UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski was fired up for Jack Della Maddalena after UFC 315.
Jack Della Maddalena initiated a new UFC welterweight era by stunningly defeating Belal Muhammad at UFC 315. Weeks before, Alexander Volkanovski reclaimed the UFC featherweight title and kept a keen eye on his fellow countryman’s showing in the UFC 315 headliner.
Maddalena added to an 18-fight winning streak with a unanimous decision win over Muhammad to claim the UFC welterweight title on Saturday night in Montreal. The Dana White’s Contender Series alum added another championship to the list of the show’s past winners, joining the ranks of Sean O’Malley and Jamahal Hill.
As Maddalena delivered the performance of his life at UFC 315, Volkanovski was on the edge of his seat watching the action transpire.
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Maddalena utilized his elite boxing and solid takedown defense to frustrate Muhammad from start to finish. But Muhammad showcased impressive grit and toughness, overcoming a mid-fight lip injury to go the full distance and put Maddalena in some late-round trouble.
Tonight belonged to Maddalena, who dethroned the UFC welterweight champion after a lengthy hiatus stemming from a win over Gilbert Burns at UFC 299. He remains unbeaten in his UFC tenure and added to a great year for Australian UFC fighters.
Volkanovski won the then-vacant featherweight belt by outpointing Diego Lopes last month at UFC 314. He returned to the throne after getting knocked out by Ilia Topuria at UFC 298, ending one of the greatest reigns in UFC featherweight history.
But after Volkanovski’s remarkable title comeback and Maddalena’s life-changing championship win, two of Australia’s best athletes sit atop Mixed Martial Arts. Volkanovski understood the magnitude of the moment, as he showed his live reaction to Maddalena’s performance in a recent Instagram post.
Volkanovski and Maddalena could share a UFC pay-per-view later this year for the promotion’s anticipated return to Australia. After hosting UFC 312 in Sydney, the promotion could return to Perth by year’s end, coincidentally Maddalena’s hometown.
In the meantime, Maddalena has another big challenge on the horizon as he mentally and physically prepares for his first welterweight title defense.
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Alexander Volkanovski’s two-time rival is Jack Della Maddalena’s likely first title defense
UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev is expected to move up to welterweight, as he all but announced in a post-fight tweet after UFC 315. But as Makhachev alluded to on Friday, he won’t vacate the UFC lightweight title, opening the door to a potential interim lightweight title bout at UFC 317.
Makhachev didn’t take long to react to Maddalena’s performance, telling the newly-crowned welterweight champ to ‘keep the belt warm’ as he prepares to challenge for the title. Makhachev wants to earn an accomplishment that UFC Hall of Famer Khabib Nurmagomedov didn’t: becoming a two-division UFC champion.
Makhachev most recently defended the UFC lightweight title at UFC 311 against Renato Moicano by first-round stoppage. The UFC’s pound-for-pound king hasn’t lost since 2015, the lone defeat of his professional MMA career.
A Muhammad win at UFC 315 would’ve likely postponed Makhachev’s welterweight endeavor, as the two are close friends and teammates. Nurmagomedov also said his ‘heart didn’t feel right’ in Muhammad and Makhachev fighting one another leading up to UFC 315.
Now that Maddalena holds the UFC welterweight title, Makhachev’s move to 170 lbs is all but confirmed, as is a likely interim lightweight title booking between Topuria and another top contender.