"In the main event, former lightweight champion Islam Makhachev made light work of Jack Della Maddalena to claim his welterweight title. Earlier on the fight card, a pair of 170-pound contenders, Michael Morales and Carlos Prates, pulled off impressive KO wins to throw their names into the mix of potential challengers for Makhachev's new belt. In between all of that, women's flyweight champ Valentina Shevchenko earned possibly the biggest win of her career, dominating former strawweight titleholder Zhang Weili en route to a unanimous decision win."
"There are at least five legitimate options for Makhachev's first title defense, and each of them is good. Khabib Nurmagomedov would prefer Makhachev not fight for several more years, but the rest of the sport will likely disagree, as Makhachev has enough potential opponents to last him through 2028, at minimum."
"Brett Okamoto has reported on mixed martial arts and boxing at ESPN since 2010. He has covered all of the biggest events in combat sports during that time, including in-depth interviews and features with names such as Dana White, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Conor McGregor, Nate Diaz, Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao and Georges St-Pierre. He was also a producer on the 30 for 30 film: "Chuck and Tito," which looked back at the careers and rivalry of Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz. He lives in Las Vegas, and is an avid, below-average golfer in his spare time."
Islam Makhachev defeated Jack Della Maddalena to claim the UFC welterweight title at UFC 322. Michael Morales and Carlos Prates scored highlight knockout wins that elevated them into contention at 170 pounds. Valentina Shevchenko dominated Zhang Weili and won by unanimous decision, marking a signature victory at flyweight. Multiple credible opponents exist for Makhachev's first title defense, with Kamaru Usman presented as a top option. Khabib Nurmagomedov expressed a preference for Makhachev to wait before fighting again, but Makhachev has enough potential challengers to remain active through 2028.
Read at ESPN.com
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