Islam Makhachev wins 170-pound title, ties UFC record with 16th straight victory

NEW YORK (AP) — Islam Makhachev needed a unanimous decision to defeat Jack Della Maddalena to win the 170-pound championship and tie the UFC record of 16 straight victories to cap a pair of lackluster title fights on Saturday night at UFC 322 at Madison Square Garden.

Makhachev — never seriously tested in the lopsided bout — proved to be the better grappler and used repeated takedowns to neutralize Della Maddalena's offense and go on to win 50-45 on all three cards.

Makhachev (28-1) surrendered his lightweight title earlier this year after four straight title defenses so he could move up and go for gold in another weight class. He’s matched UFC Hall of Fame fighter Anderson Silva for the record of 16 straight wins.

Makhachev joined a short list in UFC history — the company just celebrated the Nov. 12, 1993, anniversary date of its first card — of male fighters who won championships in two weight classes. The others: Henry Cejudo, Daniel Cormier, Randy Couture, Georges St-Pierre, B.J. Penn, Conor McGregor, Jon Jones, Alex Pereira and Ilia Topuria.

"This is the dream. All my life I wanted two belts," Makhachev said. “The belt, so heavy and I like it.”

Della Maddalena — who ended an 18-fight career win streak, that featured 14 finishes — walked out of the cage without conducting the traditional post-fight interview and lost his first title defense since he beat Belal Muhammad via unanimous decision in May to wrest away the welterweight championship.

Valentina Shevchenko successfully defended her 125-pound championship via unanimous decision in a methodical five-round bout against Zhang Weili. In a matchup between who are widely considered the two best pound-for-pound fighters in the women’s division, the action never got going and both fighters spent more time clutching each other on the canvas than putting a serious scare into the other.

Zhang, a former two-time strawweight champion and the first Chinese champion in UFC history, vacated her 115-pound title last month so she could get her shot at Shevchenko. The fighters were booed between rounds, and the end of the fifth round was met with a muted reaction — a packed crowd that included acting U.S. Attorney Alina Habba and actor Ice-T — for a dud championship bout positioned as the co-main event.

Zhang (26-4) failed to join Amanda Nunes as the only UFC women to become champions in two weight classes. She also declined to say if she would return to 115 pounds.

The 37-year-old Shevchenko (26-4-1) won her 11th overall title fight once she swept the scorecards 50-45 against Zhang. She also became the first female UFC fighter to record 60 career takedowns — and the fight indeed ended with Zhang on her back.

The show went on without an appearance from President Donald Trump, a close friend of UFC CEO Dana White, who normally has a cageside seat for the tri-state area’s biggest events.

Trump was on Makhachev's mind moments after he won the championship fight. Makhachev said he wanted to make his first title defense next year when UFC is scheduled to hold a card at the White House.

“Donald Trump, let's go,” Makhachev said. “Open the White House. I'm coming.”

UFC fans at the Garden, though, did get a big fight well ahead of the main event when a massive brawl broke out near one of the tunnels used for fight entrances and spilled through the stands and near press row.

The stir — which involved MMA fighter Dillon Danis — had the crowd howling and caused a short delay to the start of the pay-per-view card as police and security tried to bust up the melee.

Fists continued to fly at a furious pace once UFC 322 truly got underway.

Beneil Dariush (in 16 seconds of the first round), Carlos Prates (at 1:28 of the second round), and Michael Morales (at 3:27 of the first round) each won with devastating knockouts to open the card.

“I am regretting not going to ufc at msg now,” New York Knicks star Jalen Brunson posted on social media.

Ethyn Ewing needed only two days’ notice — and short rest — to win his first fight for UFC.

Ewing won his UFC debut — just eight days after his last professional fight — via unanimous decision over Malcolm Wellmaker on an undercard bout Saturday night at UFC 322.

Ewing got the call on Thursday morning after Cody Haddon dropped out of the fight with an injury that he was needed in a pinch. One problem, Ewing missed that call — and many, many more trying to wake the MMA fighter.

He joked he slept through about 40 missed calls before finally getting around to answering the phone — and he answered the bell at the Garden, where former New York Knicks’ great Patrick Ewing’s No. 33 banner hangs in the rafters.

The 27-year-old Ewing won a Nov. 7 fight as part of the A1 Combat 32 promotion and has won nine straight MMA fights overall.

He wouldn’t mind sticking around the big time — and called out White to try and make it happen.

“I have to say, that was an amazing performance,” Ewing said inside the cage. “Mr. White?”

Ewing swept the scorecards in the 145-pound bout, 30-27, 29-28, 29-28.

AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports

Ethyn Ewing, right, punches Malcolm Wellmaker, left, during the third round of a featherweight bout at the UFC 322 mixed martial arts event, Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Alina Habba, center, watches the UFC 322 mixed martial arts event, Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Kyrgyzstan's Valentina Shevchenko, top, grapples with China's Zhang Weili during the fifth round of a women's flyweight title bout at a UFC 322 mixed martial arts event, Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

China's Zhang Weili, left, kicks Kyrgyzstan's Valentina Shevchenko, right, during the fourth round of a women's flyweight title bout at the UFC 322 mixed martial arts event, Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Kyrgyzstan's Valentina Shevchenko celebrates after defeating China's Zhang Weili during a women's flyweight title bout at a UFC 322 mixed martial arts event, Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Australia's Jack Della Maddalena grapples with Russia's Islam Makhachev during the first round of a welterweight title bout at the UFC 322 mixed martial arts event, Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Russia's Islam Makhachev, top, grapples with Australia's Jack Della Maddalena, bottom, during the third round of a welterweight title bout at the UFC 322 mixed martial arts event, Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Ethyn Ewing, right, punches Malcolm Wellmaker, left, during the third round of a featherweight bout at the UFC 322 mixed martial arts event, Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Ethyn Ewing, right, punches Malcolm Wellmaker, left, during the second round of a featherweight bout at the UFC 322 mixed martial arts event, Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

The death of a nearly blind refugee from Myanmar who was found on a Buffalo street in February — five days after Border Patrol agents left him at a doughnut shop — has been ruled a homicide, authorities said Wednesday.

The Erie County Medical Examiner's Office didn't reach any conclusions about responsibility for Nurul Amin Shah Alam's death, which the agency said was caused by complications of a perforated duodenal ulcer, precipitated by hypothermia and dehydration. Ruling a death a homicide means it resulted from another person's actions — or inaction — but doesn't necessarily mean that a crime was committed.

“This should not have happened,” Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz, a Democrat, said at a news conference Wednesday. Asked whether the Border Patrol was responsible for his death, he declined to comment and said any such determination would be up to law enforcement agencies.

State Attorney General Letitia James and Erie County District Attorney Mike Keane, both Democrats, noted Wednesday that their offices have been reviewing the case. Keane said in a statement that his office had requested Shah Alam's full autopsy report but “it would be inappropriate” to comment further.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection pointed Wednesday to its previous statement that Shah Alam “showed no signs of distress, mobility issues, or disabilities requiring special assistance” when agents dropped him off Feb. 19 at a Tim Hortons restaurant.

“This death had NOTHING to do” with Border Patrol, its parent agency, the Department of Homeland Security, said in a Feb. 27 social media post, decrying news coverage of the case as an effort “to demonize our law enforcement.”

Immigrant advocates called Wednesday for justice for Shah Alam, a member of the Muslim Rohingya ethnic minority. The group has faced discrimination and oppression in Buddhist-majority Myanmar.

Shah Alam sought safety in the U.S. and “instead, he was left to die in the street,” New York Immigration Coalition President Murad Awawdeh said, calling for a criminal investigation into the Border Patrol agents’ conduct: “Every single person who was involved must be held responsible.”

Gov. Kathy Hochul similarly called for accountability for everyone involved and said her aides spoke to the district attorney Wednesday afternoon. Hochul, a Democrat and Buffalo native, lambasted “the cruelty and inhumanity” of depositing a man who could barely see, or speak English, outside a then-closed restaurant.

Customs and Border Protection has said the restaurant was chosen as “a warm, safe location” near Shah Alam’s last known address.

Many details about the man's health and final days aren't publicly known, as his autopsy report is confidential under New York law.

But Erie County Health Commissioner Gale Burstein told reporters that Shah Alam developed what is commonly known as a stress ulcer, brought on in his case by dehydration and exposure to the cold. The ulcer breached his intestinal wall, creating what is generally a very painful medical emergency that needs rapid treatment, she said.

Shah Alam, 56, left Myanmar many years ago for Malaysia, where he worked in construction. He came to the U.S. as a refugee with his wife and two of his children in December 2024, according to advocates for the family.

Imran Fazal, who knows the family and founded a group called the Rohingya Empowerment Community, said Shah Alam's death left people grieving and fearful.

“This tragedy was entirely preventable, and it reflects a serious failure in the systems meant to protect vulnerable people," Fazal said Wednesday.

Shah Alam spent about a year in the Erie County jail on felony assault and other charges after a 2025 struggle with police who encountered him carrying what appeared to be curtain rods. Police said he bit two officers; advocates for his family said that he hadn't understood officers’ commands to drop the items.

He eventually pleaded guilty to two lesser, misdemeanor charges and was released from jail Feb. 19. Border Patrol then briefly detained him before determining that he wasn't eligible for deportation. His family, which had been awaiting his release from jail, wasn't informed of it.

Surveillance video, obtained by the Investigative Post, showed Shah Alam treading carefully through the Tim Hortons' empty parking lot in his county-issued jail booties, pulling his hood up against the cold and walking off into the night.

Shah Alam’s lawyer ultimately reported him missing to Buffalo police on Feb. 22.

On Feb. 24, he was found dead near the downtown sports arena where the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres play. It was unclear how he got there from the Tim Hortons, several miles away, and Burstein said Wednesday that it was impossible to determine exactly when he died.

FILE - This image from body camera video provided by the Buffalo Police Department shows Nurul Amin Shah Alam, center, led by Buffalo Police officers, Feb. 15, 2025, in Buffalo, N.Y. (Buffalo Police Department via AP, File)