New York, NY – “One of the best fighters ever in the UFC, so I’m looking forward to testing myself against him.” Here’s how Jack Della Maddalena sees his UFC 322 main event title fight with Islam Makhachev this Saturday.
Since becoming welterweight champion at UFC 315 in Montreal earlier this year, not much has changed for Australian JDM. In his eyes, it’s just a matter of ‘moving on to the next big challenge’.
That big challenge has arrived for Makhachev, who gave up his lightweight title earlier this year to pursue a second title. Maddalena called it a “legacy fight” during Wednesday’s UFC 322 media day with Cageside Press on hand. He also noted that with Makhachev, expect the ground game to come into play.
“When you play five rounds with Islam you have to expect to hit the ground at least at some point. He’s been tested, he’s been against some of the best guys so expect him to hit the ground, but that’s what he can do with that,” Maddalena said. “Obviously it’s a perfect world, keep him away, he can’t touch the ground, but we expect a full mixed martial arts battle.”
When Makhachev announced his move to welterweight, he infamously claimed he didn’t see any tough fights for him in the division. Asked for a response, JDM kept it respectful. “We’ll see. I have the skills. I think anyone can give people tough fights. I think if he doesn’t expect a tough fight, he’s going to have a rude awakening.”
Jack Della Maddalena may have been overlooked ahead of his title fight against Belal Muhammad in Montreal. The same isn’t happening in the build-up to the New York card, with many fans and fellow fighters choosing the Australian to gain the upper hand over Islam Makhachev. Either way, it’s been a bit of a roller coaster, from being an underdog to having a large portion of the fanbase believe in him. At least not much has changed for him other than internally.
“I still feel like I’m the underdog, I still have that underdog mentality. I feel like I have everything to prove, so not much has changed. I enjoy the underdog role,” he told Cageside Press.
For what it’s worth, Tapology has JDM as a moderate underdog in battle. Maddalena may be on to something.
Watch the full UFC 322 media day appearance with Jack Della Maddalena above.
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