Fighters Only : UFC 322 Main Card Preview

Paul Browne

Nov 12, 2025

The Mecca of combat sports hosts its annual UFC pay-per-view event this Saturday night, and what a spectacular lineup awaits the fans at New York’s Madison Square Garden.

Not only will two UFC titles be on the line, but there’s also a chance we could see two more fighters join the ever-growing list of champions who have captured gold in multiple weight classes.

Let’s take a look at the main card action set for UFC 322 in the Big Apple this Saturday night.

Jack Della Maddalena vs. Islam Makhachev (Welterweight Championship)

One of the longest winning streaks in the sport will likely come to an end in Saturday’s main event, when Jack Della Maddalena (18-1 MMA, 8-0 UFC) looks to make the first defense of his welterweight title against former lightweight champion Islam Makhachev (27-1 MMA, 16-1 UFC).

Since beginning his professional career with two losses, “JDM” has gone 18-0, a run that dates back to May 2016. Makhachev, meanwhile, hasn’t tasted defeat in over a decade and currently holds the longest active winning streak in the UFC at 15. One more victory this weekend would see the Russian tie Anderson Silva’s long-standing record for the most consecutive wins inside the Octagon (16).

Makhachev’s elite grappling pedigree is viewed as the ultimate X-factor in this matchup and rightly so, given his submission victories over Charles Oliveira and Dustin Poirier during his lightweight title reign. Still, his striking shouldn’t be overlooked; he leaves the 155-pound division with the highest significant striking accuracy (59.5%) in its history.

The question now is: how will Makhachev look at 170 pounds? Will the added size affect his ability to relentlessly pursue takedowns deep into the championship rounds? And will his wrestling be as dominant against naturally larger opponents?

Jack Della Maddalena handled Belal Muhammad’s grappling threat with relative ease when they met at UFC 315 earlier this year, but Makhachev is an entirely different beast.

Huge questions will be answered one way or another under the lights at Madison Square Garden this Saturday, and I, for one, can’t wait.

Valentina Shevchenko vs. Zhang Weili (Women’s Flyweight Championship)

Before Islam Makhachev makes his bid for “Champ Champ” status, Zhang Weili (26-3 MMA, 10-2 UFC) will get her own chance to reach that historic milestone when she challenges Valentina Shevchenko (25-4-1 MMA, 15-3-1 UFC) for the flyweight title in the co-main event.

Weili vacated her strawweight belt earlier this year after a dominant reign that was interrupted only by a pair of losses to Rose Namajunas in 2021. Having looked nearly flawless in her recent outings at 115 pounds, “Magnum” may be stepping up to face Shevchenko at just the right moment.

The flyweight champion has bounced back from a rough stretch in 2023 when she lost to and later drew with Alexa Grasso, but despite avenging that loss in their trilogy bout and outclassing Manon Fiorot to reclaim her spot atop the division, “Bullet” hasn’t looked quite as sharp or dominant as she did during her prime.

If Shevchenko defeats Weili on Saturday, she will tie Amanda Nunes’s record for the most wins in women’s championship fights (11). However, the former strawweight queen will likely pose a far greater challenge than anything Shevchenko has faced since her iconic title victory over Joanna Jędrzejczyk at UFC 231.

Sean Brady vs. Michael Morales (Welterweight)

While Della Maddalena and Makhachev battle for the welterweight title in Saturday night’s main event, several of the division’s top contenders will also have the chance to stake their claim for a future shot at gold.

No. 2-ranked Sean Brady (18-1 MMA, 8-1 UFC) takes on Ecuadorian rising star Michael Morales (18-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) in a compelling clash of styles. Brady’s dominant win over Leon Edwards earlier this year showcased the Philadelphia native’s elite-level grappling, and fans should expect to see the 32-year-old attempt to replicate that performance (and result) this weekend.

Morales, meanwhile, has seemingly come out of nowhere to string together an impressive run of victories over some of the welterweight division’s toughest gatekeepers over the past two years. However, Sean Brady represents a significant step up in competition, and if Morales can pass this test, he may find himself crashing the title picture at 170 pounds.

Leon Edwards vs. Carlos Prates (Welterweight)

Back-to-back losses to Belal Muhammad and the aforementioned Sean Brady have seen former welterweight champion Leon Edwards (22-5 MMA, 14-4 UFC) fall from grace in humbling fashion. However, when he steps into the Octagon this Saturday to face Carlos Prates (22-7 MMA, 5-1 UFC), he can take some comfort in knowing he likely won’t have to endure the kind of wrestling-heavy onslaught his last two opponents delivered.

Still, it could be a case of “out of the frying pan and into the fire” for “Rocky” this weekend. Prates rebounded spectacularly from the first loss of his UFC career at UFC 319 in August, when his spinning-elbow knockout of Geoff Neal quickly erased memories of his decision defeat to Ian Machado Garry.

With five knockout wins to his name in a UFC career spanning just over 18 months, “The Nightmare” appears to be on a completely different trajectory than the former champion. Saturday’s matchup should provide a much clearer picture of where Edwards truly stands in the ever-shifting welterweight contender landscape.

Beneil Dariush vs. Benoit Saint Denis (Lightweight)

Beneil Dariush (23-6-1 MMA, 17-6-1 UFC) makes his 25th walk to the Octagon in Saturday’s main card opener. The 36-year-old’s decision win over Renato Moicano at UFC 317 in June marked his first victory since October 2022, putting him back in the win column after a difficult stretch.

He’ll face a resurgent Benoît Saint Denis (15-3 MMA, 7-3 UFC), who enters the bout riding high after his devastating victory over the highly touted Mauricio Ruffy at UFC Paris in September.