UFC 322 weigh-in outcomes: Champs, title contenders on level and able to battle

Not everybody made weight Friday morning on the official UFC 322 weigh-in, however all 4 fighters competing for gold did.

Jack Della Maddalena, Islam Makhachev, Valentina Shevchenko and Zhang Weili all stepped on the size and efficiently hit the mark to render Saturday’s two championship fights official.

There was a one-pound allowance for all fighters competing in three-round, non-title bouts, however Della Maddalena, Makhachev, Shevchenko and Zhang weren’t afforded the additional pound for his or her respective five-round contests.

The headliners might weigh not more than 170 kilos for his or her title battle to be made official. The defending champion stepped on the size at 169.8 kilos and the challenger was a fair 170.

Della Maddalena defeated Belal Muhammad by five-round unanimous determination in May to grow to be the thirteenth undisputed welterweight champion in UFC historical past. Makhachev was the longtime 155-pound champion however vacated the light-weight title earlier this yr so he might problem the present 170-pound champ. 

The 33-year-old from Dagestan, Russia, has gave the impression to be in excessive spirits this week, with one contributing issue being the very fact his weight minimize wasn’t practically as arduous as making the light-weight restrict was.

Both main-event fighters enter UFC 322 driving in depth profitable streaks. Makhachev has received 15 fights in a row within the UFC since struggling his solely loss 10 years in the past, in his second UFC look. Makhachev might tie Anderson Silva’s UFC report of 16 consecutive victories if his hand is raised this weekend in New York City.

Meanwhile, Della Maddalena is 8-0 within the UFC since debuting within the group in 2022 and has received 18 consecutive professional fights general after beginning his combined martial arts profession 0-2 in 2016. Despite being the incumbent champion from the heavier weight class, the 29-year-old from Australia is a major underdog heading into Saturday, with Makhachev sitting at a three-to-one favorite, in keeping with betting odds on the eve of the occasion.

Saturday’s co-main occasion was additionally made official with Shevchenko and Zhang being two of the primary fighters to weigh in. The pair could not weigh greater than 125 kilos every, and so they ended up weighing an similar 124.6 kilos.

Shevchenko is the highest girls’s flyweight fighter within the UFC and is ranked No. 1 on the ladies’s pound-for-pound checklist, whereas two-time 115-pound champ Zhang is ranked No. 2 pound-for-pound. Zhang vacated the strawweight to be able to problem Shevchenko. Zhang will look to hitch Amanda Nunes as the one different lady in UFC historical past to win titles in two completely different weight courses.

On paper, the 14-bout occasion at Madison Square Garden is the deepest and most stacked card of the yr.

In addition to Della Maddalena vs. Makhachev, the primary card options two extra pivotal scraps within the welterweight division as powerhouse grappler Sean Brady faces harmful striker Michael Morales, plus former champion Leon Edwards appears to snap a two-fight dropping streak when he takes on rising knockout artist Carlos Prates.

Veteran light-weight contender Beneil Dariush was the lone fighter to overlook weight on Friday. Dariush is about to kick off the primary card towards the streaking Benoit Saint Denis. Dariush was off by 1.2 kilos and will likely be fined 20 per cent of his purse for the miss however the battle will proceed.

There was one short-notice change to the preliminary card, with the UFC asserting Thursday that Malcolm Wellmaker will face Ethyn Ewing as an alternative of Cody Haddon, who was faraway from the cardboard after sustaining an damage. Wellmaker versus Haddon was a bantamweight contest however Wellmaker versus Ewing is scheduled as featherweight bout.

This is Wellmaker’s third scheduled opponent for UFC 322, as he was initially imagined to battle Canadian Serhiy Sidey earlier than Sidey was changed by Haddon. Ewing, 27, is a 6-2 professional who’s making his UFC debut simply seven days after incomes a first-round win to win a bantamweight title on the regional scene.

The preliminary card incorporates a handful of high middleweights, with touted wrestler Bo Nickal dealing with a number of Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion Rodolfo Vieira within the featured prelim. Roman Kopylov vs. Gregory Rodrigues has the potential to be a number one Fight of the Night contender. All-time middleweight submissions chief Gerald Meerschaert faces fellow finisher Kyle Daukaus, whereas touted unbeaten up-and-comer Baisangur Susurkaev will make his second UFC look after incomes a contract via Dana White’s Contender Series in August. Susurkaev faces Eric McConico.

There are additionally two rematches on the prelims that have been years within the making. Pat Sabatini will look to avenge a break up determination loss to Chepe Mariscal from 7.5 years in the past once they conflict in a featherweight contest.

Top-10 girls’s flyweight contenders Erin Blanchfield and Tracy Cortez meet for the second time. Cortez received a break up determination once they met at an Invicta FC occasion greater than 6.5 years in the past. It was Blanchfield’s fourth professional bout and Cortez’s sixth. The winner of this 125-pound matchup will transfer nearer to a title shot and can maintain an in depth eye on the consequence from the co-main occasion.

UFC 322 marks the group’s ninth journey to Madison Square Garden since 2016 and first since UFC 309. Official weigh-in outcomes:

— Jack Della Maddalena (169.8) vs. Islam Makhachev (170)

— Valentina Shevchenko (124.6) vs. Zhang Weili (124.6)

— Sean Brady (169.4) vs. Michael Morales (170.6)

— Leon Edwards (170) vs. Carlos Prates (169.6)

— Beneil Dariush (157.2)* vs. Benoit Saint-Denis (155.6)

— Bo Nickal (185.8) vs. Rodolfo Vieira (186)

— Roman Kopylov (185.2) vs. Gregory Rodrigues (185.8)

— Erin Blanchfield (125.8) vs. Tracy Cortez (125.6)

— Malcolm Wellmaker (143.6) vs. Ethyn Ewing (145.2)

— Kyle Daukaus (186) vs. Gerald Meerschaert (185.6)

— Pat Sabatini (145.6) vs. Chepe Mariscal (145.6)

— Angela Hill (115.6) vs. Fatima Kline (115.4)

— Baisangur Susurkaev (185.2) vs. Eric McConico (185.6)

— Viacheslav Borshchev (155) vs. Matheus Camilo (155.8)