NEW YORK — Islam Makhachev showed up to fight week with a black right eye, a tough-looking weight cut, and his usual dominance.
On the heels of what he called “the toughest camp” of his life in preparation to move up to welterweight, the 34-year-old Dagestani claimed the crown of a second weight class, defeating Jack Della Maddalena via unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 50-45) to win the welterweight title. He became the 11th fighter to win UFC championships in multiple divisions, and tied Anderson Silva’s record with 16 consecutive wins.
The Australian Della Maddalena offered Makhachev the greatest size disadvantage of Makhachev’s career, but the extra inch didn’t make an ounce of difference in the cage.
Each round largely followed the same blueprint: Two minutes of forward pressure from Makhachev on the feet, a desperation strike from Della Maddalena and then a cage-rattling slam that left the champion staring up at the Madison Square Garden jumbotron until the horn sounded.
Those stand-up exchanges were where Della Maddalena was supposed to threaten Makhachev’s dominance. But instead, whoever gave Makhachev the black eye in training camp found more success on the feet than Della Maddalena ever did. In the third round, Makhachev nearly connected on the same hook-head kick combo he used to knockout Della Maddalena’s mentor, Alexander Volkanovski, in 2023. The kick just missed, but the sentiment delivered — Makhachev’s game is only evolving, and the rest of the sport has no answer.
The decision victory is just the second time this decade a Makhachev fight didn’t end in a knockout or tapout. And unless a newfound contender at welterweight, or any weight, solves the Makhachev mystery, the Dagestani’s reign appears to know no end.
“This is the dream,” he said to close the night, with championship belts wrapped around each shoulder.
“All my opponents know this, and nobody can stop it,” he said, before walking off the elevated octagon and grabbing a bottle of water from a table of reporters on his way out.
