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Brett Okamoto
A pair of UFC superfights will headline the company’s annual pay-per-view event in New York.
Former lightweight champion Islam Makhachev will attempt to win a second title against defending welterweight champion Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 322 on Nov. 15 in Madison Square Garden, UFC CEO Dana White announced Thursday. In the co-main event, former strawweight champion Zhang Weili will move up to flyweight to challenge Valentina Shevchenko.
Makhachev (27-1) vacated the UFC’s 155-pound title earlier this year in anticipation of this move to welterweight. Zhang (26-3) vacated her 115-pound championship to challenge at 125 pounds.
ESPN ranks Makhachev and Della Maddalena as the Nos. 2 and 8 pound-for-pound fighters in the world, respectively. Makhachev defended his lightweight title four times before announcing the move to welterweight. He will attempt to do something his retired, undefeated mentor, Khabib Nurmagomedov, never did during his Hall of Fame career — become a two-division champion.
Della Maddalena (18-2), of Perth, Australia, hasn’t lost since he suffered back-to-back defeats to begin his professional career in 2016. He won the UFC title by defeating Belal Muhammad via unanimous decision in May.
ESPN ranks Zhang and Shevchenko as the Nos. 1 and 2 women’s pound-for-pound fighters in the world, respectively. Zhang is coming off a title defense against Tatiana Suarez in February. Shevchenko, 37, is the most dominant flyweight in UFC history. She is a two-time champion with eight total title defenses across two reigns.
White also announced a welterweight main-card matchup between former champion Leon Edwards (22-5) and surging Brazilian contender Carlos Prates (22-7).