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Brett Okamoto
UFC 322 might have set the stage for some big fights in 2026, as the fight card provided fans with a new welterweight champion, a handful of highlight finishes and perhaps a new top contender in the welterweight division.
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.
Who should be the first fighter to take on the 170-pound champ? What options are out there for Shevchenko and Zhang? Here’s how the top stars from UFC 322 could be booked next.
Islam Makhachev, welterweight champion
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Islam Makhachev wins welterweight title after dominating main event
Islam Makhachev becomes the new UFC welterweight champion after putting on a wrestling clinic.
Who should be next: Kamaru Usman
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.
For me, Usman is the No. 1 option. It’s not perfect. Usman hasn’t been all that active recently, but he was the No.1 pound-for-pound fighter in his prime. He turned back the clock in a fight many believed he wouldn’t win against Joaquin Buckley earlier this year, and Makhachev has expressed a desire to fight him. It’s the best option at welterweight, if you don’t count a potential move up by Ilia Topuria. Doing this fight doesn’t deny another obvious, rightful contender, and Usman has earned the opportunity based on his résumé and longevity.
Wild card: Topuria
I am not in favor of this matchup, which might surprise you. I’m usually an advocate for making the big fight when it presents itself. But in this case, I can’t get behind the idea of the former featherweight and current lightweight champion moving up two weight classes in two appearances. There are plenty of fights for him at lightweight, and after seeing Makhachev compete so well at welterweight, it’s not the most appropriate contest right now. Topuria is legitimately smaller. We will see this superfight eventually, but I’m not in favor of seeing it next, like I was when it was being proposed at 155 pounds.
Valentina Shevchenko, women’s flyweight champion
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Valentina Shevchenko takes control, beats Zhang Weili
Valentina Shevchenko takes control, beats Zhang Weili
Who should be next: Natalia Silva
Just another day at the office for arguably the greatest women’s fighter of all time. Obviously, Shevchenko has an uphill battle for that distinction, considering she lost to Amanda Nunes twice, but if she remains dominant in the years to come, she’ll have a case for it. She believes she has plenty of time left, so let’s keep lining them up. Silva is the obvious next challenger at 125 pounds. She has an active, tricky style on the feet, which she seems to have perfected in recent performances. She will be a major underdog, but everyone is at flyweight.
Wild card: Kayla Harrison
Depending on when Harrison fights Nunes, this could conceivably be next. Harrison wants it to take place at the White House. Will Shevchenko wait seven months for that, when there is no guarantee? Will the UFC even want her to? There’s a lot that can happen in seven months, including Harrison losing or getting injured, or not being able to make the weight twice in a relatively short span. Then again, it could come together perfectly if Harrison wins and Shevchenko’s timeline matches.
Zhang Weili, women’s flyweight
Who should be next: Alexa Grasso
I hope Zhang doesn’t return to strawweight, and I’m guessing she won’t. You don’t take the radical step of vacating the belt, only to return one fight later. Moving up and fighting Shevchenko straight away in a new weight class was always going to be a challenge. There’s reason to believe Zhang’s next performance at flyweight would be much stronger, after learning plenty in her first and settling further into the weight. If she does stay, Grasso, a former champ with strong boxing, makes sense.
Wild card: Mackenzie Dern
If Zhang does return to strawweight, nothing other than a title fight would make sense. She and Dern have never fought. It’s not a bad option, considering it’s an automatic title opportunity — which doesn’t exist for Zhang now at flyweight. It may be a tempting move, but I would prefer to see her continue at flyweight.
Carlos Prates, welterweight
Who should be next: Michael Page
Maybe this is recency bias, so be it — Prates is the most entertaining man in the UFC right now. He has two spectacular knockouts in the past three months, over two highly-ranked opponents (one of them, Leon Edwards, a former champion).
Prates will fight for a title at some point, and we’ll see if he can refine a few of the deficiencies that cost him when he fought Ian Machado Garry in April. Either way, he is must watch. And so is Page. If Prates is the most entertaining fighter in the UFC, Page is on the short list of names he’s competing with. I wanted to see Prates vs. Page after they fought on the same card in Chicago in August. I am fascinated by how it would go between two wizards at distance control.
Wild card: Michael Morales
This makes so much sense based on what both these fighters did in back-to-back fights on the same night — Prates knocking out Edwards and Morales making quick work of Sean Brady. The obvious reason not to make the fight would be the risk of burning one by pairing them together, but getting to see this fight might be worth the risk. The good news is that even if it doesn’t happen next, this matchup is almost a guarantee at some point.
Benoît Saint Denis, lightweight
Who should be next: Rafael Fiziev
Things are back on track for Saint Denis after quickly handling Beneil Dariush. The Dustin Poirier loss feels like it was a long time ago. Saint Denis was always considered a tough matchup at lightweight, but now he has the experience and confidence to match his skills. A Fiziev matchup feels like a no-brainer. Two of the most exciting lightweights, and they’re lumped right together in that top 15 range.
Wild card: Grant Dawson
Dawson, like Saint Denis, was viewed as a future title contender before a high-profile upset loss to King Green four fights ago. And like Saint Denis, he’s back on track. He’s got a matchup with Manuel Torres on Dec. 6. If Dawson wins that one, he might be smart to call out Saint Denis, because the top of this division is somewhat tied up, with little room to break into the top 5. Dawson might get this matchup if he calls for it next month.
Bo Nickal, middleweight
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Bo Nickal delivers devastating head-kick KO
Bo Nickal levels Rodolfo Vieira with a vicious head kick for a knockout at UFC 322.
Who should be next: Christian Leroy Duncan
After a spectacular finish over Rodolfo Vieira, how fast does the UFC want to ramp this Bo train back up? I assume they’ll opt to take it slow. This third-round knockout showed more of what we already know about Nickal. He’s capable of doing things most fighters can’t, and if his potential shakes out how many think it can, he’s championship material. That said, he still needs time, which is fine.
Frankly, the sport probably didn’t realize how good Reinier de Ridder was when he and Nickal fought in May. De Ridder was too much for Nickal back then, but that doesn’t mean that will always be the case. For now, the UFC should book Nickal against someone in the middle range of the division, someone like Duncan, who is 6-2 in the UFC and has an exciting style. And I hope it’s sooner rather than later. Maybe we could see Nickal in March 2026, then again on the White House card in June.
Wild card: Paulo Costa
If the UFC wants to rev Nickal back up into the top 15, Costa is always a fun test. The buildup to that fight would be phenomenal.
Erin Blanchfield, women’s flyweight
Who should be next: Backup for Valentina Shevchenko vs. Natalia Silva
This is a tough one because, obviously, I don’t love the idea of Blanchfield taking extended time off in the middle of her prime. But on the other side, she’s only 26 years old. She has plenty of time to get in as many fights as she wants. There’s nothing out there that she needs to address right now. She’s a qualified No. 1 contender. Let her train, focus on herself and weigh-in as the backup to this 125-pound title matchup. She’s a fresh face when it comes to vying for a UFC title. I wouldn’t mind seeing her get another win, but it’s not necessary. Have her serve as a backup and promote her as the next title challenger.
Wild card: Natalia Silva
There is that world in which Shevchenko waits through the early part of 2026 and ends up fighting Kayla Harrison. And if that happens, one would imagine the UFC would book Silva and Blanchfield in a No. 1-contender matchup.