Jack Della Maddalena’s first welterweight title defense is now official and it’s one of the biggest fights of the year.
Since he won the title in May, it has been clear that his first challenger would come from the weight class below.
Islam Makhachev vacated his lightweight belt shortly after UFC 315 to try and conquer a second division to further cement his status as the best in the world.
The matchup has been one of the worst-kept secrets in MMA this year, with numerous signs pointing to this matchup taking place at Madison Square Garden in November.
Shortly after Dana White made the bout official, the defending champion’s coach gave his thoughts on how it will play out.
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Jack Della Maddalena’s coach doesn’t think Islam Makhachev will be able to take the damage that Belal Muhammad did
Jack Della Maddalena’s performance against Belal Muhammad at UFC 315 surprised a lot of people.
While he still might be the underdog against Islam Makhachev, this win alone certainly made the conversation surrounding UFC 322 a lot more interesting.
The biggest question that Makhachev will have to answer is how well he’s able to adjust to fighting at welterweight against bigger and more powerful opponents.
Della Maddalena’s head coach, Ben Vickers, has said for some time now that he’s confident that his fighter will finish his first title challenger.
‘JDM’ wasn’t able to put Muhammad away earlier this year but he consistently landed damage, leading to a lot of praise for his opponent’s toughness.
Vickers told Submission Radio in a recent interview that he doesn’t think that Makhachev will be able to withstand that same kind of punishment on November 15.
“Yeah. Yeah I do. I just don’t think Islam has the chin that Belal has. We know for a fact that if Jack clips someone on the chin, they can go over. So, it could happen in the first minute, it could happen in the 24th minute… Jack likes long fights, he likes to be in there but obviously, we’re not getting paid for overtime.”
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Jack Della Maddalena’s coach calls Islam Makhachev the GOAT when breaking him down
Islam Makhachev’s team, including Khabib Nurmagomedov, have given Jack Della Maddalena a lot of credit before this matchup was confirmed for UFC 322.
Ben Vickers made it clear when speaking to Submission Radio that the respect is mutual and that they know just how difficult a challenge Makhachev will be.
The coach went as far as to say that the former lightweight champion is the greatest of all time in his opinion when speaking about breaking the challenger down.
“I feel like people put Islam on a pedestal and don’t get me wrong, I’m not doubting Islam’s credentials in the slightest. He is pound-for-pound number one, he’s the GOAT. He’s the best guy to have ever done it for me. But for me now, it’s the first time watching footage of Islam and not just enjoying watching him fight.”