UFC 315 was a treat to watch and while all the fight were entertaining, there was nothing more eye popping that the main event of the evening featuring Jack Della Maddalena taking on Belal Muhammad for the Welterweight title. Muhammad was the reigning defending welterweight champion, who was sitting on top of the throne since July of 2024, after beating Leon Edwards. Meanwhile, Maddalena came into the fight hoping to extend his unbeaten UFC record.
The fight was decided after all five rounds, and both the fighters put on a show inside the octagon. Jack Della Maddalena outshined Belal Muhammad in the end, winning the contest via unanimous decision and he showcased his striking precision, takedown defense, and high fight IQ in doing so. Maddalena was looked at as the underdog going into the fight, and was also extremely quiet during the press conference where most fighter typically get into a war of words. He simply outstriked Muhammad, and also had a near flawless takedown defense against the former welterweight champion. The fans were shocked and nobody expected the Aussie to come in, and just cruise to the win, the way he did.
After the fight, Islam Makhachev immediately let the world know that he is coming for the welterweight title via a tweet he posted on X. It read, “Time to become a double champion. Let’s go.”
A lot was at stake going into this fight. If Muhammad was to win the fight, the possibility of a lightweight showdown between Ilia Topuria vs. Islam Makhachev was going to be inevitable as the lightweight champ would have no other choice but to take on the Georgian. However, now that Muhammad lost, Islam Makhachev will be moving up and try to become a double champ in the lightweight division and the welterweight division.
Javier Mendez, Islam Makhachev’s primary coach, believes that the lightweight champ can take down the newly crowed welterweight champ, provided that Makhachev uses takedowns instead of striking, as we saw how dangerous Maddalena can be with his striking. Mendez said, “Remember, like I’ve always said that Islam is the type of fighter that he can change second per second you know, minute per minute, round per round. And go the direction that Khabib, myself, Magomed, or say if Safulla, or even Muhammad, our coaches that train him, would instruct him to do. So, he will do what we ask him to do. So we would dictate the fight based on how well he’s doing or not doing, you know? He can do it all.”
Mendez also believes that his trainee, Makhachev, can take Maddalena down, but he would prefer to see Makhachev do that on the ground than stand up and exchange punches. He added, “Can he take Jack down? Absolutely. Can he outstrike Jack? Absolutely… But is it wise to try to outstrike him? I don’t know. It may not be. It may be a better deal to do what Belal should have done and what he didn’t do. And that’s something I know that Islam will do because he’s never not listened to us as his corner, his coaches. He’s always listened to all of us. He is the most disciplined, well-trained, fighter I’ve ever had in that department.”
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