UFC CEO Dana White has confirmed that welterweight champion Jack Della Maddalena will defend his belt against former lightweight king Islam Makhachev in the main event of UFC 322 on 15 November at Madison Square Garden. Makhachev vacated his 155-pound title after four successful defences to pursue a second championship, while Australia’s Della Maddalena is seeking his first title defence since beating Belal Muhammad in May. The co-main event will feature two-division champion Valentina Shevchenko putting her women’s flyweight title on the line against Zhang Weili, who relinquished the strawweight crown to move up a weight class. The New York card also includes a welterweight bout between former champion Leon Edwards and rising Brazilian contender Carlos Prates. Ahead of the New York event, UFC 321 on 25 October in Abu Dhabi will stage a rematch for the vacant women’s strawweight belt between Brazil’s Virna Jandiroba and American grappling specialist Mackenzie Dern.