The Fight #61 LNT

Relive the chaos from Madison Square Garden as Islam Makhachev outworks Jack Della Maddalena over five brutal rounds to leave with gold, Valentina Shevchenko turns back the challenge of Zhang Weili in a clinic of composure, and rising monsters like Michael Morales and Carlos Prates announce themselves with violent stoppages on the sport’s biggest stage. In this episode we break down every momentum swing, scorecard, and controversy from UFC 322, talk about what is next for the new welterweight king, ask where Jack goes from here, and debate whether this card quietly shifted the entire landscape at 170 and 125.

Chapters

• 0:00 Opening, Card Setup, Energy Check
• 0:13 Bo Nickel’s Evolution And KO
• 0:54 Short-Notice Upset And Size Reality
• 1:37 BSD Banger And BMF Callout
• 2:24 Leon’s Ego vs Plan, Carlos’ Ceiling
• 3:38 Old Guard Out, Risk Management
• 4:18 Co-Main: Valentina Schools Weili
• 5:03 Main: Islam’s Control And Two-Weight Crown
• 7:32 Grind Message And Closing

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:00

Tap in then. It's Layna Le. The fight, episode 61. UFC 322. Let's get it. Come on now. Islam versus Jack Della. We're going to get into the main card. We gotta start off with Bo Nickel. Shout out to Bo Nickel, man. Getting that KO in three rounds of action. He is more than wrestling. He is getting a lot better. That loss taught him a lot. You could tell he's approaching, striking totally different. You can tell he's applying his wrestling in an MMA style, not just wrestling, but MMA style wrestling. He is dominant, aggressive, and doing exactly what we wanted him to do and show the middleweight division better. Pay attention. RDR was right. He's lucky to catch him now because Bo's just going to get better. He has top-of-the-line training and a pedigree that can't be matched in there. Now, besides Bo, we have to talk about Wellmaker getting beat by the guy who had 48 hours to win. I mean, to even show up. But the guy was bigger. The guy is a champion. He is legit. I Googled the fuck out of him after he won. Shout out to him. Shout out to Wellmaker. He still took a fight in 48 hours' notice. Not the result you wanted, but the guy was bigger. It is what it is. And he was more skilled. Let's just be frank. He was bigger and more skilled, and you're young-ish because he is 31. But you can't stop what you can't stop. Shout out to the undercard, shout out to the prelims. Just as good as the main card, at least to me. Now we start the main card with a banger. Done in one BSD. KO, man. Punches. In bunches. The ref. Thank you. Get him off of him. That should be illegal. Listen, BSD's not fucking playing around. He wants the BMF belt. He wants to fight Max. I like that fight. I like that fight. I like all the fights that uh people are proposing for Max Holiday right now. I like him in his position as his B at the as the BMF. But let's get into the next card. Because listen, it's been action. It was all action until the co-main in main event, which is weird. But that's what happens when you go to the highest of levels, right? To the highest of skills. The deficits are the deficits. Now we have Carlos Pratas versus Leon Edwards. Listen, Leon looked like he was about to just work Carlos and out wrestle him and keep the fight on the ground and win a boring fight, but he got engaged. There's two paths you can go. You can go for the fans or you can go for a fight plan. You can go for your ego or you can go for the plan. The plan should so listen. The plan should be over the ego always. The goal is to win. Leon got emotional. Leon got knocked out. First time in his UC career. I'm pretty sure that's his third loss. I think it's time to hang him up. He's taking a lot of damage versus he's taking a lot of damage mentally and psychologically. He needs to take a break. Far as Carlos Protest, man, he's gonna be good with any striker, but if you get him a grappler, he's fucked. So I don't think he's gonna go that far or be a champion. But he's an entertaining fighter. Entertaining fighter. And listen, this is all about picking and choosing when to take these fights, man. These guys are dangerous. UFC is getting all the old dogs out of there. Sean Brady just got put out in round one. Michael Morales got it done in one. These kids aren't playing. They got power. And if you want to mix it up, if you can't get out of range, you're going to sleep. Sean Brady was on a win streak. Sean Brady was next in line for the title. Sean Brady has to pick up the pieces. He could have left that fight for somebody else. He said yes. He said he wasn't a bitch. And listen, he has a warrior spirit, but sometimes you got to get in front of that. Somebody around you should make that last decision. Like, I don't think fighters make the best decisions for themselves. We've seen it with Chris Eubank Jr. Look at that weight cut. Look how it affected him. We've seen it with Rod Tang. He's in the hospital because of a weight cut. You gotta understand the business, the body, and the momentum of the people you're fighting. You have to pick your spots, man. This is a business, and nobody cares that Sean Brady, you know, all the work he put in over these years are erased because of one moment, one decision. Shout out to Michael Morales. Great fight, great contender in the wealth of weight division. I wouldn't mind Michael Morales versus Kyle's Protest. Let's keep it fun. Let's just keep it striking. Let's, you know, guns are blazing. I would love to see that fight. Now, when we get to the Komain, Way Lee versus Valentina, this is the criminal of the crime, the best of the best. Skills pay the bills. If you have a skill gap, you might as well take a lap. Way Lee was on the mat. Okay? No, you have dangerous striking. We're not gonna strike. That's what Valentina said and did for five rounds. And he out, she outstruck her as well. Total defeat, 5-0 across the board. Whale Lee cannot survive that weight class. At least not somebody at that weight class with Valentina's skill set. It's impossible. Shout out to Valentina, one of the best female fighters ever of all time. Dismisses Way Lee, rejects her, puts her back in her weight class. Maybe the straw weight division gets shaken back up and Walee goes back down. Now, Wayley went up and lost, Islam went up and won. Same result. High-level fighters, high-level fighters fight where they want to be. They fight where they won at. And if you can't stop that, it is not their fault. Now, was the main card the best? The co-main in the main. They dominated their opponents with their skill set, but it wasn't the best for a casual fan. Even I, I like it, but man, it was tough. Because I feel like he could be doing a lot more damage. And we have to change just the lying down, just the laying prey. And I don't even think it was that. Like JDM was good enough to keep himself alive on the ground. So maybe it's just that. Like, he's just that good that even though you're alive, you can't do shit. And that's what JDM could. He couldn't do shit. He couldn't get any offense off. He got his legs chewed up. He got dominated in the grappling. I'm thinking it was like maybe 15 minutes of control time. It's just too much, man. And with a math like that, you're never gonna win a fight against Islam or anybody from the Dagestani camp. Shout out to Islam. He's a two-weight champion. I know DC's happy. I know Kabib's happy. I know the whole team's happy. Shout out to them. Shout out to hard work and effort beats everything. That's it. Get to work. Nothing else works but work. Episode 61 of the Fights happened in it's Layna Le.