Robert Whittaker is hoping for a shake-up of the welterweight division at UFC 299, as Jack Della Maddalena takes on Gilbert Burns, in his toughest test to date.
Della Maddalena is on an impressive six-fight winning streak since his emergence from the Contender Series back in 2021 but has only fought inside the welterweight rankings once.
That came in his last fight against the admired, Kevin Holland, in which Mike Bell was the opposing judge who deemed ‘The Trailblazer’ to have won the three-round fight.
Gilbert Burns has been a regular feature at the top of the welterweight division but due to his loss to Belal Muhammad in May last year, he finds himself defending his rank seven places down. To add insult to injury, Burns injured his shoulder in that fight which saw him sit out for the rest of 2023.
Robert Whittaker wants a welterweight shake-up
Former middleweight champion, Robert Whittaker, wants to see the 170lb division reinvigorated with a bit of young blood.
The New Zealander spoke about the matchup on the MMArcade podcast, admitting that he thinks Burns is a tough match-up for Della Maddalena because of his unique skill set.
“Let’s assume we get the best versions of both guys, I think Jack is going to have his mental tested. This is certainly the fight that determines whether Jack is up to scratch for the guys in the top 5.
“(Burns) A power puncher that closes the gap quickly that can also grapple like a devil. If we see the Burns that fought Khamzat or that fought Masvidal, I think Jack would have better success against the Burns that fought Masvidal.
“Burns explodes in really quickly with heavy hands which usually proceeds a takedown of some sort and on the ground, Burns would have to be the best MMA grappler at the moment.”
Whittaker thinks it’d be great to see Della Maddalena shake up the top five of the division and would likely see a welterweight title shot follow shortly after.
“I’d like to see him get the win just because this puts him in the top five, Australian dude getting into the top five like yeah it’s phenomenal. And it’ll make a statement for the entire division, we’ll be seeing a title shot shortly following that.”
Jack Della Maddalena takes on Gilbert Burns on the main card of UFC 299, this Saturday in Miami.