UFC 322 is packed with two title fights, five active or recent champions still in their relative prime and the potential to alter opinions about all-time greats by the end of Saturday night.<\/p>\n
The pay-per-view will mark the ninth UFC event at Madison Square Garden since mixed martial arts cards were legalized in New York in 2016, and one of the final UFC events sold by ESPN before the sporting promotion begins a seven-year, $7.7 billion media-rights deal with Paramount in 2026.<\/p>\n
In the main event, Islam Makhachev will make a long-awaited jump to 170 pounds, where he will challenge welterweight champion Jack Della Maddalena. A victory for Makhachev would tie Anderson Silva\u2019s record with 16 consecutive UFC wins and become the latest fighter to win belts in multiple divisions, having previously held the lightweight title.<\/p>\n
And right before Makhachev and Della Maddalena step into the octagon, Zhang Weili hopes to seize her own belt in a second division in the co-main event. The Chinese legend vacated her strawweight belt in October to move up to flyweight and challenge champion Valentina Shevchenko. Weili, who defended the strawweight title four times across two reigns, would become the second woman in UFC history to become a double champion with a win.<\/p>\n
While both Makhachev and Weili will enter the cage with years of championship experience, they\u2019ll be the challengers to respected \u2013 and physically larger \u2013 champions in their new divisions.<\/p>\n