UFC 322 was a night to remember at Madison Square Garden, especially in the welterweight division, where six top-ranked welterweights went head-to-head and a new champion was crowned. The division was shaken up in just one night, and now the floodgates are open for an endless number of possibilities moving forward. Here is what could be next for all the top fighters who headlined UFC 322.
Benoit Saint Dennis
Benoit Saint Dennis proved once again why he is one of the most exciting prospects in the lightweight division with a 16-second KO over Beneil Dariush. At just 29 years old, Saint Dennis has put together quite a resume and is looking to be the next big thing in the lightweight division. He was ranked #13 coming into this fight, in large part because of his KO loss to future Hall of Famer Dustin Poirier. This loss derailed his hype train for a short time before he would come back with vengeance. He is now on a three-fight win streak, with all being by finish.
With his performance this last weekend, he is now in a great position to make his way into a future top 7-ranked fight. He still has to prove himself a little more before he starts fighting the upper echelon of the weight class, but he is moving in the right direction. Currently, the top seven lightweights have either fought recently or have fights coming up, which will put Saint Dennis on the sidelines for a while. He could take a fight with another elite fighter, in Rafael Faziv, in the meantime, but that may not be a fight that boosts him into the top 5-7 spots. The division right now is held up, so it might be a while before Saint Dennis is back in action, but he seems more than willing to hold out if it means a top-ranked fight in the future.
Carlos Prates
Carlos prates continues to make the MMA world that he is one of the most exciting fighters to watch. He faced former welterweight champion Leon Edwards and knocked him out cold in two rounds and didn’t seem to break a sweat. Besides his one loss to Ian Garry a few fights ago, Prates’ UFC career has been nothing short of spectacular. Knockout after knockout in quick fashion. Edwards was ranked #4 in the division and Prates’ win he will propel into the top five. He is looking at a title shot soon and might need only one fight to get there. His next potential opponents could either Shavkat Rakhmonov, Michael Morales, Kamaru Usman, or even former champion Jack Della Maddalena. With a win over fighters of this caliber, Prates could be seeing a title opportunity very soon.
Michael Morales
The 26-year-old phenom remains undefeated after a huge round one KO win against #2-ranked welterweight Sean Brady. Morales was ranked #8 coming into the fight, and Brady decided to give him a chance rather than wait for an eventual title shot, which he was certainly next in line for. Morales made Brady pay, though, and starched him within one round. He is a massive welterweight, and it is insane that he can even make the weight. This was evident in the fight as he looked much bigger than Brady and used that to his advantage. Morales used his superior reach to keep Brady at bay and not let him try and shoot for a takedown, which is his bread and butter. He walked Brady down and punished him with clubbing blows that stunned Brady multiple times. Sensing blood in the water, Morales unleashed a great combination that sent Brady to the floor. A few ground strikes later, and the fight was over.
Morales is in a great but also frustrating position because there is already a line for the belt right now, and he is not at the front. He still might need one more fight before he gets that opportunity. This is a problem because all the top welterweights have either just fought or will soon fight coming up soon. This means that Morales could be sidelined for a while as the division figures itself out. Future opponents could include Shavkat Rakhmonov, Jack Della Maddalena, or Carlos Prates. These could all get him a number one contender spot and a shot at the belt.
Valentina Shevchenko
The “Bullet” is now in fourth place for most title defenses in UFC history with 11. This came after an absolute masterclass performance against Zhang Weili. This was one of the biggest fights in women’s MMA history as two of the greatest ever went head-to-head. Weili moved up to flyweight to try and become a two-division champion, but Shevchenko stood in her way. Shevchenko is right there with Amanda Nunes as the GOAT of women’s MMA, and this performance solidified that. The size difference between the two women was evident, and Shevchenko towered over Weili. This made it hard for Zhang to close the distance as Shevchenko’s striking is too good.
The same can be said for the grappling. Anything that Valentina wanted, she would get when it came to takedowns. The elite skills matched with size advantage made it a long night for Weili as she could not escape the grasp of the champion. Five straight rounds of dominance led to a unanimous decision victory and her 11th title defense. Honestly, there is no one left for Shevchenko to fight besides one person. Valentina is in a league of her own, only being shared by the GOAT in Amanda Nunes. Nunes, after the fight, said that once she comes out of retirement and beats Kayla Harrison, she will fight Shevchenko and obtain the first triple champion status in UFC history. This is the fight to make, and it makes the most sense as long as Nunes can come back quickly enough. Shevchenko could also try and move up to fight Kayla Harrison after her fight with Nunes if she were to win as well. These are the only two options at the moment for the champ.
Islam Makhachev
Islam Makhachev proved that he is the number one fighter in the world after he dismantled Jack Della Maddalena to become a two-division champion. Maddalena had nothing for the grappling of the Dagestan native, who is the highest caliber in the UFC. Islam also did decent on the feet and beat up the legs of Maddalena using hard leg kicks. There were a lot of questions coming into the fight. Would JDM’s size be too much, and is his boxing too elite for Makhachev to handle? Those questions were answered and then some after the performance that Makhachev that inches him closer to GOAT status.
There are several options that the now welterweight champion has at his disposal. The obvious one is to go back down to the lightweight division and fight Ilia Topuria in what could be the biggest fight of all time in the UFC. The number one and two pound-for-pound fighters in the world, squaring off in the most anticipated matchup in recent UFC history. This would likely take place midway through 2026, as Topuria has a fight that is rumored to be at the start of the year. With a Topuria win, there is no question that the fight to make is Islam vs Ilia for the lightweight gold.
Islam has stated that, at least for the time being, he would like to stay at welterweight. He has named guys like former champion Kamaru Usman as his potential next opponent. The welterweight was shaken up in just one night at UFC 322. Six top ten welterweights fought on the card, and the lower-ranked fighters all won. This means that there is a massive line below Makhachev to see who can try and dethrone him. Ian Garry has made waves in the welterweight division and has a fight against former champion Belal Muhammad. If Garry wins, he could be next for a title shot. Then there is also Shavkat Rakhmonov, Carlos Prates, and Michael Morales, who will all be in the top five rankings. Then there is Kamaru Usman, who is coming off a dominant performance and is stylistically the most exciting matchup for Islam. There seem to be limitless options for Makhachev, and it will come down to who prevails and rises to the occasion enough to earn a shot against the world’s best fighter.
