Islam Makhachev describes the moment he knew Jack Della Maddalena was in trouble: “Then I understood that he would stay there for a long time”

Islam Makhachev recently shared his thoughts on Jack Della Maddalena’s disappointing performance against him. JDM’ lost his welterweight title to Makhachev at UFC 322.

The fight was a one-sided affair and the 34-year-old made it look easy by securing a total control time of over 19 minutes.

Della Maddalena’s range and superior striking power were neutralized, and so was the Australian downed for the first time in the second minute of the first frame. The following rounds followed a similar pattern, and while Della Maddalena did enough to avoid being subdued by the Russian fighter, he offered no offensive threat.

Islam Makhachev reflects on his wrestling dominance over Jack Della Maddalena

Islam Makhachev reflected on his wrestling dominance over Jack Della Maddalena in a recent interview with Match TV, explaining that keeping ‘JDM’ grounded was simple.

According to Makhachev, Della Maddalena relied on the same reversal attempt every time he tried to get back to his feet, making it easy for the P4P king to anticipate and close it out, having already prepared for that exact counter, as ‘JDM’ had done the same when he dethroned Makhachev’s friend and training partner Belal Muhammad at UFC 315.

Islam Makhachev said:

“For me, he fought Belal, who is also a strong wrestler. Belal took him down, and Maddalena was good at getting up from a takedown. But he always got up with the same move, the same reversal. When I took him down and saw him try that same reversal on me, I was already prepared for it and I defended him. Then I realized he had nothing but that move. I said to myself, ‘That’s it? You haven’t learned anything.’ otherwise you don’t have any other skills to get back on your feet?’ Then I understood that he would stay there for a long time.”

Watch Islam Makhachev’s response below:

Makhachev is expected to return to the octagon after Ramadan 2026 for the first defense of his welterweight championship. Potential opponents include Carlos Prates, Michael Morales, Ian Machado Garry and Kamaru Usman.