Aside from the sheer technicality of Islam Makachev and Weili Zhang having had to drop their titles to move up a weight class, UFC 322 would be headlined by two champ versus champ fights.
In reality, you can view them that way. In an unprecedented bit of booking, two long-serving UFC champions, Makhachev and Zhang, are moving up in weight to pursue second titles against Jack Della Maddalena (the promotion’s current welterweight kingpin) and Valentina Shevchenko (on her second reign as UFC women’s flyweight champ). On the same night, on one of the biggest cards of the year in New York City.
The reality is, had these moves come in an era with, say, less than 40+ UFC events, Islam and Weili might have held on to their titles. But the days of seeing a Conor McGregor or Daniel Cormier parading around the octagon with two titles are likely over, with the promotion no longer keen on having a division held up simply to build the legacy of an individual fighter. No matter how big a draw they might be.
In any case, a promising card awaited fans at Madison Square Garden on Saturday – and we’ve got our picks in! Read on to see how we see the main card playing out.
| Writer / Fight | Dariush vs. Saint-Denis | Edwards vs. Prates | Brady vs. Morales | Shevchenko vs. Zhang | Maddalena vs. Makhachev |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eddie Law (128-72) |  |  |  |  |  |
| Alex Behunin (121-73) | | | |  | |
| Chris Prawdzik (89-58) | | |  | | |
| Mathis Desjardins (113-77) | | | | |  |
| Jay Anderson (117-83) |  | | | | |
| Brett Cagle (114-75) | | | | | |
| Patrick Danna (38-30) | | | | | |
| Mike Owens (0-0) | | | | | |
It seems like our crew feels there will be one title changing hands on Saturday. Islam Makhachev is heavily favored to claim welterweight gold, with only one writer responding siding with Jack Della Maddalena. That actually goes against the betting line, which sees the fight closer than our crew.
The night’s co-main event was a much closer pick, and we’re split 50/50 between Shevchenko retaining, and Zhang finding glory at flyweight.
The lone unanimous pick on the UFC 322 main card was Carlos Prates, with apologies to ex-welterweight champ Leon Edwards.
