Jack Della Maddalena has been warned that he will be choked out within a matter of minutes by Islam Makhachev when the pair finally meet.
The Australian defeated Belal Muhammad back in May to set up a showdown with former lightweight champion Makhachev, which is expected to take place later this year. The Russian is moving up to pursue a second belt after vacating his belt following a record-breaking run of defenses at 155lb.
And despite Makhachev’s admittance that getting up in weight is proving more difficult than he initially planned, his teammates are still confident in his ability to win a second belt.
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Islam Makhachev backed to choke out Jack Della Maddalena
Gadzhi Rabadanov, the 2024 PFL Season winner and 2025 World Tournament finalist has been in the gym with Islam Makhachev, and knows just what he is capable of in his new division. He has watched his teammate train with fighters of all sizes, and expects a quick finish when he goes for welterweight gold.
“I think Islam will choke Jack Della Maddalena,” Rabadanov told Bloody Elbow in an exclusive chat ahead of his own title fight with Alfie Davis on August 15 in the PFL lightweight World Tournament. “Islam will wrestle him and choke him, I think. Maybe in the second or third round.
“Stylistically, for Islam and Belal this is a different fight. To me it looked like the mistake for Belal was that he was trying to prove something too much standing up and exchanging. He wanted to prove it too much and that derailed his fight, I think.”
Islam Makhachev’s weight gain issues won’t deter him says Rabadanov
On the famed mats of the Nurmagomedov gym, fighters tend to spar with whoever is available, with weight classes for the most part tossed aside. As a result, Rabadanov is one of the few who has seen just how Makhachev handles himself with bigger fighters in sparring.
And while he has been finding it tough to tack on size, he is still getting stronger according to his teammate. “Maybe he has become a little bit bigger than before, I don’t know,” Rabadanov continued.
“Maybe he’s working a little bit more on lifting, power, I don’t know what condition he will come in for the fight. But now he is the same guy, he’s not big and after a couple of months I still don’t really know what’s going to happen.”