Overview

• UFC 322 on November 15 at Madison Square Garden will stage Jack Della Maddalena’s first welterweight title defense against former lightweight champion Islam Makhachev.
• Makhachev vacated his 155-pound belt earlier this year to seek welterweight gold and a potential two-division legacy.
• Early betting has Makhachev roughly -265 against Della Maddalena at about +225, a spread Daniel Cormier and Michael Bisping criticized as too wide given the champion’s size, form and recent takedown defense.
• Della Maddalena’s team added Craig Jones to sharpen grappling and anti-wrestling work, with Gilbert Burns noting Jones’ prior role in crafting defenses used by Alexander Volkanovski against Makhachev.
• Coach Ben Vickers outlined a game plan focused on stopping early shots, suggested Makhachev’s chin could be tested, and anticipated strong wrestling urgings from Khabib Nurmagomedov if he corners the challenger.