Islam Makhachev defeats Jack Della Maddalena by Decision - Unanimous
Della Maddalena vs Makhachev — Welterweight Title · UFC 322
What happened
The result, the defining moments, and what the verdict means.
Makhachev and Della Maddalena contested the welterweight title over five rounds at UFC 322.
The fight reached the judges rather than ending inside the distance.
The official result awarded Makhachev the unanimous decision and the championship.
- Official UFC scorecardsUFC 322: Della Maddalena vs Makhachev — Official Scorecards
Watch
The full fight.
More videos · 2 clips
Signature moments
Signature moments
Analysts
No verified pre-fight analyst picks are logged for this historical bout.
Track record rows appear only when a timestamped source has been reviewed.
Archive Pre-fight material — kept for transparency.
- 18-2-0
- Record
- 27-1-0
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- Recent formRecent formWin–loss record over the fighter’s last five bouts, newest first, as carried in their UFC/FightMetric career stats.
- 8-0 last 8
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- Age
- 34
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- Height
- 1.78 m
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- Reach
- 179 cm
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- StanceStanceWhich side a fighter leads from — a striking term, not a religious one. Orthodox: right-handed, left foot and hand forward (the common default). Southpaw: the mirror image, right side forward (usually a left-hander). Switch: changes between the two during a fight.
- Southpaw
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- Finish rateFinish %Finish rateThe share of a fighter’s wins that ended inside the distance — by KO/TKO or submission — rather than going to the judges’ scorecards. Higher means more finishes.
- 67%
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- Wins by KO/TKOKO/TKO wins
- 5
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- Wins by submissionSub wins
- 13
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- Sig. strikes landed / minStrikes / minSignificant strikes landed per minuteAverage number of significant strikes a fighter lands for every minute of fight time — a read on striking output and pace. From UFC/FightMetric career stats.
- 2.63
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- Sig. strikes absorbed / minAbsorbed / minSignificant strikes absorbed per minuteAverage number of significant strikes a fighter takes for every minute of fight time. Lower is better — it means they get hit less often. From UFC/FightMetric career stats.
- 1.55
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- Striking defenseStrike def.Striking defenseThe percentage of opponents’ significant strikes that do not land — strikes slipped, blocked or evaded. Higher is better. Not the same as striking accuracy, which counts your own strikes that land. From UFC/FightMetric.
- 61%
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- Takedown defenseTD def.Takedown defenseThe percentage of opponents’ takedown attempts that are stuffed. Higher means harder to put on the mat. From UFC/FightMetric.
- 91%
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- Avg. fight timeAvg. timeAverage fight timeThe mean length of the fighter’s bouts (minutes:seconds) — a rough read on whether they tend to finish early or go the distance. From UFC/FightMetric.
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- Welterweight
- Weight classWeight
- Lightweight (moving up)
- Australia
- Nationality
- Russia
Career stats per UFC.com; recent form is each fighter's last five bouts. Numbers reflect records coming into fight night. Bars compare each stat on a fixed scale; the “Edge” marker flags the leading corner where the gap is meaningful. The snapshot plots five career rates — output, striking defense, durability (strikes absorbed, inverted), takedown defense and finish rate — each normalised on its own scale.
Pre-fight analysis — how we saw it going in
Case for Della Maddalena
Della Maddalena needed to keep the title fight in open space, use his boxing and stance switches to punish entries, and force Makhachev to pay for every level change. His best rounds would come from making the champion strike instead of allowing prolonged fence control.
Case for Makhachev
Makhachev's route was to make the size and weight-class move work through pressure rather than a firefight. Repeated takedowns, mat returns and top control could remove Della Maddalena's range and turn the champion's positional game into a five-round advantage.
What We Were Watching For
- Della Maddalena's first response to Makhachev's level changes.
- Whether Makhachev could keep the challenger grounded after the first escape.
- How Della Maddalena's striking held up after repeated grappling exchanges.
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