Overview
- Islam Makhachev dominated Jack Della Maddalena with relentless wrestling at Madison Square Garden, winning a unanimous decision with more than 19 minutes of top control to become a two-division UFC champion and tie Anderson Silva’s 16-fight win streak mark.
- Updated rankings place Makhachev back at pound-for-pound No. 1, with Michael Morales up to No. 3 and Carlos Prates to No. 5 at welterweight, while Leon Edwards slid and Kamaru Usman dropped to No. 8.
- Makhachev has stated a preference to face Usman next, but betting odds also list undefeated Shavkat Rakhmonov and Morales as leading options, and Saturday’s Belal Muhammad vs. Ian Machado Garry result in Qatar could shape the queue.
- A Bloody Elbow reader poll favored an Ilia Topuria superfight as the next bout for Makhachev, with Rakhmonov outpacing Usman among welterweight choices in the voting.
- Event fallout included a pre-fight crowd brawl that led to Dana White reportedly giving Dillon Danis a lifetime UFC ban, fresh warnings from Makhachev’s manager toward Topuria, and renewed debate over referee standups after Chael Sonnen criticized prolonged top control and Joe Rogan opposed standups entirely.