Maddalena put the UFC Welterweight Championship on the line against Islam Makhachev at ‘The Mecca’ Madison Square Garden in ‘The Big Apple’. Maddalena never really got going, and he was wiped out on the scorecards thanks to Makhachev’s elite wrestling. Although Maddalena was able to thwart submission attempts, he was controlled throughout the fight.
During the UFC 322 post-show on ESPN, Chael Sonnen said he feels like “JDM” is not being executed to his standards (via MMAfighting).
“I feel like Jack underperformed. We were 10 minutes into that fight…Jack hasn’t thrown a punch yet,” Sonnen said during ESPN’s UFC 322 post-fight show. “Twenty minutes into this fight he had thrown a total of 31 punches. Of those 31, only 20 landed and most of them were to the body. I waited for Jack to get going. It was the same position, rinse and repeat.”
Anthony Smith agreed with Sonnen, thinking Maddalena would have more success if he got back on his feet.
“I was disappointed with Jack’s performance and his ability to get to his feet… Jack didn’t do enough to force Islam to work even harder. He was very happy with holding this position. He chased down a few submissions. He didn’t have to work too hard for it though,” Smith said on the post-fight show. “Jack never really got on his feet. He’s only successful when he hits in combinations, when he switches bars in the middle of the combination, when he goes to the body. He did absolutely none of that…Jack didn’t force him to have to shift into second gear – so why would you?”
The UFC 322 commentary team pointed out that Maddalena appeared to be in some pain during the fight. While Joe Rogan wondered if it was due to Makhachev’s leg kicks, others theorized that another potential injury could be at play. Regardless, Makhachev’s achievements cannot be denied.
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