UFC 322: Della Maddalena vs. Makhachev Predictions

UFC 322: Della Maddalena vs. Makhachev takes place on Sunday (AEDT) at Madison Square Garden in New York, United States. – and we’ve got our UFC predictions for all the fights below, and you can place your bets with the best betting sites Australia has to offer!

UFC 322 Predictions

—

Jack Della Maddalena vs. Islam Makhachev Prediction

Jack Della Maddalena defeated Belal Muhammad last time out to claim the welterweight title and extend his unbeaten UFC run to eight fights. Now he faces a showdown with Islam Makhachev, who vacated the lightweight belt while on a 15-fight winning streak in order to make this fight happen.

The 29-year-old Maddalena’s boxing ability was a sight to behold when he first burst onto the UFC with a flurry of TKO victories back in 2022. Maddalena had a knack for getting into close quarters and unleashing blistering combinations of hard-hitting punches to the head and body that would quickly crumble his opponents before the opening round was over. Then he threw in a quick submission finish over Randy Brown too that showed he had more strings to his bow. Fighters soon learned to respect the threat he possesses and tread more carefully, and so these days JDM tends to adopt a more measured, patient approach to striking game that’s delivered fewer finishes, but still maintained his winning run. Maddalena did come off second-best for much of his battle against veteran grappler Gilbert Burns a couple of fights ago though before rallying with a late KO finish, but he showed off improved takedown defense and scrambling ability against Muhammad last time out over five rounds.

After beating the likes of Alexander Volkanovski (twice), Charles Oliveira, Dustin Poirier, Arman Tsarukyan and Renato Moicano during a dominant run at 155lbs, the 34-year-old Makhachev is now looking for a new challenge as he tries to become a two-division champion and improve upon his No.2 spot on the pound-for-pound rankings. He’s not as naturally big as JDM, but he’ll only be giving up an inch in height and 3″ in reach here. Makhachev is a very well-rounded fighter who has proven to be a master at wrestling, clinch-work and grappling over the years. He has excellent takedowns and strong control on top, which is backed up by a dangerous submission threat that’s racked up 13 finishes and active ground-and-pound. Makhachev has always been diligent about working on his striking too though, and as such he’s a polished performer on the feet with good technique, accuracy and timing, while also having demonstrated solid power at times. Makhachev has only been finished once in his career by strikes, but we’ve yet to discover how his durability will fare up at 170lbs.

Maddalena is a tough opponent to deal with on the feet and will have size on his side, but he’ll have to constantly be wary of Makhachev’s takedown threat here, which may well force him to reign in his offensive instincts. And while he’s solidly capable on the mat, Makhachev’s relentless wrestling expertise and refined grappling is on a level that I’d expect will cause him problems over time, leading to a 3rd round submission victory for the Dagestani ace.

Islam Makhachev to win by submission in Rd3

Bet Now

—

Valentina Shevchenko vs. Zhang Weili Prediction

Valentina Shevchenko is currently enjoying her 2nd reign as women’s flyweight champion and now undertakes one of her biggest fights ever against former strawweight queen Zhang Weili, who left her title behind in order to challenge for this belt.

It’s impressive that the 37-year-old Shevchenko is still at the top of the sport when you consider that her long and very active career started almost 23 years ago, including competing simultaneously in MMA alongside muay thai and kickboxing bouts for well over a decade. A couple of years ago it looked like time may be finally catching up to her after an upset loss to Alexa Grasso ended her long title run, followed by a split-draw in the rematch. However, Shevchenko looked right back on form in their trilogy fight last year to reclaim the title, showcasing her well-rounded skill-set by controlling Grasso with takedowns and control on top, as well as being assured with her submission defense. And then back in May she ended Manon Fiorot’s seven-fight winning streak while serving a reminder that her high-level technical kickboxing ability is still a force to be reckoned with by bloodying Fiorot’s nose in the opening round and dropping her late in the fourth round. It was still a close fight though, and given her age it’s only natural that she isn’t quite as fast as she once was, though she is still agile and paces herself well over five rounds.

Like Shevchenko, the 36-year-old Weili has been a dominant force in her weight class for a long time across two separate title reigns, defeating a who’s who of strawweight talent along the way. She also has previous experience fighting as high as 132lbs earlier in her career, though she’s never been beyond 115lb during her seven-year run in the UFC. A complete, physically strong fighter with excellent conditioning, Weili likes to push the pace and constantly pressure her opponent wherever the fight goes. She’ll be giving up an inch in height and 3.5″ in reach here, but she has a higher offensive output than Shevchenko, doing some of her best work at close range with fast, accurate combinations of punches, kicks, elbows and knees. Weili transitions smoothly to her strong wrestling game and accomplished grappling and offers an active threat via both ground-and-pound and submissions.

This is a genuine superfight between two of the sport’s most enduring, talented and technically well-rounded female stars. They are similarly aged too, but Weili has yet to really show any noticeable signs of decline, while there have been hints of Shevchenko not operating at her best, which is hardly surprising when you consider that her career also consists of over 90 muay thai / kickboxing bouts. I think the stand-up battle will be close and Shevchenko’s strikes may be a bit more impactful, but Weili will be quicker and more active offensively, and I think she has the technical edge on the mat too. So I’ll take this one to go all the way to the scorecards, with Weili’s pace and pressure helping her edge out a decision victory.

Zhang Weili to win by decision

Bet Now

—

Sean Brady vs. Michael Morales Prediction

Sean Brady has put together an 8-1 run in the UFC so far to take the No.2 spot in the welterweight rankings and next up faces the No.8 ranked Michael Morales, who has gone 6-0 in the Octagon.

The 32-year-old Brady is a physically strong, well-conditioned fighter who does his best work on the mat. He’s a dependable wrestler with good control on top and an even better grappler, whose submission ability has come to the forefront during his time in the UFC, with four of his six career wins via subs coming in his last seven fights. He’s a bit more limited on the feet as he lacks a bit in terms of speed, power and creative flair, but he does have respectable fundamentals and will apply pressure nicely, while also being strong in the clinch.

The 26-year-old Morales is undefeated in his 18-fight so far and has claimed a number of veteran scalps during his UFC run to date, including his latest back-to-back TKO victories over Gilbert Burns and Neil Magny. Morales is big for the 170lb division and that’ll be apparent on Saturday night, where he’ll enjoy a 3″ height and significant 7″ reach advantage. He’s athletic too and so has a good mix of speed, power and strength, which he puts to good use in both his solid, accurate striking and assured wrestling. Between his stand-up and ground-and-pound he’s shown off his power with 13 finishes to date, but unlike Brady he hasn’t proven to be much of a submission threat so far. Despite his recent quick finishes, Morales is also capable of pacing himself nicely over 15 minutes too when required.

I do favor Morales on the feet, particularly thanks to his size advantage, but at the same time I feel Brady is the better and more proven fighter on the mat, and in the end I think that, together with his clinch-work, will prove to be the difference-maker here, enabling Brady to grind out a decision win.

Sean Brady to win by decision

Bet Now

—

Leon Edwards vs. Carlos Prates Prediction

Former welterweight champion Leon Edwards is coming off back-to-back losses as he now prepares to fight Carlos Prates, who quickly got back to winning ways last time out with a 1st round KO victory.

Edwards lost the 170lb title to Belal Muhammad via unanimous decision last year, and he’s since been submitted by Sean Brady, but it’s worth remembering that the 34-year-old had won 13-fights in a row prior to that, beating the likes of Kamaru Usman (x2), Colby Covington, Nate Diaz and Rafael dos Anjos along the way. Edwards is a composed, technically polished striker with good speed and movement. While he does have power when he chooses to use it, he strongly prefers to adopt a patient approach, trying to lull his opponents into a slower paced fight, picking his moments to land with his accurate boxing and cleanly executed kicks in order to win rounds. It does mean he’s operating on narrow margins at times with his low-volume approach, and there’s a sense that he struggles to step up the gears when things aren’t going his way, but his record shows he’s still been able to make it work for him. It’s also important to note that during his long winning run he also successfully adopted a grinding, controlled-based wrestling approach to beat several opponents.

Whereas 12 of Edwards 22 career wins have come by decision, the 32-year-old Prates has a contrasting record and fighting style, with 20 of his 23 wins coming inside the distance. It’s not all that uncommon for fighters to be able to tear a destructive path through the regional scene, but Prates has managed to continue that in the Octagon, with all five of his wins so far being by KO. Prates honed his striking ability with extensive experience competing in muay thai bouts in Thailand and China and has been able to put that to good use in MMA. Prates is a good athlete who will have a 4″ reach advantage here, and uses that to aid his potent finishing threat with all eight limbs, mixing his strikes nicely while maintaining solid accuracy. He does have a trio of submission wins on his record too, but those are from much earlier in his career, and these days he prefers to use his takedown defense to keep the action upright.

This is an intriguing match-up. Prates is certainly the more explosive, dangerous striker here, but Edwards is more sound defensively, is clean on the counter and perhaps most significantly has a wrestling advantage. And given Edwards risk-adverse nature and the fact he’s coming off a couple of losses, I think he will choose that latter option to snuff out Prates threat by controlling him on the canvas to emerge with a decision win.

Leon Edwards to win by decision

Bet Now

—

Beneil Dariush vs. Benoit Saint Denis Prediction

Beneil Dariush got the better of Renato Moicano last time out and now fights Benoit Saint Denis, who is coming off back-to-back wins in 2025 so far.

Dariush’s last win was vital as the 36-year-old had been contemplating retiring if he lost. That was understandable as though he was on an eight-fight winning streak just a few years ago, Dariush then suffered back-to-back losses to strikes in 2023 as well as epeated durability issue in training too, where he was also KO’d. As a result Dariush took 18 months out before returning to fight Moicano, and though Dariush generally did well there, he was dropped in the 1st round, so there are still concerns heading into this fight. Dariush is a talented fighter though, possessing heavy hands and solid kicks on the feet to deter anyone trying to test his chin. He’s at his best on the mat though with good wrestling as well as showing impressive composure and control in his high-level grappling game.

The 29-year-old Saint Denis is best known for being a tough, all-action fighter who made a name for himself in his early UFC run with an aggressive mix of striking and grappling that earned him five finishes in a row. However, like Dariush, BSD then suffered two losses in a row to strikes in 2024 that left question marks about his durability, particularly since his striking style leaned on his ability to take big shots. It was clearly something that concerned the former French army special forces soldier too as he’s since returned to his roots by focusing more on his very solid ground game. Prior to arriving in the UFC, Saint Denis had actually won most of his fights by submission, and in his latest two fights that’s been his route to victory, giving his career a new lease of life.

It’s going to be interesting to see how this one plays out. BSD hasn’t been as eager to strike lately, but going to the mat here could be a problem as though he has a good submission game, I feel Dariush is still the superior grappling technician. Meanwhile, both men are potentially vulnerable on the feet, but I do think it’s more of a concern for Dariush given that he has an extended history of such issues and is significantly older than his opponent. So anything is possible here, but I think if Dariush isn’t able to get the fight to the mat then Saint Denis will be able to withstand more punishment in the striking exchanges to deliver a 2nd round finish.

Benoit Saint Denis to win by TKO in Rd2

Bet Now

UFC 322 Prelims

—

(Predicted winners in bold)

Bo Nickal vs. Rodolfo Vieira
Roman Kopylov vs. Gregory Rodrigues
Erin Blanchfield vs. Tracy Cortez
Malcolm Wellmaker vs. Cody Haddon
Kyle Daukaus vs. Gerald Meerschaert
Pat Sabatini vs. Chepe Mariscal
Angela Hill vs. Fatima Kline
Baisangur Susurkaev vs. Eric McConico

MMA Writer

Ross Cole

Ross Cole is one of the most prolific mixed martial arts writers in the world.

Having written more than 22,000 MMA news stories for MMA Insight, which he founded in 2009 as a way to channel his passion for the sport of mixed martial arts.

Few people know the UFC and the sport of MMA like Ross, and he has built a solid reputation for being one of the best MMA tipsters in the world.

You can read more of Ross's work at MMAInsight.com.