Islam Makhachev 's quest to become a two-division champion was fulfilled Saturday night when he smothered Jack Della Maddalena for five rounds to capture the welterweight championship with a unanimous decision win during UFC 322 at New York's Madison Square Garden.

All three judges scored the fight 50-45 for Makhachev.

Makhachev (28-1) tied Anderson Silva 's UFC record with his 16th consecutive win, adding to a remarkable decade-long unbeaten run by racking up 19 minutes, 10 seconds of control time against Della Maddalena.

"This is the dream," Makhachev said. "All my life I've fought for this. I worked hard for this moment."

It was a suffocating performance by Makhachev, who mixed in calf kicks and head strikes with his vaunted grappling to stifle Della Maddalena, who entered the

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