Islam Makhachev relinquished the lightweight title in search of a belt in a second weight class. On Saturday, he gets that opportunity against welterweight champ Jack Della Maddalena.
The pre-fight narrative: Makhachev is on a 15-win fight streak while the Australian champ is perfect in eight UFC appearances en route to the title. In the co-main, Valentina Shevchenko and Weili Zhang go head-to-head for the women's flyweight championship.
Check out the odds, fight card and my UFC 322 predictions for the Nov. 15 fight in New York.
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UFC 322 fight card and odds
| Fighter | Odds | Weight class | Odds | Fighter |
| Jack Della Maddalena (C) | +215 | Welterweight | -278 | Islam Makhachev |
| Valentina Shevchenko (C) | -124 | Flyweight (W) | +100 | Weili Zhang |
| Leon Edwards (4) | +170 | Welterweight | -215 | Carlos Prates (9) |
| Beneil Dariush (9) | +155 | Lightweight | -195 | Benoit Saint-Denis (13) |
| Sean Brady (2) | -157 | Welterweight | +125 | Michael Morales (8) |
UFC 322 odds as of 2:05 p.m. on 11/10/2025.
UFC 322 main event: Della Maddalena vs. Makhachev
This is a showdown between two of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the sport.
Della Maddalena is 18-2 in MMA and undefeated in the UFC. He had a meteoric rise to the welterweight title, earning the belt in a decision win over Belal Muhammad at UFC 315.
Makhachev won the lightweight title in 2022 (the same year Della Maddalena entered the UFC) and defended it successfully five times before moving up a weight class in pursuit of greatness.
The Dagastani is a world-class grappler whose striking improves with every fight.
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Can he continue to dominate even against a larger, presumably stronger opponent? It won't be easy. Della Maddalena stuffed six of nine takedowns against Muhammad.
He refused to stay down, using impressive scrambles to get to his feet, where he is an elite boxer.
If the Australian champ can keep this fight at range, he has the tools to defeat the incoming challenger.
UFC 322 fight card: Shevchenko vs. Zhang
- Zhang also moves up in pursuit of a second title. The former strawweight queen is going up a weight class to challenge future Hall of Famer Shevchenko. This is a clash between the two best women in the sport right now.
- Nothing is splitting these two competitors. The champ has lost once since 2018, while Zhang's only two UFC losses are to another all-time great in Rose Namajunas. This fight deserves to be this close to a pick'em.
Edwards vs. Prates
- After a 13-fight win streak that led to the welterweight title, Edwards has lost two in a row. He was out-grappled by both Muhammad and No. 2-ranked Brady, but there will be little, if any, wrestling in this bout.
- Prates is an elite kickboxer with a lot of power. He is 5-1 in the UFC and has finished 21 of his 22 MMA wins. This bout should be fireworks.
Dariush vs. Saint-Denis
- Dariush is coming off an impressive win over Renato Moicano at UFC 317 to snap his losing skid. In his defence, losing back-to-back bouts against Charles Oliveira and Arman Tsarukyan hardly hurts his stock. Overall, he is 9-2 in his last 11 fights.
- Saint-Denis lost to Moicano just over a year ago but bounced back nicely with consecutive wins. He most recently derailed the hype train of Mauricio Ruffy. Because of that performance, he is the favourite on Saturday.
UFC 322 Brady vs. Morales
- By all accounts, the winner of this bout should be the No. 1 contender for the welterweight title. Brady has just one UFC loss to former champ Muhammad during his rise. He made up for that by winning three straight fights, including a dominant submission win over Edwards last time out.
- Morales is less proven but has dominated everyone put in front of him. He is a very good striker (+2.31 average sig. strike differential) with some of the best defensive wrestling in the division (89% takedown defence). How will those skills hold up against a smothering wrestler like Brady?
