UFC 322 takeaways: Makhachev could end career as the GOAT

Islam Makhachev became the UFC's newest two-division champion Saturday night, dominating Jack Della Maddalena to capture the welterweight title in the UFC 322 main event in New York.

In the co-headliner, Valentina Shevchenko shut out Zhang Weili to retain the women's flyweight title.

Here are four takeaways from the pay-per-view event.

2nd title is huge for Makhachev's legacy

Dana White said after UFC 322 that Makhachev is heading toward "GOAT talk." It's hard to disagree with that.

Makhachev delivered arguably the most impressive performance of his career against Della Maddalena. It wasn't particularly thrilling, but it was as dominant as you can get. Makhachev used his wrestling to stymie the Australian's offense, amassing over 19 minutes of control time in the 25-minute fight. No one was stopping the new champion Saturday night.

It's easy to forget that Makhachev was the one moving up in weight, facing a bigger man in pursuit of a greater challenge, because it certainly didn't appear that way. Makhachev looked every bit as big as Della Maddalena, and he had no issue muscling him around the Octagon. In other words: welterweights, watch out. There's a new boogeyman in town. Makhachev said after the win that he plans to defend his new title "many, many times," and there's no reason to believe he won't.

Over the next few years, if Makhachev dominates at 170 pounds the way he did at 155 pounds, he'll be up there with the very best this sport has ever produced. He might just retire as the GOAT.

Weight classes matter

Sure, Makhachev made moving up a division look easy, but weight classes do matter sometimes. Such was the case in the co-main event, with Shevchenko mauling Zhang and denying her bid to become a two-division champion.

It became apparent early into the fight that the size difference would be too much for Zhang to overcome - and that this would not be an instant classic between two all-time greats like many expected. Zhang didn't have an answer for Shevchenko's length on the feet and physicality on the ground. The result? Five takedowns and over 13 minutes of control time.

That said, there's no shame in the loss if you're Zhang. She dared to be great and came up short - that's life. Hopefully, she goes back down and tries to reclaim the strawweight title, because Saturday night proved she can't hang with the flyweight division's best.

Morales is welterweight's most compelling contender

UFC 322 was a showcase - and a mini-tournament of sorts - for the welterweight division. Makhachev became the new king, while Michael Morales and Carlos Prates skyrocketed to title contention with statement wins over Sean Brady and Leon Edwards, respectively.

At 34 years old, Makhachev would be favored to beat anyone at 170 pounds - and, again, he could be the champion for quite a while. But who stood out the most beyond him, and who would give the Dagestani the biggest run for his money? I have to go with Morales.

The undefeated 26-year-old Ecuadorian looked like the future of the welterweight division Saturday night in his first-round drubbing of Brady. This was his first real test, and he passed it with flying colors. Standing 6-feet tall with a 79-inch reach, Morales is big for the division, and it shows. He chipped away at Brady, a wrestler, with punches early in the round, not allowing him to close the distance. Eventually, Morales connected with a combination hard enough to wobble Brady and force the referee to intervene.

Morales is a physical specimen, but more importantly, he has yet to show any weaknesses. Makhachev-Morales may or may not happen next, but it's the most intriguing welterweight title fight the UFC can put together right now.

Nickal is back

Bo Nickal needed a huge moment. And he got one.

Nickal, the highly touted middleweight prospect, stepped into the Octagon for the first time since suffering his first career loss and looked much improved. Nickal battered Rodolfo Vieira for the first 10 minutes of the UFC 322 featured prelim and then capped off the performance with a vicious head-kick knockout midway through the third round.

Nickal lost some hype when he came up short against Reinier de Ridder earlier this year, which, in hindsight, isn't totally fair considering De Ridder is one of the 10 best middleweights in the world. But I have a feeling that hype is almost all the way back now. Saturday's win was a reminder that Nickal is still young in this game and shouldn't be counted out just yet.