant grappling game to take the welterweight title from Jack Della Maddalena. Wrestling was the name of the game in the co-headliner too, as Valentina Shevchenko defended her women's flyweight title. against former two-time strawweight queen Weili Zhang.
Let's take a closer look at the most important takeaways from the eventful evening, during which wild fight in the crowd before the pay-per-view main card began.
1. Islam Makhachev is perhaps the greatest fighter in his star camp
That certainly says a lot, especially considering Makhachev (28-1) trains with undefeated former lightweight champion and Hall of Famer Khabib Nurmagomedov and two of his cousins with the same last name, undefeated PFL champion Usman and talented UFC 135-pound contender Umar. All four fighters were originally trained since childhood by Khabib's late father Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov. But things have gotten to the point where Makhachev's achievements may be enough to surpass Khabib's perfect 9-0 record. Makhachev, who already holds the record for most UFC lightweight title defenses (four), on Saturday became the 11th two-division champion in promotion history (something Khabib has never done), tying Anderson Silva for the company's record for most consecutive wins at 16 years. the rest of the way. Was it too exciting? No. In fact, huge crowds of spectators left at the beginning of the fifth round. But the fight played out the way it did because Makhachev wanted it to, making an incredibly loud statement to the rest of the UFC's deepest division.
2. A little magic with MSG was fun while it lasted.
Even though the UFC has been coming to “The World's Most Famous Arena” every November since 2016 for one of the most anticipated annual pay-per-view cards, it has become difficult for fans and media that were in the building for the first two (UFC 205 in 2016 and UFC 217 in 2017) to not always compare what happens next to the past. Perhaps what makes these two cards so nostalgically memorable is that UFC 205 and 217 took place right after New York State finally changed its dinosaur law making MMA illegal. Or maybe it's just because both cards, like UFC 322, were completely loaded from top to bottom and produced nothing but jaw-dropping moments along the way. There was a vintage feel in the air Saturday, especially during a four-fight stretch of devastating knockouts that began with Bo Nickal knocked out Rodolfo Viera in a select preliminary bout that served as the final bout before the PPV main card began. Immediately after Nickal's punch, a wild brawl broke out in the crowd involving Conor McGregor's former jiu-jitsu coach Dillon Danis and several UFC fighters, all of whom were part of Makhachev's extended team. The action spread to the area around the Octagon before security and police were finally able to calm the tension. That heady feeling that anything could happen next, only fueled by a string of quick knockouts, came to a stunning halt once the two title fights began, both of which featured one-sided action with dominant wrestling from Makhachev and Shevchenko draining the energy from the building.
3. Valentina Shevchenko is starting to complicate the women's GOAT debates
In what could be considered a signature victory in her incredible career over two-time former strawweight champion and future Hall of Famer Zhang, Shevchenko put a quick end to any pound-for-pound debate with a dominant performance. Zhang landed a big right cross shortly after the first round began and essentially never fought again. With the win, Shevchenko alone moves into first place for the most title defenses (nine) and most wins (10) in UFC women's history. The fact that she is 0-2 in bantamweight fights against Amanda Nunes, a two-division champion who is considered the greatest female fighter in the history of the sport, makes it difficult to compare Shevchenko to her greatest opponent. But that 0-2 record doesn't tell the whole story, as Shevchenko ran out of time in the third round while pummeling an exhausted Nunes at UFC 196 in 2016. And many critics still believe she deserved to beat Nunes in a rematch for the 2017 title, which Shevchenko lost in a controversial split decision. Shevchenko, who turned pro in 2003 before all her peers (including Cris Cyborg), is still at the top of her game and somehow getting better at 37 years old. She's also found new ways to compete with Nunes in terms of statistics and accomplishments, especially since she remains so busy and dominant after Nunes retires in 2023. Shevchenko could get a third fight with Nunes if the legend officially decides to return in 2026. “Bullet” was also named by current bantamweight champion Kayla Harrison, potentially giving Shevchenko an opportunity to become a two-division champion. Either way, Shevchenko shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon and the GOAT debate is starting to get interesting.
4. Welterweight is the best thing going on in MMA.
Even though Makhachev's 170-pound main event win didn't deliver the fireworks many expected, can we talk about how crazy the two welterweight fights were to kick off the main card? In a pair of fights from the top 10 rankings (and virtual bets on them) between fighters firmly fighting for the title, Carlos Prates And Michael Morales demanded title shots after brutal knockouts of former champion Leon Edwards and No. 2 ranked Sean Brady, respectively. Considering Ian Machado Harry still has time to impress UFC matchmakers next Saturday when he takes on Belal Muhammad in the co-main event in Qatar, the division could even end up giving us something as exciting as Prates-Morales next for all we know. And that doesn't even include what to do with former champion and P4P king Kamaru Usman, who is still hanging around, as is undefeated Shavkat Rakhmanov, who finally looks set to return after an 11-month injury layoff. The UFC was smart to pair three fights that are so important to a division that remains the promotion's No. 1 through 10 powerhouse. And a pair of fun-loving prospects turned rivals only complicated things in all very good ways.
5. The closer Benoit Saint-Denis is to Ilya Topuria, the better
Written off by some after two early defeats in 2024 to Dustin Poirier and Renato Moicano, in which he suffered a ton of damage, France's Saint Denis appears to have been completely rebuilt. He scored his third win in a row ahead of schedule on Saturday to open the PPV main card against battle-tested veteran Beneil Dariush. And “God of War” needed to survive a rough start in the opening seconds to begin the one-punch knockout he eventually landed. BSD may have entered the fray as 13th seed, but that should change early next week. Lightweight champion Ilya Topuria appeared to spend UFC 322 focused on criticizing Makhachev's win, calling it “boring.” social networks after the main event. But he better make sure he also understands how much momentum the 29-year-old St. Denis has. This fight, not to mention the possibility of Topuria defending his title against Arman Tsarukyan, is the very definition of must-see television. Saint Denis is certainly not perfect, but he is quickly learning that and is not afraid to give himself every possible chance to win, no matter the physical cost.
