Last night (Sat., Nov. 15, 2025), Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) ventured forth to Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York for UFC 322. Let’s not mince words: this was one of the most stacked cards of the year! Two highly intriguing super fights featuring champions moving up a division topped the card, which on their own made for a must-watch event. The rest of the main card was filled with intriguing fights though, and even the “Prelims” were stacked with relevant bangers! Top to bottom,
this was one of the best offerings of the year, and the athletes lived up to expectations.
Let’s take a look back over the best performances and techniques of the evening:
A New Double Champ Is Crowned
I’ll admit that Islam Makhachev’s Lightweight title reign never quite wowed me. The initial win over Charles Oliveira was absolutely outstanding, but I can easily see the argument for Alexander Volkanovski winning their first fight. The rematch was a joke, short-notice Moicano is a similarly weak title defense, and going to war with an aged Dustin Poirier? The Khabib comparisons weren’t looking favorable.
I have no such critique here. Jack Della Maddalena is a full-sized Welterweight in his prime who has recently battered two other excellent top control fighters. He should have been a real challenge for Islam, a man well-equipped to build on the success of Poirier and Volkanovski. Instead, Makhachev definitely proved his greatness by making it look effortless.
From the first bell, Makhachev was two steps ahead of his opponent. He feinted often and walked Della Maddalena into hard calf kicks, limiting his mobility. When “JDM” did move to swing at him, Makhachev quickly denied him the opportunity with well-timed takedowns. I’m sure Della Maddalena spent months working on his stand-ups, yet the Aussie still spent nearly the entire fight stuck in half guard.
It wasn’t the most electric Makhachev win, but it was absurdly dominant. More than that, Makhachev demonstrated himself a true master of MMA as a whole, putting together success in all areas so fluidly that “JDM” could never build any success. Della Maddalena is a great fighter, but Makhachev deserves his place back atop the pound-for-pound list.
I look forward to his next challenger, whomever that may be.
Another Bullet Masterclass
Look, I would never call Valentina Shevchenko vs. Zhang Weili a fun fight. It was objectively quite boring. Still, you absolutely have to give Shevchenko her props. For her to utterly dominate an excellent champion for five full rounds at this stage of her career? It’s incredible. The two victories of her second title reign are absolutely top-tier quality, even if “Bullet” herself is past her best.
Shevchenko made Weili look like every other challenger. The Chinese ace couldn’t find Shevchenko with her punches, and trying usually meant she would eat a hard counter shot. In particular, Shevchenko really stole the athleticism from “Magnum” with relentless body work, pummeling her midsection with snappy kicks and punishing knees. In the clinch and on the canvas, it was no contest. Shevchenko was too strong and too skilled, easily able to toss Weili to the floor.
In my book, Shevchenko is the best female fighter of all time. Her longevity and depth of skill is unmatched. For her to defend her second champion multiple times as a 22-year pro is simply outrageous!
Unfair Physicality
Michael Morales straight up bullied Sean Brady.
Operating from a low stance with his hips back, Morales’ massive reach allowed him to poke at Sean Brady with jabs. Brady tried to jab his way into takedown setups, but he kept running into that ramrod jab and getting frozen in place. Whenever that happened, Morales would abandon boxing form and swing recklessly with his right hand over and under the guard.
It worked beautifully, even if Brady did land a couple decent left hook counters. The gulf in power was too massive for those connections to matter, and the wide swings ensured that some part of Morales’ swing found the mark. Even half-connections wobbled Brady, leaving him vulnerable to follow-up shots. The combination of strength and length was brutal, and Brady couldn’t stand up to his assault for more than a few minutes.
He never even came close to a takedown.
This was another statement win from Morales, who is athlete-bullying his way to title contention. Seriously, the Ecuadorian standout is absolutely steamrolling the competition. After beating Brady, his argument for a title shot is as strong as anyone else.
The Fighting Nerd With Ungodly Power
Carlos Prates is built different.
Leon Edwards fought the first round beautifully. He stayed off the fence (mostly) and was the initiating fighter to great results. He won the low kick battle, timed a couple nice counters, and took the striker’s back to finish the first frame strong. It was exactly the strategy Edwards needed to employ, and it was working!
Prates didn’t much care. He never seemed bothered by any of Edwards’ offense, and early in round two, he worked himself back into the fight with a few hard low kicks and jabs. Then, he crow-hopped into a long range left hand that instantly shut off the lights. Ignore the unnecessary followup punch — Prates became the first man to KO Leon Edwards, and he basically did it with just a single shot!
The Brazilian hits outrageously hard and is massively lanky for the division. He employs his range beautifully and in a variety of vicious ways. He’s a hard matchup for the entire division, and he might well have secured an unlikely title shot with this win.
It’s hard to deny him after the Geoff Neal spinning elbow and this monstrous left hand. His knockouts aren’t just impressive, they’re downright sensational.
Gone In 16 Seconds
What the heck was Beneil Dariush thinking?
The veteran came out WAY too aggressive against Benoit Saint Denis. In quite literally the opening exchange, he was firing full power kicks and punches in wild combinations. He didn’t hold anything back, fighting like he was the vastly superior athlete … which just wasn’t the case! “BSD” was the athlete in this matchup! Dariush was the technician, the man who was supposed to counter and capitalize on his opponent’s youthful aggression like Dustin Poirier did a couple years back.
Instead, he traded with a full-power Frenchman and immediately paid the price. Saint Denis smoked him with a beautiful left hook, resulting in one of the nastiest faceplants in recent memory. I ultimately favored Saint Denis’ youth and physicality to be the deciding factor regardless, but Dariush did himself no favors with his hurried approach.
Bo Nickal Rebounds In Style
Bo Nickal easily picked apart Rodolfo Vieira.
The difference in speed, athleticism, and general fluidity was massive. Nickal started the fight off with a big takedown and early barrage of ground strikes, but was otherwise content to strike. The hulking Brazilian has a solid jab and low kick, but in this matchup, he couldn’t catch up to Nickal at all. He hit a ton of air, whereas Nickal poked him with a left hand or touched him with a right hook every time. He wasn’t fully committing to his counters all the time, but Nickal did great work in putting something out there every time Vieira wanted to advance.
Vieira couldn’t find his target, and his face was getting chewed up as a result of Nickal’s volume. Blinded by blood, it’s no surprise that Vieira didn’t see the southpaw high kick coming. He ate that shot full force, unconscious before he hit the ground.
All told, this was a serious display of improvement from Nickal, who has never looked this comfortable or this dangerous sitting down on his punches. It was a bit of a perfect style match for him to shine, but it still renews hopes that Nickal can develop into a true Middleweight title threat.
Blanchfield’s Revenge
Erin Blanchfield may have just locked up her first UFC title shot.
Opposite Tracy Cortez — who defeated Blanchfield in Invicta FC way back in 2019 — Blanchfield employed her typical tactics. She’s not a complicated striker, but Blanchfield throws out 1-2s and high kicks at an unrelenting rate. Her first round versus Cortez was a fairly uninspired kickboxing match (neither woman throws with a ton of power or diverse strike selection), but it served the purpose of fatiguing Cortez.
On the ground is usually where Blanchfield shines, and that held true here. Cortez initiated the takedown exchange, but Blanchfield ran circles around her on the ground and quickly found her way to top position more than once. In a late scramble, she committed fully to a rear naked choke from an awkward angle. Cortez nearly wriggled free, but Blanchfield’s arms were so locked in that the other positional details didn’t matter.
She forced the tap, earning revenge and a potential title shot in one fell swoop.
A 48 Hour Debut
Ethyn Ewing stepped up on just two days’ notice to take on vaunted prospect and knockout artist Malcolm Wellmaker. Most fans expected a one-sided mauling, because that’s typically what happens in these scenarios (go watch Ateba Gautier’s last fight for a premier example). Personally, I had a somewhat different expectation. I knew Ewing was legit for the unfortunate reason that I just watched him knock out a teammate, an athlete I know to be a very talented kickboxer in his own right.
Indeed, Ewing made it clear he was ready for the moment and skilled enough for the occasion in the opening two minutes. He pressed Wellmaker with combinations, always staying ready to roll beneath that ferocious counter right hook. Often, he ducked the counter and followed up, making Wellmaker pay for his full commitment power shots. Wellmaker is an imposing physical fighter who presses with his size to draw bad reactions from his foes, yet Ewing kept his guard high without sacrificing activity.
Over time, Ewing’s crispness punished Wellmaker’s wider swings. Ewing started hitting the body, hanging on clinches and front headlocks, and generally wearing on Wellmaker with constant presence. By the third round, he was fully in control, touching up the prospect and stealing his hype in the process.
It was a great win and very fun fight overall.
Additional Thoughts
- Kyle Daukaus defeats Gerald Meerschaert via first-round d’arce choke (highlights): I’m happy to have Daukaus back on the UFC roster, and it’s clear he’s greatly improved his standup skills during his time back on the regional scene. That said, this felt more like a case of “GM3” being rather shot after a nearly 60-fight professional career. This was his fourth-straight loss, and Meerschaert crumbled at pretty much the first punch Daukaus landed. Historically, the man has a great chin and has always been comfortable in a brawl, so for him to go down so quickly feels like a strong sign that his UFC career has come to an end.
- Baisangur Susurkaev defeats Eric McConico via third-round knockout (highlights): Susurkaev got the job done here and even earned the finish, but he definitely didn’t look like a -1200 favorite. McConico actually started the bout strong and took the opening round, once again demonstrated that Susurkaev’s flashy kickboxing doesn’t mean he’s impossible to hit. The Russian standout did build success in the second, however. His kicks are punishing and go a long way towards sapping the gas tank of his opponents. As his speed advantage continued to grow, Susurkaev was able to sting McConico with a clean right and produce the late finish. He clearly has talent, but let’s not rush “Hunter” into the Top 15 before he’s ready.
For complete UFC 322 results and play-by-play, click here.
