Della Maddalena has been nothing short of impressive during his time inside the Octagon. Sure, he is not the most exciting fighter, but he is far from boring, either. He dominated Belal Muhammad at UFC 315 to claim the 170-pound strap, pushing his win streak to 18 straight, which includes going perfect (8-0) under UFC’s banner. Now, “JDM” is in search of the biggest win of his career — even bigger than taking out Muhammad for the strap — in the form of Makhachev, a pound-for-pound great who is out to make history of his own in “The Big Apple.” Makhachev vacated his Lightweight title earlier this year to move up a weight class to chase history. In doing so, he left a big fight against Ilia Topuria on the table, the former Featherweight kingpin who moved up to 155 pounds (and won the strap). That said, Makhachev hasn’t ruled out moving back down to face “El Matador” to prove that he is the best Lightweight in the sport. Before that, however, he intends to win the 170-pound strap against a man who, like himself, has been nothing short of dominant. While this fight is not the “sexy” one fight fans have been clamoring for, it’s still a great matchup.

In men’s Featherweight action, Chepe Mariscal will put his eight-fight win streak on the line against Pat Sabatini. Mariscal is undefeated so far under UFC’s banner, winning all five of his fights, though he has only been able to get one via stoppage. That said, he is still as dangerous as they come and Sabatini — who is on a two-fight win streak — will have to be on his “A” game if he wants to end his run. Kicking off the card will be a Light Heavyweight fight between Eric McConico vs. Baisangur Susurkaev. McConico is coming off a tough split decision victory over Cody Brundage, his first win since losing to Nursulton Ruziboev via technical knockout earlier this year. As for Susurkaev, he is undefeated (10-0), which includes making a dazzling impression in his debut just three months ago, submitting Eric Nolan in round two at UFC 319 .

Indeed, the long-time veteran is currently riding a three-fight losing streak and hasn’t had his hand raised since Aug. 2024. He is in danger of suffering his first-ever four-fight skid when he goes up against Kyle Daukaus, who is currently on a five-fight win streak, which includes his win over Michel Pereira in what was his return to the promotion after a two-year absence. One of my personal favorite fights of the night is the Welterweight scrap between Sean Brady vs. Michael Morales. Brady has quietly worked his way up to the No. 2 spot on the heels of a three-fight win streak, going 8-1 overall inside the Octagon with his lone loss coming at the hands of Muhammad, a former division champion. He is likely one more win away from stamping his own ticket to a title fight, but he has to get through a surging contender who is out to make a splash of his own.