3 biggest storylines ahead of UFC 322

UFC 322 is upon us.

In Saturday's main event, former lightweight champion Islam Makhachev makes the move to welterweight to challenge Jack Della Maddalena for a second title. And in the co-headliner, women's flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko squares off with former strawweight queen Zhang Weili in a long-awaited superfight.

Here are three key storylines ahead of the UFC's return to Madison Square Garden in New York.

Makhachev chasing history

Makhachev is already one of the greatest lightweights - and fighters, period - of this generation. But on Saturday, he has an opportunity to solidify his position among MMA's all-time greats.

With a victory over Della Maddalena, Makhachev would become the 11th two-division champion in UFC history (or 12th if Zhang wins) and just the second to do so as a lightweight and welterweight after BJ Penn.

Perhaps even more notably, Makhachev can tie Anderson Silva's long-standing record for the longest winning streak in UFC history (16). Makhachev is currently tied for second with former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman with 15 consecutive wins. Silva, a former middleweight champ, has held the record since 2012.

Many of the sport's legends - from Jon Jones and Demetrious Johnson to Georges St-Pierre and Khabib Nurmagomedov - have tried to tie Silva's record, but all have failed. If Makhachev does what nobody else has been able to, it would leave no doubt he's one of the greatest fighters we've seen - perhaps even greater than Nurmagomedov, his mentor and coach.

Shevchenko-Zhang is a legacy fight for both women

In MMA, there are superfights and then there are superfights. Shevchenko-Zhang is the latter.

Two of the greatest and most dominant women's fighters in UFC history, Shevchenko and Zhang will seek the defining moment of their careers when they square off in Saturday's co-main event.

Shevchenko has been virtually unstoppable in two reigns as the women's flyweight champion, defending the title eight times. She's only lost once at this weight - to Alexa Grasso in 2023 - and went on to avenge that defeat a year later.

Zhang has also established herself as a dominant champion. She regained the strawweight title in 2022 and defended it three times before finally deciding to move up to challenge Shevchenko.

While Shevchenko-Zhang may not have the same kind of box-office draw, this matchup is on par with the 2018 bout between Amanda Nunes and Cris Cyborg and any other superfight we've seen in the sport.

A showcase for the welterweight division

Della Maddalena-Makhachev isn't the only marquee welterweight bout set for UFC 322.

In addition to Saturday's main event, Sean Brady faces Michael Morales in a potential No. 1 contender bout, and former welterweight champion Leon Edwards returns against Carlos Prates. (This isn't to mention that one week later at UFC Qatar, former champ Belal Muhammad will look to get back on track against Ian Machado Garry.)

There's a bit of a logjam at the top of the division right now (at least two or three fighters arguably deserve title shots), but we'll have a lot more clarity after UFC 322 is over. Welterweight is one of the deepest, most intriguing divisions in the sport, and it will be on full display at Madison Square Garden.