Jack Della Maddalena, Islam Makhachev face off for welterweight crown in main event at UFC 322

NEW YORK (AP) – Jack Della Maddalena felt on top of the world when he won the UFC 170-pound title in his first shot at the belt.

Reigning atop the division is one thing in MMA. Staying on top, well, that can get tricky when a face-to-face meeting with his first championship challenger was more than 100 stories off the ground.

Maddalena and Islam Makhachev had a title fight stare down on top of the Empire State Building ahead of their fight Saturday in UFC 322’s main event.

“I was pretty freaked out about that,” Maddalena said.

Afraid of heights?

“A little bit,” he conceded.

Afraid of Makhachev? Certainly not, especially when Maddalena (18-2) has his boots firmly planted on much lower ground inside the cage at Madison Square Garden.

Yet Maddalena – on an 18-fight career win streak, featuring 14 finishes – faces about as stiff a challenge in a first title defense as any fighter can get with Makhachev chasing his slice of UFC history.

Makkhachev (27-1) surrendered his lightweight title earlier this year after four straight title defenses so he could move up and go for gold in another weight class. He’s trying to tie the UFC record of 16 straight wins, held by Hall of Fame fighter Anderson Silva.

“I don’t think about Anderson Silva’s record,” Makkhachev said. “I just think about Jack Della Maddalena’s belt. That’s it. I just want to take this belt.”

Makkhachev can join a short list in UFC history – the company just celebrated the Nov. 12, 1993, anniversary date of its first card – of male fighters who won championships in two weight classes. The others: Henry Cejudo, Daniel Cormier, Randy Couture, Georges St-Pierre, B.J. Penn, Conor McGregor, Jon Jones, Alex Pereira and Ilia Topuria.

“Massive legacy fight,” Maddalena said. “One of the best guys ever. Regardless of the result, he’ll go down as one of the greats.”

Maddalena, who lost only his first two professional fights, enters as the betting underdog, per BetMGM Sportsbook. The card comes on the heels of UFC President and CEO Dana White saying he contacted the FBI regarding a match at UFC Fight Night 263 that involved unusual betting patterns and that the bout is under federal investigation.

Maddalena, an Australian fighter following in the championship footsteps of fellow native fighters Robert Whittaker and Alexander Volkanovski, simply wants to affix that championship belt around his waist one more time. He beat Belal Muhammad via unanimous decision in May to wrest away the welterweight championship.

All Maddalena has to do to keep it is cost Makkhachev his shot at matching the winning streak record in UFC.

“Big win over him would be a big win on the resume,” Maddalena said.

Like Makkhachev, Zhang Weil is trying to become a champion in at least two UFC divisions when she challenges Valentina Shevchenko for the 125-pound belt in a matchup between what is widely considered the two best pound-for-pound fighters in the women’s division. Zhang, a former two-time strawweight champion, vacated her title last month so she could get her shot at Shevchenko.

Zhang (26-3) could join a much shorter list of two-division champs in the women’s division. Try, just one: Amanda Nunes.

Zhang became the first Chinese champion in UFC history in 2019 with her impressive stoppage of Jessica Andrade.

Shevchenko (25-4-1) is aiming for her ninth straight title defense and is the betting favorite.

White said this week President Donald Trump was not expected to attend fight night after several recent appearances at major UFC cards. Trump – booed Sunday as he became the first sitting president in nearly a half-century at a regular-season NFL game – walked out to a roaring standing ovation just ahead of the start of last year’s UFC card at Madison Square Garden.

Some of the marquee main events to headline UFC cards at Madison Square Garden – McGregor, St-Pierre and Cormier are among the winners – have made topping this annual card a career goal for most champions.

“Pretty excited to go out there and leave some of myself in MSG,” Maddalena said.

Makkhachev called it “the biggest fight of life. New York. Madison Square Garden.”

Other fights on the pay-per-view card include Beneil Dariush vs. Benoit Saint Denis in a lightweight fight; Leon Edwards takes on Carlos Prates in a welterweight fight; and Philadelphia fighter Sean Brady fights Michael Morales in a welterweight showdown.