Jack Della Maddalena proved he’s got heart as well as skills during his last UFC fight.
The 17-2 contender will take on welterweight champion Belal Muhammad at UFC 315 on Saturday night.
Jack Della Maddalena‘s title opportunity comes after an impressive 7-0 run in the UFC Octagon.
The 28-year-old proved he was the real deal by knocking out a former title challenger to pass the toughest test of his career in March 2024.
Jack Della Maddalena his broke arm and still won
Della Maddalena picked up the biggest win of his 19-fight career against Burns at UFC 299.
The 28-year-old was down on the judge’s scorecards heading into the third and final round.
Implored to fight with urgency, ‘JDM’ delivered a big knee to drop Burns before following him to the floor and landing nasty ground strikes to close the show with just 77 seconds left on the clock.
Post-fight, Della Maddalena revealed he had suffered a gruesome broken arm in the first round against Burns.
A picture of his X-ray, which showed his arm totally out of place, subsequently went viral on social media.
After a grim infection and multiple surgeries, Della Maddalena will finally return to action this weekend.
Gilbert Burns offers UFC 315 prediction
Gilbert Burns is better placed than most to predict the UFC 315 main event.
10 months before facing Della Maddalena, ‘Durinho’ dropped to a decision defeat against Muhammad.
Burns originally fancied Muhammad to win at UFC 315, but now he thinks we could get an upset.
“Jack is so underrated. Jack is so good,” he told Inside Fighting.
“I remember doing that fight, it was very hard to find the distance in the striking. He’s good. He hits very hard, has good boxing combinations, good footwork. He fights exactly the same in both stances.
“I broke his arm in the first round with a body kick and he kept fighting through the whole fight. I got his back, couldn’t do much. I took him down, couldn’t do much. I did a lot of good things but he had an answer for almost everything that I did.
“It’s kind of 50/50 this fight… I’m leaning a little bit towards Jack Della Maddalena in the end.”