UFC 322 fight grades: Shevchenko, Makhachev were good but boring

UFC 322 was loaded with compelling fights and two title bouts, featuring pound-for-pound greats looking to add to their historic legacies.

Islam Makhachev and Valentina Shevchenko turned in main and co-main event performances that were almost too good — as their outings lacked any sort of drama. But the UFC 322 main card served up a trio of devastating knockout finishes, too, from Benoît Saint Denis, Carlos Prates and Michael Morales. Bo Nickal and Erin Blanchfield also showcased why they are pegged as future title contenders.

Was that enough to meet the hype that preceded the UFC’s return to Madison Square Garden?

Here’s an assessment of the quality of each fight and the fight card itself based on skill displayed, competitiveness and what is at stake.

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Lightweight: Beneil Dariush vs. Benoit Saint Denis

Result: Saint Denis defeats Dariush by first-round KO
Grade: A

You didn’t have to wait long for this highlight-reel knockout. As a matter of fact, if you blinked when the fight started, you probably missed it. Saint Denis needed one punch and 16 seconds to faceplant Dariush in a stunner. Dariush landed a calf kick, and Saint Denis quickly went to grab him. Both fighters let their hands go, but Saint Denis landed a left hand behind the ear that put Dariush down and out. That two-fight losing streak that Saint Denis was on in 2024 is a distant memory. The God of War is back.

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Welterweight: Leon Edwards vs. Carlos Prates

Result: Prates defeats Edwards by second-round KO
Grade: A

Prates wanted to strike with Edwards. «Rocky» wanted to grapple, maybe because he knew what was coming. After a first round in which Edwards used his wrestling to ground Prates, the Brazilian started talking to the former champion in an effort to keep the fight standing. Edwards obliged in the second round and was met with a scathing straight left hand that took him off his feet. Edwards was out before he hit the ground. Prates became the first fighter to knock Edwards out in his 15-year MMA career — an impressive reminder that Prates is one of the top-5 most exciting fighters to watch in the UFC.

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Welterweight: Sean Brady vs. Michael Morales

Result: Morales defeats Brady by first-round TKO
Grade: A

As good as Brady has been as of late, Morales made mincemeat out of him with a violent first-round finish. Morales used his size to make it difficult for Brady to close the distance, then proceeded to tear him apart once he was in striking range. Brady was rocked early by a combination, and Morales could smell blood in the water. The Ecuadorian stalked his prey, unloaded a series of punches with bad intentions that sank Brady, and secured another finish for the undefeated 26-year-old. Unlike Brady’s 2022 knockout loss to Belal Muhammad, this was a one-sided throttling that will put Morales on the short list for title contention.

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Middleweight: Kyle Daukaus vs. Gerald Meerschaert

Result: Daukaus defeats Meerschaert by submission
Grade: B+

Daukaus added insult to injury in an absolutely dominant outing by clobbering Meerschaert, then submitting the submission specialist, all in under a minute. It’s hard to believe that Daukaus is the same guy who was cut from the UFC in 2022. But since his return, he’s turned in finishes in the first minute of both of his fights. It was impressive how badly Daukaus clubbed and subbed a veteran.

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Featherweight: Malcolm Wellmaker vs. Ethyn Ewing

Result: Ewing defeats Wellmaker by unanimous decision
Grade: B

Ewing was excellent in his upset of Wellmaker in an entertaining scrap. Many expected yet another highlight-reel finish from Wellmaker, but Ewing had superb technique, using movement, range control, combination punching, and grappling to prevent his hard-hitting opponent from landing one of his vaunted check hooks. This was a great fight, made even more impressive by the fact that Ewing accepted the fight on 48 hours notice and delivered an excellent performance in his debut that will certainly lead to more opportunities inside the Octagon.

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Women’s flyweight: Erin Blanchfield vs. Tracy Cortez

Result: Blanchfield defeats Cortez by submission
Grade: B

For the first five minutes, Blanchfield experimented with her striking against Cortez, looked a bit out of sorts and went to her bread and butter — her brilliant ground game. It allowed her to avenge the first loss of her career to Cortez back in 2019, and it served as a reminder why she’s championship material. The finish was exceptional, with Blanchfield not quite having Cortez’s back but muscling her way around and eliciting the tap.

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Middleweight: Bo Nickal vs. Rodolfo Vieira

Result: Nickal defeats Vieira by third-round KO
Grade: B

For two-and-a-half rounds, Nickal was ahead, comfortably using his solid but not necessarily spectacular striking. Then, out of nowhere, Nickal woke everyone up with a brutal head kick that knocked Vieira out cold. Like the Baisangar Susurkaev fight earlier in the night, it may be a grind to get to, but the ending is certainly worth a rewatch.

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Women’s flyweight championship: Valentina Shevchenko vs. Zhang Weili

Result: Shevchenko defeats Zhang by unanimous decision
Grade: C+

This was a masterclass from Shevchenko, who utilized her size, distance control, body work and grappling to squash any momentum that Zhang attempted to gain. Unfortunately, masterclasses don’t necessarily make for exciting fights. Zhang was too small for the supremely skilled Shevchenko and spent long stretches of the fight trapped on the canvas. When the fight was standing, Shevchenko picked Zhang apart with punches and kicks. As great as Zhang is, there are weight classes for a reason, and this was a perfect example of that. It lacked excitement, but if you want to witness greatness at work, watch how Shevchenko completely nullifies a fellow all-time great.

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Welterweight championship: Jack Della Maddalena vs. Islam Makhachev

Result: Makhachev defeats Della Maddalena by unanimous decision
Grade: C+

Makhachev’s dominant win over Della Maddalena was eerily similar to Shevchenko’s victory against Zhang with it being a grapple-heavy masterclass that completely muted the opponent. The only difference was that Makhachev was the smaller fighter who came up in weight to take the title while Shevchenko defended her domain. And just like Shevchenko’s win, it was Makhachev’s greatness at work in a one-sided domination. There’s no reason to go out of your way to see this if you are seeking an exhilarating championship fight. But it was a history-making performance by the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world.

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Middleweight: Roman Kopylov vs. Gregory Rodrigues

Result: Rodrigues defeats Kopylov by unanimous decision
Grade: C

This was a fight in which you just knew someone was getting knocked out, considering the finishing proficiency both Kopylov and Rodrigues possess. Instead, it was a lumbering striking battle as «Robocop» stalked Kopylov, clubbing him around the Octagon to pick up his fifth win in his past six fights. We didn’t get the knockout we desired, and that’s OK. But it wasn’t the firefight that thrilled, either.

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Middleweight: Baisangur Susurkaev vs. Eric McConico

Result: Susurkaev defeats McConico by TKO3
Grade: C

Susurkaev was clearly the more skilled fighter, but he fought so casually and relaxed that one might think this was more competitive than the betting line suggested. After long stretches of clinchwork on the fence with occasional spurts of striking, Susurkaev had enough and put an end to McConico with a beautiful short right hand. The punch sent McConico crashing face-first to the canvas and gave Susurkaev an emphatic win. Unfortunately, it was a bit of a slog to get there.

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Women’s strawweight: Angela Hill vs. Fatima Kline

Result: Kline defeats Hill by unanimous decision
Grade: C

This was Kline’s most complete performance against a seasoned veteran in Hill. Kline was diverse in her offensive approach, mixing in takedowns with striking. Hill rarely gets dominated in the standup, but she couldn’t pick up on Kline’s speed. There were a few highlights, including Hill somehow absorbing a brutal head kick at the end of the fight. But this was all about Kline and could serve as a warning shot to a strawweight division that is now wide open with Zhang’s departure to flyweight.

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Featherweight: Pat Sabatini vs. Chepe Mariscal

Result: Sabatini defeats Mariscal by unanimous decision
Grade: C-

Don’t try to judge the winner by the amount of blood spilled by Sabatini. Instead, check out his impressive ground game, for which Mariscal had no answer. It wasn’t dazzling or impressive enough to suggest repeat viewings, but it was a sound demonstration from Sabatini, who could find his way into the featherweight rankings soon.

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Lightweight: Viacheslav Borshchev vs. Matheus Camilo

Result: Camilo defeats Borshchev by unanimous decision
Grade: D+

A workmanlike performance from Camilo relied heavily on takedowns — and Borshchev’s lack of takedown defense — to pick up the win. There’s nothing extraordinarily great or downright offensive to say about the fight. It happened, and Camilo got his first UFC win.

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UFC 321 grade: B

The main card was anchored by three electrifying finishes that carried high marks. Unfortunately, the championship fights were terribly one-sided dominations from surefire Hall of Famers that held back what was shaping up to be one of the best main cards in UFC history. As a whole, UFC 322 delivered — despite some sluggish preliminary fights and main and co-main events that lacked drama. Still, the UFC’s return to New York was one of the better events of the year.