Jack Della Maddalena lost his professional debut in horrifying fashion.
On Saturday night, at UFC 315, the Australian will attempt to relieve Belal Muhammad of the welterweight title, in front of a raucous crowd at the Bell Center in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
While an underdog going into the contest, many are picking the MMA star to pull off the upset, especially after Maddalena choked out a Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion during training camp.
Should the 28-year-old win at the weekend, then he’ll have completed an incredible story, going from a 0-2 fighter to a UFC world champion.
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Jack Della Maddalena lost in brutal fashion before his time in the UFC
On March 12, 2016, Jack Della Maddalena made his professional debut against Aldin Bates at Eternal MMA 15.
Alas, while he had a bright future ahead, his first walk to the cage couldn’t have gone worse, with his opponent detonating brutal shots via ground and pound that forced the referee to jump in.
Just over a year later, Maddalena made his comeback, taking on Darcy Vendy at Eternal MMA 17.
Sadly, his second professional outing didn’t go much better, with the mixed martial artist succumbing to a first-round rear-naked choke.
The footage of these fights has just resurfaced on the UFC 315 Countdown show, in which Maddalena gave his stance on the heartbreaking results.
The Aussie explained: “Starting my career, I pretty much just took the toughest fights that I could, which handed me two professional losses in my first two fights.”
Luckily, in a testament to his warrior spirit, the Perth athlete has bounced back in a big way, winning 17 consecutive contests to earn his shot at the biggest prize in the sport.
Jack Della Maddalena earned DWCS shot with one-punch faceplant knockout
Following his early adversity, Maddalena scored nine back-to-back stoppage victories before he secured a massive opportunity on Dana White’s Contender Series.
On September 14, 2021, ‘JDM’ set foot inside the cage with Ange Loosa, in the biggest contest of his career at that point.
Knowing he needed a big performance, the sportsman went out there with the intent of producing something special.
In an epic moment, Maddalena knocked his opponent out cold with a terrifying shot.