A wild string of knockouts and a pair of dominant title wins highlighted an eventful UFC 322 card on Saturday from Madison Sq. Backyard in New York.
Islam Makhachev grew to become a two-division champion and utilized a dominant grappling recreation to take the welterweight title in the principle occasion from Jack Della Maddalena. Wrestling was the secret within the co-headliner, too, as Valentina Shevchenko defended her girls’s flyweight title in opposition to former two-time strawweight queen Weili Zhang.
Let’s take a more in-depth take a look at the largest takeaways from an action-packed night time, which included a wild brawl within the crowd earlier than the pay-per-view important card started.
1. Islam Makhachev simply is likely to be the best fighter in his star-studded camp
That, after all, could be saying quite a bit, particularly since Makhachev (28-1) trains with unbeaten former light-weight champion and Corridor of Famer Khabib Nurmagomedov and his two cousins with the identical surnames, unbeaten PFL champion Usman and proficient UFC 135-pound contender Umar. All 4 fighters had been initially educated since they had been kids by Khabib’s late father, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov. But it surely has gotten to the purpose the place Makhachev’s accomplishments is likely to be sufficient to surpass Khabib’s good 9-0 report. Makhachev, already the report holder for probably the most UFC light-weight title defenses with 4, grew to become the eleventh two-division champion in promotional historical past on Saturday (which Khabib by no means did) whereas tying Anderson Silva for the corporate report of consecutive wins at 16. And in his first combat at 170 kilos in Saturday’s important occasion, he fully neutralized Della Maddalena’s revered boxing abilities earlier than taking him down in all 5 rounds and dominating him from high place the remainder of the way in which. Was it overly thrilling? No. The truth is, big chunks of the gang had been leaving early in Spherical 5. However the combat performed out the way in which it did as a result of Makhachev needed it that means as he made an overwhelmingly loud assertion to the remainder of UFC’s deepest division.
2. Somewhat little bit of MSG magic was enjoyable whereas it lasted
Though UFC has been coming to “The World’s Most Well-known Area” each November since 2016 for one of many most-anticipated annual pay-per-view playing cards, it has develop into tough for followers and media who had been within the constructing for the primary two (UFC 205 in 2016 and UFC 217 in 2017) to not at all times examine what occurs subsequent to the previous. Perhaps it was as a result of UFC 205 and 217 got here instantly after the state of New York had lastly modified its dinosaur legislation of MMA being deemed unlawful that the 2 playing cards are so nostalgically memorable. Or possibly it is merely because of the truth that each playing cards, like UFC 322, had been completely loaded from high to backside and produced nothing however jaw-dropping moments alongside the way in which. There was a little bit of that old-time feeling within the air on Saturday, significantly throughout a four-fight stretch of devastating knockouts, which started with Bo Nickal’s knockout of Rodolfo Viera within the featured prelim, which served as the ultimate bout earlier than the PPV important card started. Instantly after Nickal’s high-kick end, an insane brawl within the crowd broke out involving former Conor McGregor jiu-jitsu coach Dillon Danis and a handful of UFC fighters, all of whom had been a part of Makhachev’s prolonged workforce. The motion spilled out into the realm surrounding the Octagon earlier than safety and police had been in a position to lastly quiet down the strain. That intoxicating feeling that something can occur subsequent, which was solely fueled by the succession of fast knockouts, got here to a shocking halt as soon as the 2 title bouts started, each of which featured one-sided performances because of the dominant grappling of Makhachev and Shevchenko, sucked the vitality out of the constructing.
3. Valentina Shevchenko is beginning to make the ladies’s GOAT debate tough
In what would possibly go down because the signature victory of her unbelievable profession in opposition to a two-time former strawweight champion in and fellow future Corridor of Famer in Zhang, Shevchenko introduced a swift finish to any pound-for-pound debate with such a dominant efficiency. Zhang landed a tough proper cross shortly after the primary spherical started and was basically by no means within the combat once more. With the win Shevchenko moved into first place on their own for probably the most mixed title defenses (9) and probably the most title wins (10) in UFC girls’s historical past. The truth that she is 0-2 in bantamweight bouts in opposition to Amanda Nunes, the two-division champion who is taken into account to be the best feminine fighter within the sport’s historical past, makes it tough to match Shevchenko to her best rival. However that 0-2 report would not inform the entire story as Shevchenko ran out of time in Spherical 3 as she was battering an exhausted Nunes at UFC 196 in 2016. And lots of critics nonetheless consider she deserved to have crushed Nunes of their 2017 title rematch that Shevchenko misplaced by way of disputed break up choice. Shevchenko, who turned professional in 2003 earlier than all of her contemporaries (together with Cris Cyborg) continues to be on high of her recreation and one way or the other getting higher at 37. She has additionally discovered new methods to compete with Nunes from a statistical and accomplishment standpoint, particularly by staying so busy and dominant within the aftermath of Nunes’ 2023 retirement. Shevchenko might find yourself getting a 3rd shot at Nunes ought to the legend formally resolve to make a comeback in 2026. “Bullet” has additionally been referred to as out by present bantamweight` champion Kayla Harrison, which brings within the potential shot of Shevchenko turning into a two-division champion. Both means, Shevchenko is not slowing down anytime quickly and the GOAT dialogue is beginning to get attention-grabbing.
4. The welterweight division is one of the best factor getting into MMA
Even with Makhachev’s 170-pound title win in the principle occasion missing the fireworks that many anticipated, can we speak about how insane the 2 welterweight bouts had been to kick off the principle card? In a pair of top-10 ranked matchups (and digital betting choose ’ems) between fighters firmly inside title competition, Carlos Prates and Michael Morales demanded title photographs after brutal knockouts of former champion Leon Edwards and No. 2-ranked Sean Brady, respectively. Contemplating Ian Machado Garry nonetheless has time to impress UFC matchmakers subsequent Saturday when he fights Belal Muhammad within the co-main occasion in Qatar, this division would possibly find yourself even giving us one thing as electrical as Prates-Morales subsequent, for all we all know. And that does not even embrace what to do with former champion and P4P king Kamaru Usman nonetheless lingering, as is unbeaten Shavkat Rahmanov, who lastly seems set to return from an 11-month layoff because of damage. UFC matchmakers had been good to pair a trio of fights this essential to the division that continues to be the strongest from No. 1-10 within the promotion. And a pair of enjoyable prospects-turned-contenders simply made issues a complete lot extra difficult in all the excellent methods.
5. The nearer Benoit Saint Denis will get to Ilia Topuria, the higher
Written off by some following a pair of stoppage losses in 2024 to Dustin Poirier and Renato Moicano, each during which he absorbed a ton of injury, the French-born Saint Denis seems to be fully rebuilt. He scored his third straight stoppage victory on Saturday to open the PPV important card in opposition to battle-tested veteran Beneil Dariush. And it took the “God of Warfare” surviving a tough begin within the opening seconds in an effort to open up the one-punch knockout he finally delivered. BSD might have entered the combat merely ranked No. 13 however that ought to change early subsequent week. Light-weight champion Ilia Topuria appeared to spend UFC 322 centered on criticizing Makhachev’s win by calling him “boring” on social media after the principle occasion. However he higher be certain that he additionally realizes how a lot momentum the 29-year-old Saint Denis has. That combat, to not point out the potential for a Topuria title protection in opposition to Arman Tsarukyan, are the very definition of must-see TV. Saint Denis absolutely is not good, however he is beginning to determine it out quick and is not afraid to present himself each doable probability of profitable, irrespective of the bodily prices.
