The future of the Welterweight division is on the line at UFC 322.
In the main event, recently crowned kingpin Jack Della Maddalena aims for the first defense of his title against former lightweight champion, Islam Makhachev. In addition, there’s a likely title eliminator matchup between surging talents Sean Brady vs. Michael Morales. If those two deliver a stinker, well, Ian Garry and Belal Muhammad are throwing down a week later in Qatar, so a contender is bound to emerge.
Former divisional great
Kamaru Usman is hanging around, too.
In short, the division is hot right now. Unfortunately, Shavkat Rakhmonov — the undefeated finisher and would-be heir-apparent to the 170-pound throne — is not actively in the race. He’s been sidelined indefinitely with a nasty knee injury, though there’s hope for an early 2026 return. Because of that injury and subsequent inactivity, however, “JDM” believes Rakhmonov has lost status in the division and will not be the next title challenger.
Rakhmonov has already accepted that he likely won’t be fighting for the belt immediately on his return, but “Nomad” still didn’t apprecaite the champion’s comments. He replied via social media, pointing out that Della Maddalena enjoyed his own title shot off a long injury layoff stemming.
“The only reason you got that title shot was my injury,” Rakhmonov wrote on X. “Funny how you forgot you were inactive for almost 14 months before that.”
Indeed, Rakhmonov was supposed to face Belal Muhammad at UFC 310 when an injury struck “The Bully” and forced Rakhmonov to face Garry instead. His matchup versus Muhammad never materialized, and Della Maddalena was able to capitalize despite having broken his arm in a victory over Gilbert Burns and subsequently sitting out for over a year.
Hopefully, Rakhmonov can get healthy and return to action quickly, because his presence would only make an already exciting Welterweight division more electric.
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