UFC 322 prelim fight card picks & predictions for Della Maddalena vs. Makhachev

Check out predictions for every prelim fight at UFC 322.

Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The UFC heads to New York City’s iconic Madison Square Garden this Saturday (November 15) for UFC 322, and MMA KO’s Drew Beaupré is here to provide predictions for all 9 of the card’s prelim fights.

The main event for UFC 322 will see former UFC Lightweight Champion Islam Makhachev attempt to claim gold in a new weight class when he challenges Jack Della Maddalena, who won the promotion’s welterweight title from Belal Muhammad in May at UFC 315.

A UFC title will also be on the line in the night’s co-main event, as Weili Zhang is moving up after vacating her strawweight title to challenge UFC Women’s Flyweight Champion Valentina Shevchenko. Shevchenko kicked off her second title reign with a win over Manon Fiorot on the same night that Della Maddalena defeated Muhammad.

UFC 322 Preliminary Card Predictions

Bo Nickal vs. Rodolfo Vieira

Reinier de Ridder (red gloves) fights Bo Nickal (blue gloves) during UFC Fight Night at Wells Fargo Arena. | Reese Strickland-Imagn Images

The big question heading into Nickal’s last fight with Reinier de Ridder was how things would play out on the ground, but de Ridder ended up getting things done on the feet. Coming off his first loss, Nickal should be able to avoid getting into any prolonged grappling exchanges with Vieira and return to the win column.

(Pick: Nickal)

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Roman Kopylov vs. Gregory Rodrigues

Cesar Almeida (red gloves) fights Roman Kopylov (blue gloves) during UFC 302 at Prudential Center. | Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

A clear pre-event candidate for “Fight of the Night” honors, I’m going to slightly lean with Kopylov to get things done here as long as Rodrigues doesn’t surprise fans and decide that he’d rather bring things to the canvas to utilize his significant grappling advantage.

(Pick: Kopylov)

Erin Blanchfield vs. Tracy Cortez

Erin Blanchfield (red gloves) defeats Rose Namajunas (blue gloves) in a women's flyweight bout during UFC Fight Night at Rogers Place. | Perry Nelson-Imagn Images

A rematch nearly six years in the making could decide who faces the winner of Shevchenko vs. Zhang after UFC 322, and I have to side with Blanchfield to get her hand raised and avenge the split decision loss she suffered against Cortez during their time with Invicta FC.

(Pick: Blanchfield)

Malcolm Wellmaker vs. Ethyn Ewing

Malcom Wellmaker (red gloves) reacts after defeating Kris Moutinho (blue gloves) during UFC Fight Night at State Farm Arena. | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Coming into this fight with some considerable momentum after starting his UFC career with back-to-back knockouts, Wellmaker should be able to extend his unbeaten record against a debuting fighter that's coming in on extremely short notice.

(Pick: Wellmaker)

UFC 322 Early Preliminary Card Predictions

Kyle Daukaus vs. Gerald Meerschaert

Andre Petroski (red gloves) fights Gerald Meerschaert (blue gloves) during UFC 292 at TD Garden. | Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images

Daukaus stunned fans when he knocked out Michel Pereira in his return to the UFC last year, but as long as things make it to the mat then I think Meerschaert has a better chance of winning this fight than the current betting odds indicate.

(Pick: Meerschaert)

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Pat Sabatini vs. Chepe Mariscal

Chepe Mariscal (blue gloves) reacts during his fight with Jack Jenkins (not pictured) during UFC 293 at Qudos Bank Arena. | Jasmin Frank-Imagn Images

In one of the underrated fights scheduled for UFC 322, I’ll give a slight edge to Mariscal to keep himself safe during any grappling exchanges and add another victory his already-lengthy winning run.

(Pick: Mariscal)

Angela Hill vs. Fatima Kline

Fatima Kline celebrates after defeating Melissa Martinez during a UFC Fight Night strawweight fight at Bridgestone Arena. | Mark Zaleski / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Fans have seen Hill beat the odds in veteran vs. prospect matchups like this before, but Kline already has the makings of a future title challenger and will move closer towards that goal if she can add a major name to her record at UFC 322.

(Pick: Kline)

Baisangur Susurkaev vs. Eric McConico

Baisangur Susurkaev (red gloves) fights Eric Nolan (blue gloves) during UFC 319 at United Center. | Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

Much as it’s tempting to pick an upset here given how much hype Susurkaev has accumulated after just one UFC fight, a matchup with McConico looks designed for “Hunter” to put on another impressive performance before moving on to more significant challenges farther down the line.

(Pick: Susurkaev)

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Viacheslav Borshchev vs. Matheus Camilo

Matheus Camilo during his UFC debut against Gabe Green. | (Louis Grasse/PxImages)

This lightweight clash should serve as a solid curtain jerker for UFC 322, and I’ll pick Camilo to rebound from a loss in his UFC debut and potentially bounce Borshchev from the UFC by handing “Slava Claus” what would be a third-straight loss.

(Pick: Camilo)

MMA KO will be providing comprehensive coverage for UFC 322 all throughout fight week, and be sure to check back on our homepage tomorrow for main card predictions as well as live results and highlights on fight night.

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