This is the UFC 322 live blog for Jack Della Maddalena vs. Islam Makhachev, the welterweight championship main event bout Saturday at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Makhachev is No. 1 in MMA Fighting’s
Pound-for-Pound Rankings, while Della Maddalena stands at No. 8.
Della Maddalena (18-2) won the welterweight title this past May with a thrilling decision win over Belal Muhammad. For his first defense, he takes on Makhachev, the former lightweight king who has not lost a fight since 2015. Then again, “JDM” has been on an incredible run himself, going 8-0 in the UFC to extend his current win streak to 18. After losing his first two pro bouts, Della Maddalena found a winning formula and hasn’t looked back.
For Makhachev (27-1), this is his chance to join the ranks of the immortals as he seeks to become a rare two-division champion. Makhachev continued the legacy of close friend and mentor Khabib Nurmagomedov at lightweight, winning the title in 2022 and successfully defending it four times, a UFC record. This isn’t his first time participating in a championship superfight. Two of his defenses came against featherweight legend Alexander Volkanovski; this time, Makhachev is the one moving up and looking to prove that size doesn’t matter.
Check out the UFC 322 live blog for Della Maddalena vs. Makhachev below.
