Former UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev added another title to his trophy case, becoming the new UFC welterweight champion on Saturday night against Jack Della Maddalena by unanimous decision, 50-45, 50-45, 50-45, at UFC 322 in the main event at Madison Square Garden in New York.
A dominant wrestling foundation made the difference for Makhachev (28-1 MMA), who became the 11th fighter in UFC history to win multiple titles in different divisions. The Russian also tied Anderson Silva’s record for the UFC’s longest winning streak with 16 consecutive appearances. Australia’s Della Maddalena (18-3 MMA) hadn’t lost since May 2016 and was coming off an 18 straight title defense against the Russian superstar, who vacated the 155-pound title earlier this year.
Makhachev recognizes his opportunity to elevate his status as MMA’s most elite champion. Should he stay healthy, he plans to fight at the UFC event at the White House next summer.
“I’m coming,” Makhachev said.
The co-main event saw Kyrgyzstan’s Valentina Shevchenko defend her second UFC flyweight title in two different title-holder stints (the other was from December 2018 to March 2023). She did this with effortless wrestling and explosive boxing over 25 minutes of action to overwhelm former three-time UFC strawweight champion Zhang Weili of China 50-45, 50-45, 50-45.
Shevchenko (26-4-1 MMA) was classy in the victory and kept it simple about why she continues to improve despite being 37. Shevchenko joined former UFC two-division champion Amanda Nunes (23-5 MMA) with 11 title fight victories, the most in women’s UFC history.
“This is the art of martial arts,” Shevchenko said after the fight.
Weili (26-4 MMA) reassured her fanbase not to “worry about me,” and reiterated that she was doing her very best after moving up in weight to fight Shevchenko after initially giving up her strawweight title (now held by Brazil’s Mackenzie Dern).
“I will keep marching forward,” Weili, 36, said.
Weili had not tasted defeat since November 2021 and shared that she must reevaluate her next career phase before choosing to attempt to regain her 115-pound title.
Welterweight Michael Morales of Ecuador put himself in title contention with a first-round TKO against Philadelphia’s Sean Brady in less than four minutes. Morales (19-0 MMA) took his record to 7-0 in the UFC since 2022, while Brady (18-2 MMA) had won three in a row.
The finishes continued to roll as former UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards of England suffered a knockout loss to Brazilian Carlos Prates. Prates (23-7 MMA) landed an immediate left to secure the victory in the second round and reeled off back-to-back victories to finish the year strong. Edwards (22-6 MMA) hasn’t been knocked out in 14 years and has lost three straight since July 2024.
Lightweight Benoit Saint-Denis made short work of Beneil Dariush by opening the main card with a 16-second TKO in a 157-pound catchweight bout. Saint-Denis (16-3, 1 NC MMA) became the first fighter in more than two years to defeat Dariush (23-7-1 MMA), who has three of his last four fights all via KO/TKO.
