Jack Della Maddalena is set to take on one of the biggest challenges in the sport in his first title defense.
Dana White confirmed that Della Maddalena will face Islam Makhachev in the main event of UFC 322 at Madison Square Garden.
It was immediately clear after the Australian star won the welterweight belt earlier this year that the former pound-for-pound number one would be his first challenger.
Some have argued that Makhachev has opened as too big a favorite for the highly anticipated clash for several reasons.
A former UFC title challenger, who has been an admirer of ‘JDM’ for a long time, believes that he possesses some key attributes that will cause his next opponent some major issues.
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Steve Erceg references Islam Makhachev’s fight with Dustin Poirier when predicting Jack Della Maddalena fight
Islam Makhachev was a dominant champion in the lightweight division before he made the decision to vacate his belt and move up a weight class.
That being said, the Russian has still been involved in some very competitive fights in recent years.
Anyone who is predicting that Jack Della Maddalena will come out on top at UFC 322 is going to reference his performance against Belal Muhammad to win the title.
Steve Erceg admitted in a recent exclusive interview with Bloody Elbow that even as someone who has been watching his fellow Australian for a long time, he was stunned by how good ‘JDM’ was at UFC 315.
“I’ve known for a very long time that Jack is an amazing fighter. He’s really good and he shocked me on how good he was. He handled the grappling exchanges so well and it’s the best striking performance I’ve seen from him.
“The big moment, he rose to the occasion, it was fantastic to see. I do think that the grappling from Islam, he’s a better technical grappler than Belal is but he’s not quite as big. He’s not as imposing.”
Erceg went on to reference one of the competitive fights that Makhachev had at lightweight, and how Della Maddalena will be able to replicate that while being even more dangerous.
“If you look at the Dustin Poirier fight, Dustin was able to stop some of his takedowns and win some scrambles and stuff like that. I think not only will Jack be able to do that, but when he lands punches, it’s going to be way more devastating.”
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The stats behind Islam Makhachev’s win over Dustin Poirier
Before Islam Makhachev submitted Dustin Poirier in the fifth round at UFC 302, two of the judges had the challenger needing a finish in order to get his hand raised.
That being said, ‘The Diamond’ was still competitive with the champion and was able to have success with keeping the fight standing and landing strikes.
Makhachev was still very impressive in this bout and showcased his improving stand-up skills, but it’s certainly a fight that Jack Della Maddalena and his team will be looking at closely.
| UFC 302 stats | Islam Makhachev | Dustin Poirier |
| Significant strikes | 88 of 156 | 74 of 183 |
| Total strikes | 147 of 222 | 104 of 218 |
| Takedowns | 5 of 16 | 0 of 0 |
| Submissions attempted | 2 | 0 |
| Control time | 10:23 | 0:30 |
With Della Maddalena’s size and power advantage over the lightweights that Makhachev is used to facing inside the Octagon, the defending champion is still a very dangerous test for the former lightweight king.