UFC 322 results: Islam Makhachev smothers Jack Della Maddalena to join elite company

MMA Junkie has live coverage of UFC 322 with round-by-round analysis of every fight.

Islam Makhachev is the latest to join the UFC’s two-division champion club.

Jack Della Maddalena had no answers for the Dagestani grappling game of Makhachev (28-1 MMA, 17-1 UFC), who dominated Della Maddalena (18-3 MMA, 8-1 UFC), to not only hand him his first UFC loss, but also take his welterweight crown, becoming a two-division titleholder. Makhachev won the fight by unanimous decision, and it wasn’t competitive.

Advertisement

Makhachev’s first takedown attempt was a successful single leg in the center of the cage with nearly four minutes left in the round. The signature heavy top control from Makhachev put Della Maddalena in trouble early, but he managed to defend the incoming submission attempts well.

Striking exchanges to start Round 2 saw both land cleanly, but a nice short punch from Della Maddalena prompted Makhachev to close the distance and get the fight back to the mat with a lot of time to work again. Della Maddalena did his best to prevent ground and pound as Makhachev continued to smother from the top. With a few ticks remaining, Della Maddalena got back to his feet, but couldn’t get away to create offense.

In the third, Makhachev opted to stand and strike for a little longer, but it was only a matter of time before the fight returned to the ground. Della Maddalena was able to prevent Makhachev’s choke attempts once again, but not much else. A similar script unfolded early in Round 4, but with Della Maddalena trying to create scrambles, which ultimately put him in worse positions.

In the final round, Della Maddalena showed more urgency, but Makhachev was quick to halt any momentum with another takedown, where he would spend the remainder of the fight hunting for submissions.