UFC 321 is in the books, meaning attention will soon turn to the mixed martial arts leader’s next pay-per-view offering, UFC 322 in New York City.
The promotion was in Abu Dhabi last week, where the Etihad Arena played host to a number of intriguing matchups for its tenth numbered event of the year. Of note was a no contest between Tom Aspinall and Ciryl Gane, a headline win for Mackenzie Dern, as well as important victories for Umar Nurmagomedov, Alexander Volkov, and Azamat Murzakanov.
While the aftermath of the October 25 card is currently the talk of the town, it won't be long until focus sways to the next PPV, and from the heavyweight and women's strawweight championship title pictures to the welterweight and women's flyweight championship conversations.
At UFC 322, which takes place at Madison Square Garden in New York City, on November 15, Jack Della Maddalena will defend the UFC welterweight championship against Islam Makhachev.
This will be the first defense attempt for Jack Della Maddalena after capturing the UFC welterweight championship with a win over Belal Muhammad at UFC 315 in May. JDM is 18-2, having not tasted defeat since dropping his first two professional MMA bouts in 2016. Prior to the win over Muhammad, JDM had scored a split decision over Kevin Holland and a knockout of Gilbert Burns.
This will mark Makhachev's first Octagon bout at 170. He moved up to the welterweight division after vacating the lightweight championship earlier this year. Makhachev, who is 27-1 in his career, defeated Charles Oliveira at UFC 280 to become 155-pound champion and retained the gold against Alexander Volkanovski (twice), Dustin Poirier, and Renato Moicano -- setting a new UFC record for most consecutive lightweight title defenses.
Stakes will also be high in the co-main event, as Valentina Shevchenko defends the UFC women's flyweight championship against Weili Zhang in a long-awaited superfight. Shevchenko defended the title at UFC 315, defeating Manon Fiorot in a competitive outing. It was the first defense of her second reign as flyweight champion, which began after winning a trilogy bout with Alexa Grasso at Noche UFC 2: UFC 306. Zhang moves up to flyweight after becoming a two-time UFC women's strawweight champion. Zhang's second reign saw her successfully defend against Amanda Lemos, Yan Xiaonan, and Tatiana Suarez.
Brady, Nickal, Edwards Set The Stage For Welterweight Title Headliner At UFC 322
Before Della Maddalena and Shevchenko make their way out to defend their titles, several names will look to make their own statements on the main card for UFC 322.
This includes Sean Brady, who will be doing battle with Michael Morales. Brady has won three straight since suffering the first loss of his career against Belal Muhammad. Brady most recently fought at UFC London, submitting former champion Leon Edwards. The rising Morales is 18-0 as a pro, including a 6-0 Octagon record. Morales enters off a pair of first-round finishes against Neil Magny and Gilbert Burns.
Bo Nickal will also be featured on this card, as he takes on Rodolfo Vieira. This marks Nickal's first fight since getting stopped by Reinier de Ridder at UFC Des Moines in May -- the first loss of Nickal's MMA career. The former NCAA champion had scored wins over Jamie Pickett, Val Woodburn, Cody Brundage, and Paul Craig prior to the loss. Vieira, a former ADCC and submission grappling world champion, has won three of his last four, entering this fight off a decision over Tresean Gore in August.
The main card is scheduled to open with former welterweight king Leon Edwards taking on Carlos Prates. Edwards lost the championship to Belal Muhammad at UFC 304 and then was submitted by Sean Brady at UFC London, marking the first time in his career he enters a fight off consecutive losses. Prates enters this fight off a highlight knockout of Geoff Neal at UFC 319 in August.
Those pairings have currently gotten the nod to feature on the main card over the likes of Beneil Dariush, Benoit Saint-Denis, Roman Kopylov, Gregory Rodrigues, Erin Blanchfield, and Angela Hill, all of whom are expected to be featured players on the event's preliminary card.
See below for the UFC 322 lineup, as it stands.
Main Card:
- Welterweight Championship: Jack Della Maddalena vs. Islam Makhachev
- Women's Flyweight Championship: Valentina Shevchenko vs. Weili Zhang
- Welterweight: Sean Brady vs. Michael Morales
- Middleweight: Bo Nickal vs. Rodolfo Vieira
- Welterweight: Leon Edwards vs. Carlos Prates
Preliminary Card (Order TBA):
- Lightweight: Beneil Dariush vs. Benoit Saint-Denis
- Middleweight: Roman Kopylov vs. Gregory Rodrigues
- Women's Flyweight: Erin Blanchfield vs. Tracy Cortez
- Bantamweight: Malcolm Wellmaker vs. Cody Haddon
- Middleweight: Kyle Daukaus vs. Gerald Meerschaert
- Women's Strawweight: Angela Hill vs. Fatima Kline
- Middleweight: Baisangur Susurkaev vs. Eric McConico