9 Hits And 4 Misses From UFC 322: Jack Della Maddalena vs. Islam Makhachev

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For the ninth time in its history, the UFC landed in “The City That Never Sleeps,” as Madison Square Garden played host to UFC 322 — highlighted by a pair of stellar super title fights.

A card in November at MSG has been an annual UFC tradition (minus the heavily-restricted 2020) since 2016, when the sport of Mixed Martial Arts was finally legalized in New York. Last year’s MSG event saw Jon Jones send Stipe Miocic into retirement in a heavyweight championship headliner.

The main event of this year’s MSG show saw Jack Della Maddalena put the UFC welterweight championship on the line against Islam Makhachev. This marked JDM’s first title defense since capturing it at UFC 315 in May with a win over Belal Muhammad. Makhachev is the former UFC lightweight champion, having won that title by defeating Charles Oliveira at UFC 280 and retaining it against Alexander Volkanovski, Dustin Poirier, and Renato Moicano.

The co-main event saw perhaps the two best women in the UFC doing battle, as Valentina Shevchenko defended the UFC women’s flyweight title against Weili Zhang. Shevchenko is a two-time champion who has been a dominant force in the division since 2018. After regaining the gold from Alexa Grasso at Noche UFC 2: UFC 306, she defended the title successfully against Manon Fiorot at UFC 315. Zhang is a two-time former UFC strawweight champion, defeating Carla Esparza to start her second reign that featured wins over Amanda Lemos, Yan Xiaonan, and Tatiana Suarez.

Who made a statement under the big city lights? Who cracked under the pressure? Let’s go through together with the Hits and Misses of UFC 322!

Miss: Susurkaev’s KO His Only Positive

I have to wonder if Dana White is having any buyer’s remorse about signing Baisangur Susurkaev. He’s gotten two wins in the UFC, but neither has been particularly good.

He has to be given credit for taking the opportunity to fight on just a few days’ notice when he earned his UFC contract, but the fight against Eric Nolan proved to be not the most outstanding. Against Eric McConico, many felt the fight had no business entering the third round.

The knockout itself was great and shows his power. But we also need to see more from Susurkaev if he’s going to display the ego and confidence that he does.

Hit: Daukaus Does It Again

Probably one of the best feel-good stories for the Octagon in 2025 is the re-emergence of Kyle Daukaus. And after stopping Michel Pereira in less than a minute at UFC Shanghai, he followed it up with another highlight, sub-minute finish of Gerald Meerschaert.

Daukaus needed just one flurry to put Meerschaert in trouble. After scoring a knockdown, Daukaus jumped right on and locked up a choke, earning a submission victory.

The way Daukaus has performed, he deserves a main card spot for his next UFC bout. And if he continues to perform the way he has, he’s going to be one of the most fun fighters to watch.

Hit: Another Successful Ewing In MSG

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Patrick Ewing entertained and earned the hearts of New York Knicks fans with his play in Madison Square Garden, helping the Knicks to two Eastern Conference titles in the process. In November 2025, Ethyn Ewing, just one week after winning a championship in 1AC, made his UFC debut on short notice and pulled off a highlight of his own.

The highly-touted Malcolm Wellmaker seemed to trouble him in the early stages of the fight, making things look like he’d earn another win in a memorable 2025 for him. But Ewing fought back, doing damage in the clinch and turning the tide in his favor.

While Wellmaker used body work during the second round, Ewing had his own moments and connected on some hard clinch knees, before using his boxing and takedowns in the third to seal the victory and end Wellmaker’s undefeated record.

Wellmaker will be back; no need to worry about him. But for Ewing, he’s just opened doors to more opportunities with what he displayed.

Hit: Blanchfield Vies For Title Shot

Erin Blanchfield has been a rising women’s flyweight fighter since arriving from Invicta in 2021, but she hasn’t been able to secure a title shot just yet. That may all have changed following her finish of Tracy Cortez.

Blanchfield baffled people during the first round by trying to stand and trade in a kickboxing battle with Cortez, who got the better of Blanchfield in the striking game. But Blanchfield worked her way back in the second round and scored a takedown. Blanchfield then used her grappling to work her way into a couple of choke attempts, with the second scoring her the submission win.

Blanchfield has now avenged one of the two losses in her MMA career, with the other coming against recent title challenger Manon Fiorot. Perhaps her resume has shown more than enough now to get the next shot at the 125-pound gold.

Hit: Bo Knows The KO

Bo Nickal needed to show a big performance after losing in grand fashion to Reinier de Ridder at UFC Des Moines earlier this year. He did that and then some, not only demonstrating his excellent wrestling, but now also his continuing-to-evolve striking.

Nickal easily scooped Rodolfo Vieira up and slammed him in the first round, laying into him with a series of knees and punches before threatening a guillotine choke. After continuing to lay into Vieira in the second, Nickal used his left hand to set up a devastating left head kick that crushed Vieira and sent him to La La Land.

Is Bo Nickal ready for next-level competition? No, and the RdR fight was typical UFC pushing fighters too quickly. But this performance showed he is getting better, and if he can have performances like this another couple of times, then I think you give him tougher competition.

Hit: Sacre Bleu, Saint-Denis

Benoit Saint-Denis barely broke a sweat in his fight that opened the pay-per-view card, obliterating Beneil Dariush and making his case for a higher spot in the UFC’s lightweight rankings.

After Dariush tripped him up with a couple of low kicks to start the fight, Saint-Denis needed just a couple of blows to the head to make Dariush faceplant.

This now marks three straight wins for BSD, with his only two losses in the Octagon coming in hearty performances against Dustin Poirier and Renato Moicano. BSD should certainly be in the top 10 at lightweight in a couple of days, but he should also be getting a huge contenders fight in his next matchup.

Miss: Dariush’s Title Dreams Dashed?

Let’s go back to UFC 289 – Beneil Dariush has won eight straight and is in a pivotal battle with Charles Oliveira. If he wins this fight, Dariush probably earns a lightweight title shot against Islam Makhachev.

Instead, Dariush lost that fight, and the loss to BSD now means he’s lost three of his last four. Dariush is 36, but he’s also been a name in the UFC for a while now. I’m not going to say his best days are behind him; he did score a win over Renato Moicano earlier this year after all. But at this point, he might just be a gatekeeper for others making their way up the 155-pound ranks. Unless he’s somehow willing to switch divisions?

Hit: Carlos Prates Makes Emphatic Statement

The Fighting Nerds may have some of their momentum back, and it all comes courtesy of Carlos Prates. He’s now earned the biggest win of his UFC career, taking out the very man who spurred the popularity of the “Head shot. Dead.” phrase with his own highlight knockout — former welterweight champion Leon Edwards.

Edwards looked to use his grappling earlier on, pressing Prates to the fence. Prates then engaged in a trash talk battle, daring Edwards into a striking contest. Eventually, Prates’ striking helped him get success, landing a left hand that dropped Edwards out cold in a bad way.

Prates has continued to rack up finish after finish, with his only loss in the Octagon coming against Ian Machado Garry — a fight where he nearly finished things in the fifth in comeback fashion. Prates has solidified himself as a name in the welterweight title picture now, and a title eliminator should be in his near future.

Miss: Leon Edwards Eats Three Ls

Leon Edwards has never looked as bad as he has in his last three fights now. He was dominated by Belal Muhammad in their title fight. He then gets decimated by Sean Brady earlier this year in London. Now, after all the talk about not facing a wrestler, Edwards tries to use wrestling and gets worked up into a strategy that got him straight-up knocked out for the first time in his UFC career.

After these three consecutive losses, Edwards might find himself one loss away from exiting the top 10. And with how dangerous welterweight is with all the up-and-comers in the division, it’s going to be a long, hard back to the top of the mountain for “Rocky.”

Hit: Michael Morales Makes Case For Title Shot

A question surrounding this fight was if Brady’s grappling or Morales’ striking was going to be too much for the other. We got our answer, as Morales put away Brady and seems to have racked up the next title shot at 170.

But then, Brady tried to get his striking going. And he paid the price for it as Morales landed a flurry that troubled him. After getting dropped once, Brady was dropped again from another Morales combination, with Morales landing follow-up shots to put the fight away.

Morales is now 19-0 and has now put away Brady, Gilbert Burns, and Neil Magny in his three most recent fights. I’m not sure what Dana White is thinking considering him, Carlos Prates, and Ian Machado Garry, but Morales is due for a title shot if White’s words as the press conference are anything to go by.

Miss: Super Title Fights Aren’t So Super

For all the great highlights that UFC 322 provided, it’s a shame that the two title fights ended up being perhaps the worst part of everything.

With Islam Makhachev looking to make history and the two best women’s fighters in the UFC today doing battle, you would have thought we’d have more competitive outings. Instead, in both matchups, one fighter proved to be the more superior by a seeming mile.

Makhachev’s ground dominance was one way the fight could have gone, but JDM’s performance is being panned across the board. Zhang, meanwhile, had shockingly no answer for the ground game of Shevchenko.

It’s not that UFC 322 is a bad card at all, but for some, the way the two title fights played out left a sour taste.

Hit: Who Can Stop Valentina?

But, let’s talk about Shevchenko. She has dominated through the women’s flyweight scene. Even when she got caught and lost to Alexa Grasso, she worked her way back in the latter two fights the pair had. Now, she’s just taken out the most dangerous force that could have come up from 115.

So, what is next for her? Will Shevchenko defend against someone like a Natalia Silva or an Erin Blanchfield? Will she eye her way back up to 135 — where she took Amanda Nunes to the limit twice? Time will tell.

Hit: Makhachev Makes History

And then there’s Makhachev. He may have some of the best wrestling that can be found in the UFC today. He looked great at 170, not undersized at all. It looked as if everything that Makhachev had while dominating the lightweight scene was still found at welterweight.

Will we get Ilia Topuria vs. Islam Makhachev now? Will Morales, Prates, or Garry get the first crack at him? It will be fun to see what the UFC matchmaking crew decides.

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