May 10, 2025; Montreal, Quebec, CANADA; Jack Della Maddalena (blue gloves) reacts after defeating Belal Muhammad (not pictured) for the Welterweight Title during UFC 315 at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images

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Jack Della Maddalena Takes A Shot At Ilia Topuria For Claiming The BMF Title

Welterweight champion Jack Della Maddalena takes a shot at Ilia Topuria for claiming he has won the BMF belt!

The BMF belt has always been a weird thing in the UFC world. It’s not a typical championship but somehow gets fighters get more worked up. The whole concept started when Jorge Masvidal and Nate Diaz fought for it back in 2019, creating this strange honorary title that sits somewhere between real and fake. Max Holloway currently holds the belt after knocking out Justin Gaethje at UFC 300 in spectacular fashion. He then defended it successfully against Dustin Poirier at UFC 318 just recently. But here’s where things get messy.

Ilia Topuria beat Holloway at UFC 308 in a featherweight title fight, but the BMF title wasn’t officially on the line during that bout. Despite this fact, the Georgian knockout artist has been claiming ownership of the BMF belt on social media. His logic seems to be that since he beat the guy who holds it, he should get it by default. The math doesn’t really add up, but Topuria keeps pushing this narrative.

Jack Della Maddalena Has A Message For Ilia Topuria

Jack Della Maddalena apparently has had enough of Topuria’s claims. The Australian welterweight didn’t hold back when he saw Topuria’s latest social media post about still owning the BMF title. Della Maddalena fired back by calling Topuria “a little confused” about the whole situation. But here’s the kicker. He also claimed that the BMF belt is actually his. Now fans have got three guys all saying they own the same belt that only one of them actually holds.

“Little fella [Ilia] is confused. It’s actually mine.”

🚨Jack Della Maddalena reacts to Ilia Topuria claiming the BMF belt as his own 👀

In this case, Jack means that if the BMF title had been on the line in every fight, it would have changed hands based on each result. He would not be the actual BMF champion, nor would Max Holloway… pic.twitter.com/s3MIwTS7r2
— MMA Pros Pick (@MMA_PROS_PICK_) July 21, 2025

Della Maddalena believes that if the BMF title were truly on the line in every fight, then ownership would change hands constantly based on each fight’s outcome. This perspective actually makes some sense in a twisted UFC logic kind of way. Every time someone gets knocked out or submitted, the belt would theoretically move to their opponent.

The whole situation became even more ridiculous when Holloway himself jumped into the mix. The actual BMF champion dismissed Topuria’s claims entirely, saying the Georgian was walking around with a “fake BMF belt” and told him to “Get over it.” This is coming from the guy who actually earned the title in the octagon and defended it properly. If anyone gets to talk about who owns what, it’s probably the person holding the real thing!

(Image Credit: Eric Bolte – Imagn Images)

Ilia Topuria

Jack Della Maddalena

Max Holloway

Zaid Quraishi

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I am a dedicated MMA and Boxing content writer at The Playoffs. I was instantly hooked on MMA after watching the fight between Lyoto Machida vs. Gegard Mousasi back in 2014, and since then, i have been an avid writer with a deep love for the sport and its techniques, providing readers with a thorough understanding of the sport. My favorite aspect of working at The Playoffs is the creative freedom it provides. The diverse range of topics, from listicles and SEO to news articles, keeps me engaged and motivates me to continuously improve my skills! I aim to capture the excitement of the combat sports world in my writing, acting as the middleman between fighters and their die-hard fans. It is kind of like a referee, but with words!