UFC 322 Review

Two Belts, One Broken Dream And A Division Set On Fire**

UFC 322 at Madison Square Garden was not subtle. Champions cemented legacies. Contenders crashed through the rankings. And Australia watched its greatest welterweight hope run headfirst into the brick wall known as Islam Makhachev. This was a card that reshaped divisions, rewrote narratives and sent half the roster home questioning their career directions. Lets jump into the full Such Is Sport breakdown.

MAIN EVENT

Islam Makhachev def. Jack Della Maddalena (Unanimous Decision)

The Night Australia Learned How Wide The Gap Really Is

This one hurts because it mattered.

Jack Della Maddalena did everything Australian fans asked of him. Climbed the rankings. Smashed contenders. Carried the flag. Walked into Madison Square Garden with the confidence of a man who believed he was ready for greatness. What he found instead was reality. A cold, suffocating, Dagestani reality.

Islam Makhachev did not just defend a belt. He exposed what truly separates a world-class striker from a generational champion. The pressure. The positioning. The wrestling chain. The patience. Once Makhachev got his hands on Della, the optimism that carried Australian MMA into this title shot evaporated.

This was not about Jack doing anything wrong. This was about him running into a talent calibrated at a higher level. Every scramble turned into exhaustion. Every standup turned into another drag to the canvas. Every hope of a striking exchange was smothered before it began.

Australia loves a battler. We love someone who fights out of bad spots. But the truth is this fight never gave Jack the moments where heart and grit matter. Islam didn’t give him space to fight. He gave him a lesson.

The good news is Jack Della Maddalena is still young. Still violent. Still elite. The path back starts with acknowledging what this fight showed. He cannot rely on striking alone to win UFC gold. He needs new layers. New answers. New weapons. This is not the end. It is the blueprint.

Makhachev walked out of MSG with two-division supremacy and the aura of a man who is building a legacy in real time. Della walked out with clarity. And sometimes clarity is the most valuable currency in a fighter’s career.

CO-MAIN EVENT

Valentina Shevchenko def. Zhang Weili

A Masterclass Disguised As A Superfight

Superfights are supposed to be chaos. This one was a lesson.

Valentina Shevchenko fought Zhang Weili like she had already watched the whole fight in her head the night before. Every exchange felt like a trick she had prepared for. Every scramble felt like something she was anticipating. Zhang came with power and aggression. Shevchenko answered with calculation and cruelty.

This wasn’t back and forth. It wasn’t a classic. It was a reminder. Shevchenko remains one of the best fighters alive. When she decides to impose order, the chaos disappears.

The belt wasn’t on the line, but the hierarchies were. Shevchenko re-established hers. Zhang hit a ceiling.

Michael Morales def. Sean Brady

The New Problem At Welterweight

Any time Sean Brady gets finished, you pay attention. Michael Morales didn’t just beat him. He stepped through him. Morales looked faster, sharper and hungrier. The moment he stuffed the early grappling entries, you could tell the fight was trending toward something violent.

Morales is now officially in the title orbit. The division is crowded with contenders, but none have his mix of composure and firepower. Welterweight is a shark tank. Morales swims like he owns it.

Brady, meanwhile, loses more than a fight. He loses the aura of being the guy nobody wants to grapple with. That is a much deeper cut.

Carlos Prates def. Leon Edwards

The Night A Former Champion Looked Mortal

There was a time Leon Edwards looked untouchable. Times change quickly in MMA. Carlos Prates hit him with a straight shot that folded him like bad laundry and sent the division into a frenzy.

Prates now has the reputation every contender fears. Ruthless. Efficient. Unpredictable. Another finisher climbing the rankings with intention. His rise has been loud. This KO made it undeniable.

For Edwards, this is more than a loss. This is a slide. The decline chapter is here.

Benoît Saint Denis def. Beneil Dariush

Sixteen Seconds Of Pure Violence

Some fights take time to breathe. This one didn’t have time to inhale. Dariush rushed forward with confidence. Saint Denis deleted him. A left hook on the break, a collapse, chaos unleashed.

BSD continues the most violent run in the lightweight division. He is not just winning. He is ending careers. Dariush, once one win away from a title shot, now finds himself staring into the twilight of a brutal career.

Saint Denis is coming for the belt whether the division is ready or not.

Bo Nickal def. Rodolfo Vieira

The Villain Turned In His Best Performance

Bo Nickal needed a statement after his first loss and delivered one. He fought like a man insulted by the idea of going backwards. He out-wrestled a world champion, out-struck a grappler and then ended the fight with a head kick that will live in every highlight package of 2025.

The double middle finger to the crowd afterward was the type of petty villain energy the UFC will absolutely milk. Nickal is no longer a prospect. He is a contender who enjoys hurting people’s feelings.

Vieira, for all his pedigree, had no solutions.

Erin Blanchfield def. Tracy Cortez

Receipts Collected

Six years after losing the first time, Erin Blanchfield chased Cortez down, beat her everywhere and sealed the fight with a choke that felt like inevitability. Blanchfield remains one of the cleanest grapplers in the division and now has a legitimate case for another title shot.

Cortez fought hard. It didn’t matter. Blanchfield fights harder.

The Rest Of The Carnage

• Gregory Rodrigues beat Roman Kopylov with surprising composure.

• Ethyn Ewing stole the show on short notice.

• Kyle Daukaus choked out Gerald Meerschaert in a statement performance.

• Angela Hill’s longevity became a curse as another rising contender got a big-name scalp.

• Susurkaev and Camilo both extended their streaks and added violence to the night.

Final Word

UFC 322 was a reckoning. A champion breaking into all-time territory. A challenger discovering the highest mountain in the sport. A division turning itself inside out beneath them.
And for Australia, a necessary moment of truth. Jack Della Maddalena is still the future.
But Islam Makhachev reminded everyone what the present looks like.