Rank 'em: Islam Makhachev, Jon Jones, GSP, and Mighty Mouse

Islam Makhachev dominated Jack Della Maddalena to win his second title. Now he’s chasing legends, not contenders.


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Chapters:

0:00 Islam Makhachev vs Jack Della Maddalena reaction

10:51 Valentina Shevchenko vs Weili Zhang

16:45 Michael Morales vs Sean Brady

21:14 Carlos Prates vs Leon Edwards 

25:06 Benoit Saint Denis vs Beneil Dariush


I was wrong. Islam Makhachev dominated Jack Della Maddalena. It wasn’t even a contest. Now a two weight champion, it’s not Carlos Prates, Kamaru Usman or Michael Morales that Islam Makhachev is chasing, it’s Jon Jones, Demetrious Johnson and Georges St-Pierre. Islam Makhachev left UFC 322 an absolute legend and a top five all time MMA fighter.


Unlike Jack Della Maddalena, Valentina Shevchenko defended her title against someone trying to capture their second. Weili Zhang didn’t have a chance, sadly. Valentina Shevchenko was just too large for the women’s strawweight champion to win her second title. Now Valentina Shevchenko has a date with, perhaps, Kayla Harrison as she tries to get her own second title.


Despite bludgeoning Sean Brady, Michael Morales isn’t on my hype radar yet, which is crazy because he’s going to be a top three fighter come Tuesday. But Sean Brady has only beat Kelvin Gastelum, Gilbert Burns and Leon Edwards. While that looks good on paper, they’re all seemingly past their prime. Sean Brady was prime to be exposed at UFC 322 and Michael Morales was the man to get it done. Unfortunately, Michael Morales needs to be figured out and it might be Islam Makhachev to do so.


Carlos Prates had an all time aura moment. He took on the former champion Leon Edwards and put him out cold. After being out grappled in the first round, Carlos Prates did the thing. Unfortunately, that tells us much of what we need to know about Carlos Prates fighting Islam Makhachev.


Benoit Saint-Denis sparked Beneil Dariush in the first fight on the card. Now I’m convinced: Benoit Saint-Denis is title bound eventually. He and Ilia Topuria will be a barn burner as long as the fight lasts.