UFC 322 card -- Jack Della Maddalena vs. Islam Makhachev: Five biggest storylines to watch in New York

A pair of title bouts top an absolutely loaded return to Madison Square Garden on Saturday when UFC 322 comes to New York. 

In the main event, former lightweight champion Islam Makhachev looks to add a second divisional title when he challenges Jack Della Maddalena for the welterweight crown. Meanwhile, in the co-feature, former women's strawweight champion Zhang Weili moves up to 125 pounds to challenge flyweight queen Valentina Shevchenko.

As we draw closer to this weekend's must-see event, let's take a closer look at the biggest storylines surrounding UFC 322. 

1. How much greater can Islam Makhachev be? 

From a historical standpoint, that's the biggest question surrounding the 34-year-old native of Dagestan, Russia, who looks to become the 11th two-division champion in UFC history when he challenges Della Maddalena for his 170-pound title. Not only has Makhachev not lost since just his second UFC fight in 2015 (a first-round knockout against Adriano Martins), he can equal Anderson Silva's UFC record of 16 consecutive wins should he be victorious on Saturday. Already on the short list of the greatest fighters in the promotion's 32-year history, there's a wonder as to whether Makhachev might be able to extend his legacy even further than the daunting shadow of his long-time teammate and coach, Khabib Nurmagomedov, who retired undefeated in 2020 as the reigning lightweight champion and pound-for-pound king. The 27-1 Makhachev, a perennial P4P standout who is already the record holder for most UFC lightweight title defenses with four, is a more complete fighter than Nurmagomedov but he will need to prove he can carry his power and skill set up to welterweight in order to further cement his greatness. 

2. Doubt Jack Della Maddalena at your own peril

Despite being more than a 2-to-1 betting underdog as the defending champion, the Australian slugger is the champion of the sport's deepest division for a reason, even if his path to the crown was anything but typical. Della Maddalena, who is riding an 18-fight win streak after losing his first two pro bouts in 2016, was the benefiter of great timing when an injury to top contender Shavkat Rahmanov opened up a shot at Belal Muhammad's title in March. JDM had been inactive, himself, due to injuries and had appeared just once in the previous 20 months. He was also fresh off of back-to-back split decision wins (Bassil Hafez, Kevin Holland) and needed a last-round knockout of 37-year-old Gilbert Burns in 2024 to keep pace in the rankings. But once he got his title shot at UFC 315, he stepped his game up considerably by stuffing all of Muhammad's takedown attempts over the first three rounds en route to a hard-fought decision win to earn a spot in the P4P top 10. Knowing how important it will be that his ground game be even more stingy against a grappling ace like Makhachev, Della Maddalena has once again sought the services of countrymen Alexander Volkanovski, the UFC featherweight champion, and jiu-jitsu ace Craig Jones for his first title defense. For whatever JDM lacks in technique opposite Makhachev, he makes up for in heart, desire and a willingness to go through hell in order to get his hand raised. For Makhachev to unseat him, he will surely have to earn it the hard way. 

3. Call Valentina Shevchenko-Zhang Weili what it is: a women's MMA superfight 

Already among the most decorated fighters in UFC strawweight history as a two-time champion, Zhang will join Makhachev in pursuit of a second title in as many divisions on Saturday when she moves up to 125 pounds against the two-time flyweight queen Shevchenko. A virtual pick 'em from a betting standpoint, this matchup belongs in the same conversation as the 2018 Amanda Nunes-Cris Cyborg featherweight title bout at UFC 232 as one of the most decorated matchups between future Hall-of-Fame fighters that women's MMA has ever seen. Zhang, the 36-year-old Chinese star, is 10-0 inside the Octagon against everyone not named Rose Namajunas (who she lost to twice). The 37-year-old Shevchenko, meanwhile, is 14-1-1 in the UFC against everyone not named Nunes (who she lost to twice at bantamweight) and she avenged her lone flyweight loss (a 2023 submission against Alexa Grasso) in their trilogy one year later. Shevchenko can also tie Nunes with a victory for most title wins in UFC women's history with 10. Talk about two fighters meeting at a historic point with so much at stake and so many combined accolades between them. Even better, the winner will likely have scored the defining victory of their respective (and incredible) careers.

4. The welterweight division will be on full display

From No. 1 to 15 in the rankings, there isn't a division within UFC as deep and full of title-ready participants than that of 170 pounds. Not only will the title be at stake in Saturday's main event, a pair of additional well-matched bouts on the PPV main card should go a long way in shaking up the overall title picture (just one week out from an incredible Ian Machado Garry fight against Muhammad in the co-main event at UFC Qatar). The 18-1 Sean Brady has only lost as a pro to Muhammad and the Philadelphia grappler brings a three-fight win streak into a mouth-watering bout against the explosive striking of Michael Morales, who is 18-0 with 13 knockouts. Meanwhile, former champion Leon Edwards looks to shake off a two-fight losing skid when he welcomes the red-hot striking skills of Carlos Prates, who is 5-1 in UFC with five spectacular knockouts. In all, five of the division's top 10 fighters will be competing at UFC 322 in what amounts to a true showcase of the diverse talent welterweight has to offer. 

5. It's referendum time for three-time NCAA wrestling champion Bo Nickal

Just three years and eight fights into his pro MMA career, the former Penn State standout has gone from can't-miss prospect who once received a pair of showcase appearances on "The Dana White Contender Series" to one of the company's biggest question marks. The 29-year-old Nickal might be 7-1 as a pro but his lone defeat in May was an absolute disaster when grappling ace Reinier de Ridder gassed him out and stopped him with knees to the body in Round 2. This came just one fight after he hung on to defeat Paul Craig by decision in a woeful striking performance in which Nickal refused to shoot for a takedown while being booed by the crowd. It's not that Nickal is lacking in talent. His ground game, which was showcased throughout a trio of stoppage wins to open his UFC run beginning in 2023, remains strong from both a wrestling and submission standpoint. But Nickal's critics have pointed to his sometimes delusional responses as to where his game is truly at, including a 2024 interview in which Nickal said he would likely be a -1000 betting favorite by the time he faces Khamzat Chimaev, who has since gone on to win the UFC middleweight title. Nickal returns on the featured prelim bout against 36-year-old submission ace Rodolfo Viera, who is 6-3 since making his UFC debut in 2019. Even though Nickal has held strong as a betting favorite, the jury is still out as to whether he can mix his striking and wrestling together in complimentary ways while living up to the pressure that comes with being such a prized prospect.