UFC 322-A night of Challengers

We`re only days away from one of the most exciting events regarding Mixed Martial Arts, and that is the UFC 322, which is scheduled for November 15, 2025 at the Madison Square Garden in New York City.The upcoming UFC event features a lot of fights as usual, but fans are most excited about the two big title fights.First one being between Jack Della Maddalena and Islam Makhachev.And the second one being between Valentina Shevchenko and Zhang Weili in the women`s division of the sport.Will Zhang break Shevhenko`s dominance  in the flyweight category?Will Makhachev become a second time UFC champion and join the likings of Connor McGregor and Daniel Cormier, or will the JDM lead forward a new generation of fighters?At Saturday we will all find out.

Madison Square Garden(MSG)

The perfect stage when the event carries prestige and legacy, just like UFC and the forthcoming event before us.This isn`t your average arena, it`s literally a cathedral of combat sports.From big legends like Muhammad Ali to aforementioned Connor McGregor, MSG has been the place where some of the most recognized moments in fighting history happened.Even Dana White, the head of UFC, calls it “the Mecca of fighting”.Seating capacity is around 20000 so it`s expected for all the tickets to be sold for a stacked fight card like this one.Beside`s combat sport`s, MSG is home to the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association(NBA), and they regularly train and play their matches there.

Main Event:JDM vs. Islam Makhachev

Main card wouldn`t be a main card if it wasn`t for a big fight like this one.JDM defends his welterweight title against the lightweight king himself Islam Makhachev.Makhachev moved up a division after his dominance at lightweight category, and if he wins this fight, he will officially carry legacy status and become a two-division UFC champion.Makhachev is known for his grappling control, striking precision and peer pressure in the octagon, making him a nightmare for every opponent before him.But he is facing a  tough opponent too, young blood that could disturb his way for the dual title.

Della Maddalena represents fresh new generation of UFC talent.With good boxing technique, precise body shots, and stiff composure inside the ring, he managed to secure welterweight title a year ago against Belal Muhammed at UFC 315.Now, he faces his first title defense, against arguably the toughest opponent before him yet.Even though many would consider him a underdog, Della could make history on Saturday night, and cement his legacy for the future.

Co-Main event:Valentina Shevchenko vs. Zhang Weili

The co-main event definitely brings some excitement too, because it`s a cross-divisional fight just like the main event itself.Valentina will be defending her flyweight title against Zhang Weili, a former strawweight champion that stepped up in weight just like Makhachev to try and secure a two-division glory.Valentina is known for her dominance in the flyweight category for two years straight, and it`s expected to stay like that, because of her extremely high fighter IQ, that managed to keep her at the top of the game for all this time.She is widely considered as one of the greatest female MMA artists of all time.

Even though Valentina is considered the best in the women`s division, it would be logical to pair her with someone on her level of skill, and Zhang Weili seems to be the perfect for that.She is #2 in the UFC women`s pound for pound rankings, and is known for her raw power, aggressive fighting style and relentless pace, all the traits that made her the champion in strawweight division and the first Chinese UFC champion.If she wins the fight, she will become a two division world champion, if not, Valentina further establishes herself as one of the most dominant female fighters in MMA and UFC history.

Business and Branding: The UFC Spectacle

UFC in the modern era is considered a multimedia spectacle, it just shows how much you can do when you have proper branding and right people in the promotion department.Every UFC event is packed with sponsors trying to outbid each other so their brands could be seen on the podium.

Stake.com is one of the sponsors that managed to secure a deal with UFC, and now stands out as a major partner to the future of the sport.For the UFC 322, Stake.com will be offering free livestream access of UFC 322 for select regions of the world, a move that`s transforming fan engagement and viewership.Check out the website itself for further details, too see availability in your region.

Beyond the Main Card

Main cards usually take all the spotlight, but supporting matchups are what brings the depth to the sport itself and what we usually watch before the main fighters step into the octagon.For the UFC 322, besides the main matches, we have two welterweight, two middleweight, one lightweight, one middleweight and one flyweight matchup.

Sean Brady vs Michael Morales(W) – Erin Blanchfield vs Tracy Cortez(F)

Leon Edwards vs Carlos Prates(W) – Gregory Rodrigues vs Roman Kopylov(M)

Bo Nickal vs Rodolfo Vieira(M) – Beneil Dariush vs Benoit Saint Denis(L)

Sean Brady vs Michael Morales is the match that is probably the most interesting out of the main title fights.Brady, who is known for his grappling skills just like the Dagestani brothers, is set to fight Morales, a striker with heavy hands and precise punches.It is always interesting to see fighters who have different fighting techniques go against each other, because you never know what to expect, and this one will be that for sure.While knocking someone out is definitely the most pleasant experience when it comes to professional MMA and other combat sports, grappling is very effective when it comes to ending matches fast and without too much trouble.Sean has an upper hand against Morales because this fight could mean a title shot ot top contender status for him.

Another welterweight sensation besides Brady and Morales is definitely between Leon Edwards and Carlos Prates.A very interesting matchup between an established UFC veteran and still fresh brazilian contender.Both fighters possess high fighting IQ, good timing and endurance.If Edwards wins this fight, it could be his chance to be relevant again and move into top tier fighting just like before, but if Prates wins, it will mean a great future for a Brazilian prospect, and to make him stand out if he beats someone who`s been in the UFC for some time.

Last fight that is interesting to talk about is the fight between Bo Nickal and Rodolfo Vieira.Nickal is overhyped wrestler transitioning into MMA and is facing Vieira who is known as a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu specialist.It is a very nice opportunity for Nickal to show his wrestling skills against someone established, but the hype around him is probably gonna crush on his shoulders.It is never easy to live up to the fans expectations, but if you fail your fans once, they will never believe in you again.

Is the Double Champion era over?

While we do have two big fights for the double champion title, it`s a far rarer occurrence than people think.That makes Makhachev`s and Zhang`s pursuits even more significant and important to their teams.This idea isn`t new, BJ Penn and Randy Couture have done it in their respective eras, but it became a cultural phenomenon in 2016 after McGregor defeated Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205, which was also held at Madison Square Garden.Connor McGregor became the first fighter in UFC history to hold two belts simultaneously, featherweight and lightweight titles.

It seemed like at that time that holding one belt wasn`t enough, every fighter wanted to make a name for themselves.And so, one after another, double titles would be seen more often than not.After McGregor, Daniel Cormier managed to secure double titles in the Heavyweight and Light Heavyweight divisions respectively in 2018, after knocking out heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic at UFC 226.

Amanda Nunes was the first women in UFC history to hold two titles.After just 51 seconds at UFC 232, Nunes knocked out Cris Cyborg and became Women`s Featherweight Champion on December 29, 2018.Alongside her reign in the Bantamweight division, she managed to join this exclusive club of two title holders, not that long after Cormier did it himself.

After Henry Cejudo won the UFC 238 on June 8, 2019 against Marlon Moraes, and earning himself the Bantamweight title, people really thought that double champions are going to be the norm in the sport itself.That was short lived, because the UFC started introducing things that would make this feat much more challenging.Stricter weight rules, physical limits of the human body, UFC`s promotion of active champions rather than legacy fighters and above everything the rise of new hyper-competitive talents is what makes this feat almost impossible in today`s age.

However, Israel Adesanya was very close to achieving this feat in 2021, when he was faced against Jan Blachowicz.Israel moved up a weight class in 2021 and at UFC 259 fought Jan, but he lost the fight via unanimous decision and that marks the first and only time he lost a fight in his professional MMA career.Considering all of this, no wonder why UFC 322 is so highly anticipated and makes a perfect ending for this year`s UFC showdowns.

Behind the scenes

Makhachev feels optimistic about his welterweight conquest.He says that it`s his quest for greatness, and that he couldn`t have came this far without the help of none other than the legend himself Khabib Nurmagomedov, who since retirement has been keeping an eye on the UFC and Dagestani fighters that compete there.He`s been a cornerman for many fights since 2020, but most notably to Makhachev the most, since Nurmagomedov trained Makhachev for the UFC.Makhachev joked that after weight cuts for the upcoming UFC, he could eat whatever he wants and smile, since he is fighting in a different division.

Jack Della Maddalena has been a lot more quiet about the upcoming event, stating only that he is confident and trains as hard as possible to be ready.His lethal boxing skills and quiet stance are what made him a fan favorite, since he crawled his way up the welterweight division without making too much fuss about it.If Islam wins, he will become a two division champion, if Jack wins, he will mark a new era of young elite fighters.

While Zhang`s motive to vacate her strawweight title is definitely odd, she said that she wants to pursue glory at flyweight, and it`s definitely there with Valentina against here.Zhang also has a good chance to become a double champion, but she must put all her explosive pace and knockout power to the test, since she is fighting a reigning champion whose consistency and dominance defined the flyweight women`s division.

Either way, very exciting Saturday before us.This sport has evolved throughout the years and now it`s seen better than before because every fighter brings something to the table, and discipline and consistency are what replaces chaos and spectacle nowadays.It`s not about who can win the championship but rather who can defend it the longest, and that`s why the fight between Makhachev and Maddalena is so special because we may be watching  for the very last time this type of fight.

Where to watch?

Alongside the usual PPV model which you can order directly from the UFC website, you can watch UFC 322 on ESPN+ for the main card, and for the preliminaries on ESPN/ESPN2 in the United States region.In other regions, you can tune in via TNT for the UK or DAZN/Amazon Prime Video for other regions and countries of the world.

Moreover, Stake.com, as mentioned, will be offering free livestream of the event.All you have to do is to check whether the stream is available in your region and to register on the website itself so you could access the stream.Beware that the users who register on the website must be over the age of 18.