Jack Della Maddalena is actually embracing a potential criticism about a win at UFC 322 that Islam Makhachev raised as a concern when he was being asked to defend his title against Ilia Topuria.
In his
first title defense as welterweight champion, Della Maddalena welcomes Makhachev to the division as he takes a stab at 170 pounds for the first time in his career. When Makhachev was the reigning king at lightweight he questioned what a possible fight against Topuria would do for his legacy because he believed a win would effectively get discounted as him beating up a smaller fighter.
Makhachev already held two wins over former featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski and he kept hearing that his title defenses were coming against opponents best suited to compete at 145 pounds. While that prevented Makhachev from showing much interest in facing Topuria in a title defense, Della Maddalena welcomes headlines on Sunday saying that he just beatdown a legit lightweight.
“I’m sort of hoping for that narrative,” Della Maddalena told MMA Fighting. “That means I’ve done my job and put him back in his place. Honestly, that’s sort of the narrative I’m hoping that comes the day after the fight is that he’s just a lightweight, he would never do well in the welterweight division.
“That’s sort of what I’m hoping for. That’s it [sending him packing back to 155 pounds].”
Back when he was lightweight champion, Makhachev specifically asked for Topuria to get at least one meaningful win at 155 pounds before they would potentially clash.
Della Maddalena could make the same argument considering Makhachev has never competed at welterweight but he believes the Russian mauler has done enough to earn this opportunity just based on his overall resume.
“It’s a hard one because obviously he hasn’t done anything in the welterweight division but I think his resume’s very respectable,” Della Maddalena said about Makhachev. “He’s done a pretty good job in that division clearing it out. It’s cool.
“Before a champion moves up, at least clear out the division. I feel like that’s what he has done so I feel like he is deserving of this spot. Deserving of having a crack at a big legacy fight. I think it’s a big challenge. Definitely the biggest challenge of my career.”
As much as size matters when these conversations happen about fighters attempting to become two-division champions, Della Maddalena is looking a little deeper when it comes to the accolades he’ll gain with a win at UFC 322.
Makhachev is currently riding a remarkable 15 fight win streak and he’s been ranked near the top of the pound-for-pound rankings for several years now. While he understands he still has work to do to earn the same kinds of considerations, Della Maddalena knows beating somebody like Makhachev right now is a huge addition to the legacy he’s creating at welterweight.
“Pound-for-pound, the No. 1 guy,” Della Maddalena said. “He’s obviously been tossing up coming to welterweight for a long time. I’m pretty lucky that this is my first defense. I couldn’t ask for anything bigger, anything better than fighting the pound-for-pound No. 1 fighter in my first title defense in New York City.”
When it comes to the matchup itself, Della Maddalena has heard over and over again that the fight really comes down to his striking going against Makhachev’s grappling.
On paper that’s a very simplistic way to look at things but Della Maddalena refuses to just define himself as only a striker. He’s pulled off submission wins in the UFC but more importantly the 29-year-old Australian has shown just how much he’s improved his grappling after countering Gilbert Burns and scoring a third-round knockout in their fight while also largely shutting down Belal Muhammad’s wrestling when he became champion back in May.
That said, Della Maddalena recognizes that the biggest gap in skills when it comes to this upcoming fight is shutting down Makhachev’s grappling and then knocking him out on the feet.
“Nothing’s really changed [with my grappling],” Della Maddalena said. “I’ve just been working at it day in and day out, trying to get better. Building confidence in the fights themselves. Taking the confidence from the Burns fight. But nothing’s really changed. Just trying to get better day-by-day on the grappling skills.
“[But] a perfect fight for me would be just to keep him on the outside and ping him and get the finish. But definitely the competitor in me wants to test it and see how I can hang with someone of the credentials and the skills of Islam. But a perfect fight for me would be stay away from the wrestling, keep him on the feet and just outclass him on the feet.”
Despite walking into Madison Square Garden as champion, Della Maddalena isn’t shy about Makhachev’s status as the favorite in the fight. Because Makhachev has been so dominant for so long, it’s tough to argue against the idea that he’s destined to become champion on Saturday night.
Of course, Della Maddalena has been counted out before and he’ll surely be counted out again so that’s nothing new to him. But winning against impossible odds is one of his favorite things to do — and Della Maddelana can’t wait to see what everyone says after he wins again.
“I definitely feel like I’ve got the underdog mentality this time around,” Della Maddalena said. “I feel like I’ve got everything to prove. But I like it that way. It gives me more motivation. A lot of drive to prove I’m the champion and then solidify my spot as the top guy.
“I feel like I’m definitely the underdog. I feel like a little bit I’m being written off. Come fight night and after the fight, I think there’s going to be a lot of different opinions on it.”
