Jack Della Maddalena, Islam Makhachev, and their teams are already trading barbs after UFC 315.
UFC welterweight champion Jack Della Maddalena and lightweight titleholder Islam Makhachev are igniting a budding rivalry just hours after Maddalena’s title win at UFC 315.
Maddalena shocked the UFC world by defeating Belal Muhammad by unanimous decision in the UFC 315 headliner on Saturday in Montreal. In a ‘Fight of the Year’ candidate from start to finish, Maddalena and Muhammad treated fans to a wild firefight, but it was Maddalena who landed the bigger blows as the action played out.
Maddalena capped off an unbeaten run in the UFC Octagon with a welterweight championship win at UFC 315. Just minutes after his title win, Maddalena quickly turned his attention towards his likely next rival.
Coach Craig Jones calls sambo and Dagestan wrestling ‘fake’ in Islam Makhachev troll job
Makhachev all but confirmed a move up to challenge for the UFC welterweight title after watching Maddalena’s victory. Makhachev didn’t waste time trading barbs with the newly-crowned titleholder, after Maddalena promised to ‘get revenge’ for Alexander Volkanovski.
A major presence in Maddalena’s fight camp for UFC 315 was decorated Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu coach Craig Jones. Thanks in part to Jones’s advising, Maddalena was able to stuff most of Muhammad’s takedown attempts and make it a one-dimensional fight on the feet.
Jones is known to push the envelope and etch himself into pre-fight trash talk. As Maddalena prepares to face Makhachev, potentially later this year, Jones didn’t hold back in mocking Maddalena’s likely first title challenger.
In a recent Instagram post, Jones trolled Makhachev and Dagestani wrestling as the Maddalena super fight talks ramp up.
“The one thing every Russian man fears,” Jones posted.
“Sambo is literally just 2 judo guys that decided to take their pants off to wrestle. Which I respect.
“Sambo and wrestling once again proved to be fake, [Islam Makhachev].”
As of this writing, Makhachev hasn’t responded to Jones’s taunts. Makhachev most recently defeated Renato Moicano at UFC 311 to retain the UFC lightweight belt, a title he’s held since UFC 280.
With Maddalena and Volkanovski both hoisting UFC titles for Australia, the UFC could potentially book both champions for the promotion’s next trip down under. Maddalena, a Perth native, wants to face Makhachev in his hometown for his first title defense.
Another potential option is the UFC’s pay-per-view return to Abu Dhabi in October. Makhachev doesn’t plan on vacating the lightweight belt as he aims for a ‘new contender’ to emerge from the pack.
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Belal Muhammad issued first public remarks after stunning loss at UFC 315
In his first post-fight comments, Muhammad took to X to assure his supporters he plans to ‘be back’ in the Octagon soon. Muhammad won the UFC welterweight title by defeating Leon Edwards at UFC 304 last July.
After losing the belt at UFC 315, many prominent names questioned Muhammad for his approach to Maddalena inside the Octagon. UFC middleweight star Robert Whittaker was one of several top fighters who questioned Muhammad’s lack of grappling against Maddalena.
Muhammad’s loss snapped an 11-fight unbeaten streak in his first defeat since Jan. 2019. He defeated the likes of Gilbert Burns, Stephen Thompson, and Demian Maia amidst his climb to the UFC welterweight title.
Muhammad will likely have to win at least one fight before getting another title shot, making a potential rematch with Sean Brady intriguing for later this year. In the meantime, Maddalena is looking ahead to meeting the UFC’s pound-for-pound king in his first title defense.
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