Islam Makhachev and The Winners, Losers, and Results From UFC 322

If you didn’t believe it already, you should now: Makhachev is not just one of the best fighters in the world today, he’s one of the best who’s ever done it.

The Dagestani grappling ace beat Della Maddalena in Saturday’s main event to both reach a short list of fighters to win UFC titles at two weights and an even shorter list of winners of 16 straight fights, moving from 155 pounds to become the undisputed king at 170.

All three judges scored a shutout, 50-45, for the winner.

“This is the dream,” he said. “All my life for these two belts.”

Makhachev, who relinquished his lightweight title after four successful defenses, claimed belt No. 2 with his 16th consecutive UFC victory, tying the promotion’s all-time mark set by Anderson Silva at middleweight and light heavyweight from 2006 to 2012.

Now 34 years old, Makhachev debuted in the UFC with a win in 2015 before a TKO loss to Adriano Martins on the UFC 192 undercard later that year in Houston.

He’s not lost since, claiming seven submissions, three KOs, and six decisions before the shot at Della Maddalena—during which he landed 123 strikes to Della Maddalena’s 31, took the now-ex-champ down four times in four tries, and ran up more than 19 minutes of positional control time in a 25-minute fight.

“There’s levels to this game,” analyst Joe Rogan said, “and Islam Makhachev’s level is very, very high. We’re looking at one of the all-time greats.”