Lately, there has been some valid critiques from the fans saying the UFC has been “phoning it in.” Even the numbered cards haven’t felt as big as they maybe used to be, but this doesn’t apply to UFC 322. This card was a reminder of what the UFC is capable of doing when they really try to put the best card possible together. It felt big, it had established and rising stars on it, and featured probably four fights that could headline Fight Night cards along with two champ-champ title fights.
It felt great to know that the promotion still treats Madison Square Garden as a tentpole event. With UFC 322 now in the books, let’s look at what’s next for our main card winners.
Islam Makhachev
If you showed this fight to a new fan and told them one of the fighters in the main event was a former lightweight moving up 15 pounds to try and grab a second title, I bet most people would’ve guessed that Islam Makhachev was the established welterweight. He handled Jack Della Maddalena in a way that is even more impressive when you remember how good JDM’s scrambles are. Islam just makes so few mistakes he even managed to shut down Jack’s offense on the feet. This win now opens the door to a conversation about Makhachev potentially having a stronger resumé than his friend Khabib Nurmagomedov. Moving up 15 pounds and going four-for-four on takedown attempts and getting 19:10 minutes of control time in a 25-minute bout against the undisputed champion five years his junior. Khabib simply does not have a win like this.
As far as his next fight goes, I loved hearing Islam’s attitude of “bring the next one.” From Shavkat Rakhmonov to Ian Machado Garry, Carlos Prates and Kamaru Usman, Makhachev won’t be lacking in contenders. However, I believe the most deserving one is Michael Morales and I’ll explain why further down this article.
Makhachev’s next fight: Michael Morales
Valentina Shevchenko
Yes, Zhang Weili was the smaller fighter coming up a division, but looking at her resumé and the streak she was on coming into this matchup, this might just be Valentina Shevchenko’s best win yet. This fight was a mere pick ’em up until fight week, and Valentina handled Zhang in a way that made her look like just another random contender. While I am incredibly curious to see how Valentina would deal with Kayla Harrison’s physicality at bantamweight, Harrison has to face Amanda Nunes first. In the meantime, there’s a clearly deserving contender for Valentina to face: Natalia Silva.
Shevchenko’s next fight: Natalia Silva
Michael Morales
He’s 25 years old, he’s 19-0, he’s progressively been building his skillset and he’s probably the most athletic fighter at welterweight. What’s not to like about Michael Morales? In his last three fights, he’s KO’d Neil Magny, Gilbert Burns and Sean Brady all in the first round. He’s also been knocking them out faster as he’s moving up the food chain.
Some might say that it’s too early to give him a title shot, but I’d argue he’s the most deserving of the bunch. Shavkat Rakhmonov is in the mix, but he’s been out for the entire and the promotion rarely rewards long layoffs. Kamaru Usman is a legend of the division, but one decision win over Joaquin Buckley shouldn’t put him ahead in such a stacked division. Carlos Prates has had two spectacular consecutive KO wins, but he’s just lost to Ian Machado Garry. Speaking of Garry, he’s coming off a win over Prates and could jump ahead with a win over Belal Muhammad this upcoming weekend, but he lost to Rakhmonov just last year. Morales is the only one with a perfect track record thus far and a 3:27 KO of Brady is as good a win as anyone in that division has. I want to see how Makhachev deals with Morales’ youth and physicality.
Morales’ next fight: Islam Makhachev
Carlos Prates
Man, how about “The Nightmare”? Our 2024 newcomer of the year saw his momentum slow down by Ian Machado Garry in April. Even then, he nearly still pulled off the comeback in the final minute of the fight. He has since responded with highlight reel knockouts of Geoff Neal and now former champion Leon Edwards in just three months. He’s one of the most entertaining fighters at welterweight and now finds himself one fight away from a title shot. After knocking out Neil Magny a year ago, he called out Jack Della Maddalena. While things played out differently, a year later this fight now makes even more sense. With JDM coming off the title loss and Prates one win away, this matchup almost books itself.
Prates’ next fight: Jack Della Maddalena
Benoit Saint Denis
After a rough 2024, the promotion has been building Benoit Saint Denis’s confidence back up by gradually increasing the level of competition. After getting KO’d by Dustin Poirier and then thrashed by Renato Moicano, BSD has finished Kyle Prepolec, a streaking Mauricio Ruffy and now the veteran Beneil Dariush. The “God of War” has had a real bounce back year in 2025 and is now going into 2026 with a lot of the hype he had at the end of 2023. With Paddy Pimblett perhaps getting a title shot and the winner of this upcoming weekend’s main event getting the next one, that leaves Justin Gaethje as the odd man out. The Frenchman is exactly the type of action fighter that offers the sort of challenge that Gaethje has historically welcomed.
Saint Denis’ next fight: Justin Gaethje
