UFC 322: Shevchenko vs. Zhang in the Shadow of Della Maddalena vs. Makhachev
This November, we’re going to enjoy one of the top events in the MMA season. UFC has prepared a real treat for us. The venue? Madison Square Garden. It can’t get better than that. On a program? Two title bouts. It can’t get better than that. Wait till you hear who is fighting for the titles. UFC welterweight is on the table, in the most anticipated duel of the year between the reigning champ Jack Della Maddalena and the top contender in Islam Makhachev.
While the main event usually gets the most attention, the co main event is not far behind this time around. The flyweight title is on the line, and the fight for it will be one for ages. The legendary Valentina Shevchenko and the current flyweight reigning champ will take on the current strawweight champion Weili Zhang who is moving up a division in order to fight the legendary Bullet. We’ve had plenty of stories going around before this bout, and it’s better to hear some stories from the mouth of the champion itself. Here are some interesting bits from an exclusive stake.com interview with Shevchenko we found the most amusing.
The Answer to GOAT Debate
Both fans and pundits have been arguing for some time now, whether Shevchenko would become the female MMA GOAT if she records a win against her latest opponent, Zhang. For Valentina, this is not an answer she wants to give. The Bullet wants to fight, win, and let the fans decide whether she’s at the top of the female MMA mountain or not. The formula she lives by is to fight today, and be better that she was yesterday. As for the rest, the fans will know the answer.
The Preparation for The Title Bout
Valentina Shevchenko didn’t reach the heights she did without unparalleled work ethic. In her Stake interview the flyweight champion claims that she had an amazing training camp with a lot of sparring with different training partners. Her camp led across continents and she spent time in Thailand, Las Vegas, El Paso, and finally to New York. The Kyrgyz fighter believes that she has done enough power training, worked on her speed and agility, and gained a lot of experience that will aid her in the coming match. As far as her opponent is concerned, Valentina studied her to a deep extent, and is pretty sure that she is more than aware of all the holes in Weili Zhang’s game, and that all of the named holes will be exploited to a massive extent during the title bout.
The Goals Yet to be Achieved
There’s no arguing that Shevchenko has reached the pinnacle of her MMA craft. The number of titles won and defended speaks that story perfectly. Yet, for The Bullet, what’s done so far is not enough. Each time when you think you’ve reached the top, you discover that there’s still more road to go. For Shevchenko, the formula is easy, never stop. Another big thing awaits behind the next door and that’s the mindset with which she’s approaching her next bout.
The Highly Touted Amanda Nunes Fight
The fans of UFC have long set their mind on a duel between Shevchenko and Nunes. For Valentina, this is a fight she would gladly accept, but only if her opponent is entering it at 100% of her power. If Nunes, who is currently out of the commission, returns at 50% of her previous prowess, it is not a fight Shevchenko wants on her hands. It is fighting the best, or not fighting at all for The Bullet.
Kyrgyzstan at The White House Lawn
The much anticipated White House card is an event that UFC has almost finalized, and all fighters across all divisions are offering their services to Dana White and want to be a part of the once in a lifetime event. The question of participation and whether she is in for it or not was asked to Shevchenko. Of course, the Kyrgyzstani fighter said yes to the idea. At the moment, she wants to take on one fight at a time. If everything goes to plan against Zhang, she would be open to be a part of the UFC White House card. For now, UFC 322 is her main worry, and not even the White House event can take Valentina’s mind from the upcoming Madison Square Garden event.
Shevchenko vs. Mackenzie Dern?
Mackenzie Dern recently got back to octagon and has gotten her hands on the strawweight belt. She is once again on the rise, and the fans have already started thinking about a potential tie between Valentina and Mackenzie. For Shevchenko, Dern is an amazing grappler and fighter, but not yet fully deserving of consideration by her. The career behind Dern has been more than good, Valentina admits, and the most recent victory has been impressive as hell, but as far as challenging her goes, Mackenzie needs a few more defences and bigger victories under her belt, muses Shevchenko. After a few more notable fights, and wins, we can get back to considering me vs. Mackenzie Dern, concludes The Bullet.
The Kyrgyzstani fighter had plenty to say during her interview with Stake, but at no point did she get her mind off the upcoming fight against Zhang. UFC 322 sportsbook got her as a favorite with her odds being set at 1.74. As far as her opponent goes, Weili Zhang odds are set at 2.14. The bookmakers believe that we’re going to have an evened out title fight with the smallest of edges belonging to Valentina Shevchenko. We’ve heard plenty of thoughts from the mouth of The Bullet, so it’s the right time to share a few thoughts about her opponent.
Weili Zhang’s Road to UFC 322
You could argue that Weili Zhang has had an easy route toward the title bout at strawweight. She only had four UFC fights before getting her hands on the strawweight title. She won it against Jessica Andrade. The first sign of weakness was shown against Rose Namajunas where she lost the title. Zhang showed her never say die attitude when she regained her title in the fights against Carla Esparaza. What followed was a string of convincing performances where she defended her title over and over again against the likes of Amanda Lemon, Xiaonan Yan and Tatiana Suarez. When the feeling developed that she cleared her division, and that her only real challenge at the moment lies in Valentina Shevchenko, Zhang decided to move to flyweight and test her skills against one of the best to ever do it.
At the moment she has an 26-3 MMA record, with her score in the UFC standing at impressive 10 wins and two losses. Zhang is also a stoppage expert with a fairly good 40% stoppage rate, having won 2 of her duels via KO/TKO, and 2 more via submission. With everything said, while an underdog, Zhang has more than enough firepower to stand up to Valentina Shevchenko and give her a run for her money.
Valentina Shevchenko vs. Weili Zhang Predictions
Shevchenko rarely needs an introduction these days. She’s been at the top of MMA in the flyweight division for more than seven years. Since 2018 she has lost only one duel, and while it was a title fight, she came back stronger than ever after her loss to Alexa Grasso. Each time a new and talented fighter came through the ranks in the flyweight division, The Bullet was there to take their ambitions down and defend her title. This time around she will face an opponent that hasn’t fought in her division. Shevchenko is entering this bout as a slight favorite considering that she will fight at her weight, while Zhang has moved up a division. Yet, the Chinese fighter is an adept grappler, and both fans and pundits believe that she can pose a serious threat for Shevchenko.
As far as Zhang goes, she has been a dominant strawweight champion, with her only loss coming in the hands of Rose Namajunas. What she’s aiming at is being a two weight champion, which is not a thing we see every day in the female side of the UFC. It is expected that she will attempt to beat Shevchenko through frequent takedowns, and via superior grappling. Yet, Shevchenko has said that she is aware of the holes Weili has in her game, and that those will be exploited. We’re inclined to believe in the words of a fighter that has defended her title seven times. In our book, Valentina wins this one via unanimous decision.
It is a rare occasion that we talk more about the co main event, than about the main one, and in the next few lines we’re going to try and fix that. Della Maddalena vs. Makhachev deserves our attention too, and here’s what we have to say about the two fighters and their upcoming bout.
Jack Della Maddalena
Della Maddalena has had an interesting start at his professional MMA career. For a reigning champion it is hard to imagine that it all started with a two defeat skid. Since then, he has been on a historical run. Eighteen consecutive wins puts him at the top of the UFC pyramid. From the moment he joined UFC, he knew nothing about losing. It’s been eight fights and eight wins. Not only does Della Maddalena win but he does it in fashion. In his eight fights, five ended up in stoppages. Jack won the welterweight title last summer after he defeated Belal Muhammad via a unanimous decision. From the most notable fighters in the division he managed to take down the likes of Gilbert Burns and Kevin Holland. All in all, he has an impressive 63% stoppage rate which led to him getting 6 fight of the night bonuses.
Islam Makhachev
Islam and jack have one thing in common, both hate losing. After getting taken out by Adriano Martins in his second ever UFC fight, he went on an impressive streak of 15 consecutive wins. 5 of those have been title fights, and Makhachev won each of them. As far as his entire professional MMA career goes, Islam has a record of 27:1. Just like Della Maddalena he has an impressive 69% finish rate in the UFC winning 8 of his duels via submission, and 3 via KO/TKO. When it comes to title fights he won one by a unanimous decision, while his fights against the likes of Charles Oliveira, Alexander Volkanovski, Dustin Poirier and Renato Moicano were all stoppages.
Jack Della Maddalena vs. Islam Makhachev Predictions
The UFC welterweight division is Jack’s playground. His run through the division was nothing short of amazing. No losses and one of the highest finishing rates in the UFC are to be admired. The one thing to be taken against him is the fact that so far in his career he has fought only one top 10 ranked fighter. Yes, he was impressive against Belal, but you could argue that the two were stylistically mismatched. The question that many are asking is whether he can neutralize the wrestling abilities of Islam Makhachev.
The one thing to take against Islam in the upcoming bout, is the fact that he’s the one moving up the division. At lightweight, he was unstoppable. In his last nine fights, eight were stoppages. While moving up a weight division is taken against him, he was always massive by lightweight standards. Thus, the bookmakers are seeing him as a clear favourite based on the body of work of both actors in the Madison Square Garden show. The odds on Makhachev are set at 1.39 while Jack’s win pays with 3.10 odds. As far as our prediction goes, we’re going to aim at a surprise here, and say that we predict a Jack Della Maddalena win via KO/TKO. The odds on this outcome are set at 4.10 and we see them as worth a gamble. Tell us what you think.
