Overview
- Makhachev won a unanimous 50-45 decision at Madison Square Garden, piling up lengthy top control and damaging calf kicks that left Della Maddalena compromised late.
- Valentina Shevchenko retained the women’s flyweight belt with a shutout decision over Zhang Weili, controlling the striking exchanges and the ground game across five rounds.
- Welterweight contention tightened as Carlos Prates knocked out former champion Leon Edwards and Michael Morales stopped No. 2-ranked Sean Brady in emphatic fashion.
- Benoit Saint Denis scored a 16-second knockout of Beneil Dariush and Bo Nickal delivered a head-kick finish of Rodolfo Vieira, with all four finishers earning $50,000 performance bonuses.
- Attention now turns to Makhachev’s first defense, with discussion focusing on Shavkat Rakhmonov, Kamaru Usman, and the upcoming Belal Muhammad–Ian Machado Garry winner, as a crowd brawl involving Dillon Danis briefly delayed the PPV start.