Outside Source
Makhachev moved up a weight class and challenged Maddalena for the welterweight title at UFC 322 on Saturday at Madison Square Garden in New York. Makhachev dominated Maddalena (18-3) through 25 minutes, establishing a ground control time of 19 minutes, to earn a unanimous decision win.
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Meanwhile, Topuria (17-0) had originally been chasing Makhachev (28-1) when he was the lightweight champ. “El Matador” won the vacant title against Charles Oliveira after Makhachev moved up to 170 pounds. Topuria has since teased a move up to welterweight to challenge Makhachev. O’Malley believes Topuria will pose a bigger threat to Makhachev than Maddalena did. “Suga” considers Makhachev and Topuria two of the rarest fighters with perfectly well-rounded skillsets. However, O’Malley believes Makhachev’s size advantage could be a deciding factor in a potential matchup against Topuria.
The Most Skillful Fight of All Time?
“Ilia matches that skillset. And I feel it’ll be a lot closer of a fight than Jack vs. Islam was… That would be the most skillful fight of all time.” O’Malley said on YouTube. “It would be honestly hard to beat. I don’t see who Islam doesn’t do this to in that division… They’re both 10/10 in MMA. Couple of people in MMA have that skillset that can strike, wrestle, jiu-jitsu. Both those guys have this… In that sense, maybe size does come in.”
Sean O’Malley says Islam vs Ilia could be the most skillful fight in MMA history 🔥👑
“It will be a lot closer of a fight than Islam vs Jack was. Islam vs Ilia would be the biggest, most skillful fight of all time. They’re both 10/10 in MMA. There are a couple of people in MMA… pic.twitter.com/rGUghAcooX
— Red Corner MMA (@RedCorner_MMA) November 16, 2025
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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