Islam Makhachev will challenge Jack Della Maddalena for the UFC welterweight championship on Saturday. The title fight will headline UFC 322 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. While Makhachev is the betting favorite heading into the weekend, many experts give Maddalena a legitimate chance to thwart the challenger.
Count Max Holloway as one of those experts, and he adopted his YouTube channel to share his prediction in favor of the champion (via MMA Junkie).
“Call me crazy, but I’m in this with Jack,” Holloway said. “I think the first two rounds are going to be super competitive and we’ll see how the fight goes. I think Jack’s takedown defense, his anti-wrestling is going to be huge. I think he’s going to defend some takedowns, he’s going to tire Islam.”
“I think the size he’s going to bring to Islam will be a bit too much. I know Islam probably trains with big guys – Khabib (Nurmagomedov) is a big guy, so he might be used to the weight. A lot of people keep saying Islam doesn’t get tired, but in fights you can see it. He just wasn’t as tired as the other guy next to him. I think Jack goes out there, anti-wrestling, Islam gets a little tired.”
Some questions have been raised about Makhachev’s ability to transfer his wrestling prowess to the welterweight division. If Makhachev cannot find consistency in his takedowns and control, he will have to deal with Maddalena’s highly regarded offense.
It’s the same problem Belal Muhammad found himself in when he lost the UFC welterweight gold to “JDM” in May. Maddalena stuffed takedowns and found success en route to a unanimous decision win.
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