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After an incredible PPV event at UFC 321 in Abu Dhabi, headlined by the controversial no-contest main event between Heavyweight Champion Tom Aspinall and No. 1 contender Ciryl Gane. The UFC heads back to the world’s most famous arena, Madison Square Garden, for UFC 322 taking place on Saturday, November 15th. 

Beniel Dariush vs Benoit Saint Denis

The first fight of the main card features a lightweight bout between No. 8-ranked Beniel Dariush and No. 13-ranked Benoit Saint Denis. Both fighters are coming off of impressive wins but I think this will be too big of a challenge for Dariush. He is 36 years old and is going up against a 29-year old Saint Denis who is currently entering the prime of his career. I don’t see this fight going the distance and believe that we’ll see a round-two finish for Saint Denis who gets the win via submission. 

Prediction: Arm Triangle

Leon Edwards vs Carlos Prates

Next up, we have No. 4-ranked welterweight Leon Edwards taking on No. 9-ranked Carlos Prates. It has been a rough stretch for Leon, he has lost his last two fights and saw his last win come nearly two years ago. He takes on Carlos Prates who just had a nasty spinning elbow knockout on Geoff Neal in August. I view this as a must-win fight for Edwards because I don’t know what his future in the UFC looks like if he were to lose again.

Unfortunately for Edwards, I think he will ultimately lose this fight. Carlos Prates has a four-inch reach advantage and poses a bigger threat to Leon with his punching power. This should be a fantastic matchup where we see clean exchanges from both fighters, but I believe this fight will go the distance with a 29-28 decision win for Prates. However, don’t be surprised if we see him get the knockout finish in round two or three.

Prediction: Decision

Sean Brady vs Michael Morales

We have another welterweight matchup, this time it’s No. 2-ranked Sean Brady taking on No. 8-ranked Michael Morales. This is one of my favorite matchups on the card, Brady with a record of 18-1 taking on the undefeated 18-0 Morales is sure to bring fireworks for the fans. As of now, the betting lines for this fight are nearly even, with Brady being the slight favorite. As good as Morales is, I think Sean Brady is a future UFC Champion.

His grappling has improved over the years and I think that is his path to victory in this fight. He should be able to control the knockout specialist Morales and take him into deep waters where there is no escape. Sean Brady will win this fight via rear-naked choke in round two. Even if Morales loses this fight, his potential is sky high. He is only 26 years old and has so much room for improvement. I just think it’s Sean Brady’s time to get a title shot, which I think he’ll earn if he gets the job done vs Morales.

Prediction: Rear-naked choke

Valentina Shevchenko vs Zhang Weili

In the co-main event of the evening, we have arguably the biggest matchup in women’s UFC history. Flyweight Champion Valentina Shevchenko will face her biggest test yet against China’s Zhang Weili. Zhang Weili has been the face of the women’s strawweight division since 2022 and decided to vacate her championship belt to move up a weight class to create this super fight.

The betting odds for this fight are dead even at -113, and it makes total sense. I truly do not know who will win this fight, both fighters are extremely well-rounded with sharp striking and great chins. If there is one advantage in this fight, I can potentially see Zhang Weili feeling a difference in power since she is going up a weight class and may have trouble adjusting. This fight can go either way,  but I’d give the slight edge to Zhang Weili getting the win via split decision, becoming the new Women’s Flyweight Champion of the world.

Prediction : Decision

Jack Della Maddalena vs Islam Makhachev

The moment you all have been waiting for, in the main event of the evening we have the Welterweight Champion Jack Della Meddalena putting his belt on the line against former Lightweight Champion Islam Makhachev. Maddalena is coming off of a statement win over Belal Muhammed in May, where he became the new champ, but his competition has only gotten tougher for this matchup. Makhachev vacated his lightweight belt to move up and take over the welterweight division.

Both fighters pose a threat to each other, Della Maddalena has the striking advantage and Makhachev has the grappling. This will be an absolute war, with both fighters likely to be bloodied by the end as they give it their all. But unfortunately for Jack Della Maddalena, his title run will be short lived. I view Makhachev as the pound-for-pound No. 1 fighter in the world and don’t see any way he loses this fight. He is too strong, too experienced, and too mentally tough for Maddalena. My prediction is he’ll win this fight via submission after wearing down Jack for the first three rounds. Maddalena will make one crucial mistake that costs him his belt. 

Prediction : D’arce Choke

Following his devastating loss to lightweight Champion Ilia Topuria at UFC 317 in June, Brazil’s Charles Oliveira looked to bounce back against Poland’s Mateusz Gamrot in the main event of UFC Fight Night in Rio De Janeiro in October.

Coming into the fight, Charles Oliveira had an impressive overall record of 35-11 with a 2-3 record over his last five bouts, the roughest stretch of his 18-year career. Whereas Mateusz Gamrot has been on the rise with a 4-1 record over his last five bouts, with statement wins over the likes of Rafael Faziev and L’udovit Klein, extending his record to 25-3.

Many fans wondered if we were witnessing the end of Oliveira’s career leading up to this fight after he was brutally knocked out by Ilia Topuria in the first round and went the distance with Michael Chandler, who many thought he should have easily finished.

With Gamrot on the rise as the No. 8 ranked lightweight in the world, he looked to upset the No. 4 ranked Oliveira in front of his hometown crowd in Brazil. Gamrot made no hesitation in showing his hunger to win as he immediately sprinted toward the octagon during his walkout — but little did he know he was running straight into fire.

Charles Oliveira has remained flawless with a 17-0 record when fighting in his home country of Brazil and looked to extend that on Saturday night after many people began to doubt the future of his MMA career.

As the fight started, the two exchanged back-and-forth shots which had the crowd going wild. After the first round it looked like Olivera was up 1-0. Round two started off similarly until Charles was able to successfully land a takedown on Gamrot, where he would now be in Charles world.

Oliveira locked in a perfect rear-naked choke where there would be no escape. Gamrot struggled until he couldn’t anymore and tapped out halfway through round two. With that finish, it became Charles 22nd submission win in his career, the most in UFC History.

The crowd exploded as Charles Oliveira extended his win streak to 18-0 in Brazil, and he immediately jumped over the cage and ran into the crowd to celebrate with all his supporters. When he arrived back in the octagon, Charles took the microphone and made no hesitation to express his feelings by calling out a future opponent.

Michael Bisping asked him “What does this mean to you?” Charles Oliveira responded “I’m trying to hold back the tears right now. This is all for you guys, this is not about money, fame, status, or anything. Screw it, this is Brazil.”

When Charles was asked who he wants to fight next, he states “Charles Oliveira, Max Holloway, BMF, let’s make it happen.”

This would be a Fight of the Year candidate if UFC President Dana White agrees to schedule this matchup sometime next year. There is no better way to please UFC fans than to have two of the biggest names in the sport going head-to-head for the BMF Title belt. 

Could we potentially see this booked for the White House card next year? As of now, Max Holloway is still recovering from an Injury, so we will have to wait and see how this develops.

As for Mateusz Gamrot, it looks like he still has a long way to go before he gets a title shot.

The UFC is currently being investigated by the FBI due to sketchy circumstances surrounding the featherweight bout between Isaac Dulgarian and Yadier del Valle at UFC Vegas 110 last weekend. 

Coming into the fight, Dulgarian was seen as a heavy favorite to win. He is a crafty veteran taking on a young undefeated prospect in del Valle, the betting odds for Dulgarian took a massive shift before the fight began and an alarming amount of bets came in for the underdog del Valle, raising red flags that something might be going on behind the scenes. 

Not only did the betting lines drastically change, but a suspicious amount of bets were also placed on del Valle to get a finish in the first round. Isaac Dulgarian is known to be a world class grappler and that was viewed as his path to victory in this fight. 

However, as the fight began, Dulgarian shot for a double-leg takedown which del Valle stuffed. Following the botched takedown, Dulgarian immediately gave up his back to del Valle, who effortlessly locked in a rear-naked choke. Dulgarian then proceeded to show little to no effort to escape the submission and just accepted that he was going to tap out, which he eventually did with one minute remaining in the first round.

It is a head-scratching outcome that doesn’t add up. The better grappler of the two showed zero signs of trying to escape the submission attempts and was being controlled like he’d never grappled a day in his life. When you factor in the betting changes, the surge of bets coming in for a first-round finish by the underdog, and a pathetic effort from Dulgarian, it is no surprise that this has led to an investigation.

Especially with the recent crackdown in the NBA involving Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, who was tracked down and arrested by the FBI for throwing games during his time with the Charlotte Hornets in 2023, along with Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups, who was allegedly involved in an illegal gambling ring with Mafia just a few weeks ago. 

Since the announcement that an investigation was launched, a handful of other fighters have come out and stated that they have been approached in the past about throwing fights for large sums of money. 

This is a major problem considering sports betting is heavily promoted by professional sports leagues and television outlets. UFC president Dana White has come out and said he is directly working with the FBI to get to the bottom of this, but it raises serious questions about how many fights in the past have been potentially rigged.