Athletes
The Ultra-Competitive Welterweight Title Picture Enters The Spotlight
The Welterweight Division Comes Into The Spotlight As Various Contenders Attempt To Distinguish Themselves From The Talented Crowd
Although the general mixed martial arts fanbase gravitates toward the lightweight division when it comes to the most intriguing title pictures—and fairly so— the crowd around the welterweight throne which Belal Muhammad currently occupies is increasingly fascinating.
With the belt going up for grabs on May 10, it’s prime time for the division’s title hopefuls to jockey and position themselves for a shot at whoever walks away with the strap in Montreal.
In what was a sort of prequel to this massive stretch in the weight class, Sean Brady stepped in on short notice, traveled to London and dismantled former champion Leon Edwards to the tune of a fourth-round submission win on March 22. The result was a major shake-up at the top and confirmation that Philadelphia’s Brady is every bit the contender he was tabbed to be when he made his debut in October 2019. It also was a backbreaking moment for Edwards, whose hopes of regaining his title hit a major speed bump.
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Returning to the present, fast-rising welterweights Ian Machado Garry and Carlos Prates lock horns for a main event in Kansas City. The winner could find themselves a win or two away from their own title shot, but it’s also a pretty big risk for Machado Garry, who was most recently seen in a short notice, five-round assignment against the undefeated Shavkat Rakhmonov. The marauding Kazakh representative handed Machado Garry his first professional loss, presumably setting up a date with Muhammad, but an injury delayed that shot for the time being.
For Machado Garry, despite his bright moments in the fight, he is now tasked with bouncing back from defeat for the first time. The 27-year-old overflows with confidence, which is part of the reason why he raised his hand to face the red-hot Prates, who opened his UFC account in 2024 with four knockout wins to burst into the division’s rankings. Another highly talented and entertaining member of Brazil’s Fighting Nerds, Prates was originally scheduled to face Geoff Neal at UFC 314, but when Neal suffered an injury, the door opened for his second career main event. Prates aced his first five-round test, dismantling Neil Magny inside a round to pick up his fourth Octagon victory as well as his fourth consecutive performance bonus.
Two weeks later, the Octagon heads to the home of the greatest welterweight of all-time, Georges St-Pierre, as Muhammad aims for his first title defense against Australia’s Jack Della Maddalena on May 10. The Montreal main event came as a small surprise following the in-Octagon faceoff between Muhammad and Rakhmonov last year, but Perth’s knockout artist is every bit deserving of the opportunity. After earning his contract on Dana White’s Contender Series, Della Maddalena racked up four first-round finishes in 13 months to skyrocket into the rankings. After a pair of split decision wins, he broke into the title picture in earnest with a knockout win over Gilbert Burns in March 2024.
Della Maddalena will attempt what no man has done since January 2019: beat Belal Muhammad. Chicago’s Muhammad took the long, arduous and hard road to UFC gold, stringing together a 10-fight unbeaten streak before getting his shot at the title. Then, he traveled to Manchester, bested Edwards and ascended to the division’s throne, one he intends on keeping for a long time starting with his fight in Montreal.
A week later, Brazil’s Burns attempts to reassert himself in the division’s elite as he welcomes the steadily-rising youngster Michael Morales to his first main event. The 25-year-old Ecuadorian broke into the promotion via Dana White’s Contender Series in September 2021 and has impressed in his first five trips to the Octagon. He picked up a quintet of wins, including three finishes, most recently finishing Neil Magny in the first round in August 2024. He faces another veteran and his toughest test yet in Burns, a former title challenger eager to halt his three-fight losing skid.
Order UFC 315: Muhammad vs Della Maddalena
About a month after those two collide in the UFC APEX, the division’s dark horse faces a former defining figure at 170 pounds as Joaquin Buckley takes his six-fight winning streak into Atlanta to face former champion Kamaru Usman on June 14. The headlining bout is Usman’s first since he stepped up on short notice to face Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 294 in October 2023. “The Nigerian Nightmare,” who defended the title five times in 16 months from July 2020 to November 2021, is on a three-fight skid himself. At 37 years old, Usman is keen on halting his slide and reasserting his position in the weight class.
Meanwhile, the 30-year-old Buckley is making himself undeniable. After moving down from middleweight in December 2022, “New Mansa” has been a new man, picking up six wins in 19 months, including four wins in 2024. Buckley’s two most recent wins came in impressive fashion as he knocked out Stephen Thompson at UFC 307 before forcing a doctor’s stoppage against Colby Covington in their main event in December 2024.
In mid-June, the welterweight title picture could look completely different, and that’s what is so exciting about the next seven weeks or so. Each man in the picture has a fair argument for their own crack at the title, but what matters first is getting their hand raised in their respective fights and, preferably for them, doing so in impressive fashion to distinguish themselves. That’s a tall task each person is more than up to, and the only job for everyone else is to watch and enjoy.