UFC welterweight champion Jack Della Maddalena doesn’t believe Islam Makhachev can stand with him.
Della Maddalena (18-2 MMA, 8-0 UFC) put on a striking masterclass when he dethroned Belal Muhammad (24-4 MMA, 15-4 UFC) to become welterweight champion in Saturday’s UFC 315 headliner at Bell Centre in Montreal.
His first title defense will come against Makhachev (27-1 MMA, 16-1 UFC), who vacated the lightweight title as he’s been eager to claim a second UFC belt. If Della Maddalena can keep the fight on the feet like he did against Muhammad, he likes his chances of finishing Makhachev.
“I’m sure people are just going to assume that Islam will just take me down and submit me pretty quickly,” Della Maddalena said on “The Ariel Helwani Show.” “He seems like a pretty big guy. I think he’ll be all right. … I think I can take him out.
“Belal really just changes stance a lot, walks forward, but I think if I can have someone that just stays in the same stance, I don’t think Islam’s a very good striker. I think I could land a lot of shots, and I think I could take him out. Stuff the takedowns, if I get taken down, I believe I can get back to my feet.”
Della Maddalena plans on seeking help from UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski, who pushed Makhachev to the brink in their first title fight at UFC 284.
“I’m going to spend a bit of time with Volk,” Della Maddalena said. “If I was going to fight Islam, yeah, I would have to. I did (train with Volkanovski) before my last two fights. Both times about a week, a week to 10 days, but it was real beneficial. They’ve got a great team. Volk’s obviously the man, and he’s a multiple-time world champion.”
Makhachev had a message for Della Maddalena after his fight on X: “You are not Volk I will show you different level. Keep my belt clean.”
