Dana White Announces Main Card for UFC 322 at Madison Square Garden
From Washington D.C., where the UFC plans an event next summer, CEO Dana White revealed the three fights that will culminate in UFC 322, scheduled for November 15th at Madison Square Garden in New York. The card will feature the participation of five current and former champions. Zhang Weili, strawweight champion, will vacate her belt to move up to women’s flyweight and challenge the current champion, Valentina Shevchenko, in the co-main event. In addition, Islam Makhachev, number 2 in the pound-for-pound ranking, will seek the welterweight title against champion Jack Della Maddalena. White also announced that former welterweight champion Leon Edwards will look to break his streak of two consecutive losses against Carlos Prates, who has knocked out 11 of his last 12 opponents. Despite the quality of the card, the question arises as to whether this alignment could generate some disappointment by not including the main event that fans initially expected. Let’s analyze the details and questions surrounding UFC 322.Is this three-fight mega-card better than the one that would have happened with Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall at MSG?
Definitely not. While the fight card is impressive, a match between Jones and Aspinall would have been one of the greatest in UFC history. Neither of these fights comes close to that level of anticipation. Jones’ decision to retire is disappointing. Although it was a smart decision from a business perspective, prolonging the situation generated discontent among the fans. The UFC’s effort to create a quality card for UFC 322 is recognized, but the overall excitement doesn’t compare to what a fight between Jones and Aspinall would have generated.Is it positive for MMA that champions have to vacate their UFC belts to move up a weight class?
In this case, interim titles are not problematic. Allowing Makhachev to keep his lightweight belt while pursuing another title would be appropriate. Creating an interim belt allows the UFC to schedule fights and pay contenders. If a division stagnates, fighters don’t get paid for the championship, but an interim title fixes that. Allowing a champion like Makhachev (or Zhang) to keep their belt offers the possibility of returning to their division and fighting the interim champion in a unification if they lose. In 2023, Alexander Volkanovski moved up as the featherweight champion, and the UFC organized an interim championship in his absence. Volkanovski lost and returned to featherweight for a unification fight. That’s how it should be. Should Zhang and Makhachev be favored over Shevchenko and Della Maddalena? Yes. In the co-main event, Shevchenko, despite being one of the best in the history of women’s MMA, is 37 years old and has shown less dominance in recent years. Zhang, at 36 years old, seems to have less physical wear and tear. Shevchenko will have difficulty finding a specific weakness in Zhang.
When comparing the fighters’ resumes in the main event, Makhachev is the favorite. Makhachev is expected to be not significantly smaller than Della Maddalena, and his world-class grappling could make up for any size disadvantage. However, it’s a 50/50 fight.
