Makhachev made light of moving up in weight class to defeat Della Maddalena by unanimous decision.
Published on November 16, 2025
Islam Makhachev gave Jack Della Maddalena a Take five rounds Valentina Shevchenko retained her flyweight title in the co-main event, claiming a unanimous decision victory and winning the UFC Welterweight Championship at Madison Square Garden.
Makhachev shed light Increase weight class After relinquishing his lightweight crown to pursue a new challenge, he completely dominated his Australian opponent for 25 minutes to claim his 16th consecutive UFC win on Saturday night.
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The 34-year-old softened up his 29-year-old opponent with a calf kick before launching a relentless wrestling attack, and Della Maddalena had no answer, stuck to the mat facing threats of submission under prolonged pressure.
“This is my plan. It’s not a secret, all my opponents know it, and nobody can stop it,” Makhachev said before calling for his first title defence. Proposed program On the White House lawn in 2026.
All three judges scored the bout 50-45 as Makhachev became the 11th fighter in UFC history to hold titles in two different weight classes.
Della Maddalena – who ended an 18-fight career winning streak that included 14 finishes – walked out of the cage without the traditional post-fight interview and lost his first title since defeating Belal Muhammad by unanimous decision in May to win the welterweight championship.
In the co-headliners, Zhang Wei’s dream of joining the elite group of dual-champions came true as the crafty Shevchenko outclassed her with another impressive performance to retain the flyweight crown.
Shevchenko (26-4-1) won her 11th title fight overall once she swept the scorecard 50-45 against Zhang.
Shevchenko showed her skills, sniping at her Chinese opponent and hurting her with body kicks and taking her to the mat and controlling her when she felt threatened.
The fighter from Kyrgyzstan became the first female UFC fighter to record 60 career takedowns – and the fight really ended with Zhang sitting on her back.
“I was preparing for this fight as the hardest challenge of my life,” Shevchenko said in the cage after her traditional victory dance.
“That’s what I call martial arts. When they’re in front of me, they can’t do anything.”
The show continued without the presence of President Donald TrumpA close friend of UFC CEO Dana White, who usually has cageside for the tri-state area’s biggest events.
UFC fans at the Garden had a major confrontation ahead of the main event when a brawl broke out near a tunnel used for fight entrances and spilled through the stands and near press row.
The melee – which included MMA fighter Dylann Danis – drew boos from the crowd and caused a brief delay to the start of the pay-per-view card as police and security tried to break up the melee.
Fists continued to fly at a furious pace as UFC 322 truly got underway.
Benil Dariush (at 16 seconds of the first round), Carlos Prates (at 1:28 of the second round), and Michael Morales (at 3:27 of the first round) each won with devastating knockouts to open the card.