The announcement by CEO Dana White of a UFC 322 card with Islam Makhachev and Jack Della Maddalena, the No. 2 and No. 9 men's pound-for-pound top ranked fighters, respectively, was all the conversation on the UFC front last week.

Welterweight Championship Fight White also said that Valentina Shevchenko vs. Weili Zhang would be the co-main event on the loaded UFC 322 program, which will take place at Madison Square Garden on November 15. Zhang, the strawweight champion, is challenging Shevchenko in flyweight.

At UFC 322, Leon Edwards, ranked fourth, will face Carlos Prates, rated ninth, in a welterweight match.

The previous lightweight champion Makhachev is vying for a second championship.  On May 10 at UFC 315, Della Maddalena defeated Belal Muhammad by unanimous decision to win the UFC welterweight title.

Tom Aspinall's return

But according to a trader with BetVictor, Tom Aspinall vs. No. 1-ranked Ciryl Gane for the heavyweight division title belt, which is slated for UFC 321 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi on October 25, has the wider bettor appeal.

Aspinall, who holds a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, won the title in November 2023 at UFC 295 after defeating Sergei Pavlovich by devastating right-hand punch in the opening round.

“UFC 322 is a good card, well, the makings of a good card,” said Mark Collier. “If we directly compare to UFC 321 in October, then we anticipate larger numbers for the Abu Dhabi card, particularly with the headline being the long overdue return of homegrown star and champion, Tom Aspinall (Aspinall is from Manchester). 

“This does not disregard UFC 322, Maddalena is certainly worthy of competing with Islam Makhachev and you have to think that Shevchenko and Weili is genuinely too hard to call. Also, to be considered, Leon Edwards features on the main card so “Rocky” should draw more interest for our pool of customers.”

Too Difficult to Call

However, Collier stated that they anticipate a stronger draw for the Aspinall fight in October, with the Abu Dhabi card beginning at 3 p.m. British Summer Time. This means that a greater proportion of their patrons will watch at a more convenient time.

“What indirectly will aid the UFC 322 card in New York is the fact that on the same night, we have the boxing rematch of Chris Eubank Jr vs. Conor Benn here in the UK,” he said. “We are firm believers in combat sports of both disciplines correlating in terms of betting so depending on the outcome of the boxing, there is nothing to suggest that turnover may increase dramatically from the conclusion of the boxing and into UFC 322.”