UFC 315 headliner Jack Della Maddalena’s path to the promotion featured a brutal faceplant KO as an Eternal MMA titleholder.
UFC welterweight contender Jack Della Maddalena will get the opportunity to cap off his remarkable run in the Octagon with a title this Saturday in Montreal. But years before his upcoming title shot, Maddalena burst onto the UFC’s radar with one of the wildest knockouts in Australian MMA history.
Maddalena faces UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad in the UFC 315 main event this upcoming weekend. It’s Muhammad’s first welterweight title defense after earning the belt by dethroning Leon Edwards at UFC 304 last July.
Maddalena drew the attention of the UFC brass by securing a sweet moment of revenge earlier in his career.
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Jack Della Maddalena secured DWCS opportunity with one punch
In Maddalena’s professional MMA debut in 2016, he suffered a brutal TKO loss to Aldin Bates at Eternal MMA 15. Things didn’t get much better for Maddalena in his second fight as he lost by first-round submission.
Luckily for Maddalena, he bounced back with an eight-fight winning streak across stints in Cage Warriors and EMMA. Four years after the loss to Bates, Maddalena got the chance at revenge at EMMA 53 in 2020.
It didn’t take long for Maddalena to come full circle and upend Bates in their rematch.
Just over a minute into the first round, Maddalena caught Bates with a blistering right hand that sent Bates faceplanting into the canvas. Bates was unconscious for a few minutes after the knockout blow as Maddalena celebrated the victory in Perth.
Watch Maddalena’s knockout win below.
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Jack Della Maddalena doesn’t rule out submitting Belal Muhammad at UFC 315
Maddalena appeared on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2021, defeating Ange Loosa by unanimous decision. He’s won seven of his UFC fights since his signing, including recent victories over Kevin Holland and Bassil Hafez.
While Maddalena is known for his ruthless boxing, he also possesses some impressive grappling, which he may use against Muhammad at UFC 315. In various pre-fight media ahead of UFC 315, Maddalena teased potentially submitting Muhammad to become the UFC welterweight champion.
Muhammad’s grappling was a major focus of his 11-fight winning streak, including wins over Edwards and Maddalena’s former rival Gilbert Burns. Muhammad teases showing off his ‘Canelo hands’ at UFC 315, leaving a potential opening for Maddalena to exploit.
Maddalena choked out a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu champion in recent training camp footage, fueling the fire of a potential submission at UFC 315. He hasn’t won by submission since choking out Randy Brown at UFC 284.