Jack Della Maddalena’s first defense of the UFC welterweight title was a disaster as the titleholder lost to Islam Makhachev by a lopsided unanimous decision at UFC 322. Maddalena failed to quell Makhachev’s relentless wrestling but faded as the fight progressed and failed to significantly damage the former lightweight champion.
Leading up to UFC 322, Maddalena’s longtime wrestling coach Craig Jones had repeatedly dismissed Makhachev’s combat sambo style. He promised to prepare Maddalena to expose Makhachev’s style en route to a dominant performance, which was not reflected in the Octagon.
In light of Jones’ comments, Russian heavyweight legend Fedor Emelianenko believes it’s time for the brash coach to admit he was wrong about combat sambo.
Fedor Emelianenko calls on Craig Jones to apologize after UFC 322
In a recent interview with Red Corner MMAEmelianenko responded to coach Craig Jones’ criticism of combat sambo in light of UFC 322.
“Of course (we can say it was a victory for combat sambo),” Emelianenko said.
“Islam has a sambo background and he makes it famous. He said it himself in interviews, it was a good lesson from him so that they wouldn’t say bad things about sambo. Sambo turned out to be one of the best bases for MMA.”
“I think everything just fell into place (Craig Jones). I don’t even know what to say. He should probably give a sincere apology since his words haven’t been confirmed.” (h/t Bloody elbow)
Jones shared a brief conversation with Khabib Nurmagomedov and Makhachev in the Octagon at UFC 322 that went viral on social media. Makhachev called on Jones and Maddalena to learn how to wrestle in the Dagestani style.
In the meantime, Makhachev and Nurmagomedov will go head to head after UFC 322 and have proven that combat sambo remains a foundational piece to elite MMA.
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