Overview
- The Nov. 15 card features Jack Della Maddalena vs. Islam Makhachev for the welterweight title and Valentina Shevchenko vs. Zhang Weili for the flyweight belt at Madison Square Garden.
- Broadcast details: main card on ESPN+ pay-per-view at 10 p.m. ET, prelims on ESPNews, FX and Disney+ at 8 p.m. ET, with Jon Anik, Daniel Cormier and Joe Rogan on commentary.
- After vacating lightweight following four defenses, Makhachev enters as the betting favorite to become a two-division champion.
- Della Maddalena embraces underdog status and says he aims to “put [Makhachev] back in his place” by proving he is a lightweight rather than a true welterweight.
- Coach Javier Mendez calls this Makhachev’s best camp as the challenger outlines three training phases in Russia, Dubai and New Jersey, and his Knicks cameo drew a teasing response from Khabib.