The main card of UFC 322 featured plenty of bitter losses last Saturday, among some who called it a night with early stoppages. On the undercard, Beneil Dariush, Leon Edwards , and Sean Brady each suffered huge knockout defeats. While their performances may have underwhelmed, they each went up against opponents who are making serious noise within their divisions.
In the co-main event, former two-time undisputed UFC women's strawweight champion Zhang Weili came up short in her 125-pound debut against the undisputed UFC women's flyweight champion, Valentina Shevchenko. The headliner saw former lightweight kingpin, Islam Makhachev , make history, as he dethroned Jack Della Madallena for the UFC welterweight title.
What will follow for the losers of UFC 322? We consider some possible routes where each of those fighters may go upon their next return.
Ed Mulholland-Imagn Images
The first fight of the main card ended with a real banger. In the shortest outing of UFC 322, Dariush was knocked out in 16 seconds of the first round by Benoît Saint-Denis. One left hook from "God of War" was all it took to drop Dariush face-first, before referee Herb Dean decided that he had seen enough. The native of Yorba Linda, California, fell out of the top 10 at lightweight following the defeat, as he went down to No. 12 in the division.
As Dariush seeks to climb back up to 155 pounds, Rafael Fiziev makes a suitable opponent. "Ataman" snapped a three-fight losing skid with a unanimous decision win over Ignacio Bahamondes at UFC on ABC 8 in June. Fiziev is ranked No. 9 at lightweight.
Ed Mulholland-Imagn Images
The former undisputed UFC welterweight champion currently finds himself in a deficit of three consecutive losses. Seeking to bounce back from a two-fight losing streak, Edwards was knocked out cold in the second round against the hard-hitting Carlos Prates. It was the first knockout defeat of his professional career.
The brutal defeat to Prates saw him drop from No. 4 to No. 9 in the UFC's welterweight rankings. Joaquin Buckley had won six consecutive fights before a unanimous decision loss against Kamaru Usman at UFC on ESPN 69 in June. A matchup with Buckley could be ideal to remain within the top 10 at 170 pounds.
Ed Mulholland-Imagn Images
The previous No. 2-ranked welterweight Brady appeared to be closing in on a title shot. He was coming off a submission victory against Edwards at UFC Fight Night 255 in March. But Brady was no match for the undefeated Michael Morales, as he suffered a first-round TKO loss. It was his second defeat by stoppage, after a TKO loss against Muhammad at UFC 280 in October 2022.
Brady may have a longer road to get back into title contention. However, a win against another former UFC champion could give him redemption. Former UFC welterweight titleholder Kamaru Usman defeated Joaquin Buckley by unanimous decision at UFC on ESPN 69 in June. With the win, he ended a losing streak of three consecutive fights.
Ed Mulholland-Imagn Images
The former two-time UFC women's strawweight champion set her sights on a world championship in a second weight class. Instead, Weili took a lopsided unanimous decision loss against UFC women's flyweight titleholder Valentina Shevchenko. In a complete mismatch, Shevchenko landed 137 total strikes, compared to Weili's 80 total. The defending champion also scored five takedowns, along with 13:24 of control time.
It is uncertain whether Weili will remain at 125 pounds or return to strawweight. However, going back to 115 offers the chance to become the first three-time women's strawweight champion in UFC history? It is possible she can take on Tatiana Suarez in a rematch, whom she defeated by unanimous decision at UFC 312 in February. Suarez is ranked No.1 at 115 pounds, while Weili sits at No. 2.
Ed Mulholland-Imagn Images
In his first defense of the UFC welterweight title, Della Maddalena was outclassed as he took a unanimous decision loss against Makhachev. "JDM" was far from his comfort zone on the standup, with Makhachev landing four takedowns and a whopping 19:10 of control time. The former undisputed lightweight champion also landed 140 total strikes, more than quadruple the amount of Della Maddalena's total strikes (30). Makhachev became the 11th two-division champion in UFC history.
Della Maddalena is still ranked No. 1 at 170 pounds. As he seeks to reaffirm his status among the top, he may come across some of the uprising welterweight contenders. Morales is hungry for a title shot. As the No. 3 welterweight, it is possible they could cross paths at some point.
Related Headlines
