Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Welterweight Contender Believes That Islam Makhachev Can Beat Jack Della Maddalena but Not Without Taking a Few Bruises First

Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

UFC 315’s main event between Jack Della Maddalena vs. Belal Muhammad, was arguably the best fight we’ve seen so far in 2025. We would be lying if we said that we expected the fight to be this entertaining. Maddalena was in fact a replacement for the original welterweight contender Shavkat Rakhmonov, who announced months prior to the fight that he will not be participating due to an injury. The odds were stacked against the Aussie even though he was ranked 5th in the welterweight rankings, going into the fight, and very few picked Maddalena to win.

As things turned out, it was Maddalena who came out on top, and pulled off a huge upset over the former welterweight champ, Belal Muhammad. Muhammad wanted to put the world on notice with his first title defense fight, as he had previously stated that he was not going to leave Montreal (where UFC 315 took place) without the strap. He had also claimed that he would show Maddalena, what it meant to what “Canelo hands.” However, things did not go according to Muhammad’s plan, and instead he was thoroughly beaten via unanimous decision. Muhammad also suffered multiple severe injuries to his face, and there is no telling how long will it take for him to get back inside the octagon.

The belt looks good on him! 🫡

[ #UFC315 | Jack Della Maddalena ] pic.twitter.com/SGzAqagzu9
— UFC (@ufc) May 11, 2025

Also Read: Dan Hardy Makes Bold Prediction Ahead Of Potential Jack Della Maddalena vs Islam Makhachev Showdown!

Now that Maddalena is sitting at the top of the welterweight division, lightweight champ, Islam Makhachev, wants to try his hands at conquering the welterweight belt, since his friend/brother, Muhammad, is no longer the champion anymore.

‘Wonderboy’ Believes That Makhachev Can Win, but JDM Will Make Him Earn It

Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson, a welterweight contender, who’s currently 17-8-1 in his MMA career, believes that Islam Makhachev can win the potential fight between him and Maddalena, but it will not be easy by any means. Thompson said, “When it comes to those guys and their strength, Islam I think is going to have a tough time. Do I think that he could get it done? Yes… I think it’s going to be a tough fight for him,” via submission radio.

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Makhachev has been eyeing the welterweight title for a while, and is eager to become a double champ in the UFC. There have only been 9 double champs so far in UFC’s history, and Makhachev believes this is the next step for him. While nothing has been confirmed so far, hypothetically, If Makhachev beats Maddalena for the welterweight title, there are rumors that he’ll drop down again to the lightweight division to beat whoever the interim champion will be at that time.

As far as the lightweight division goes, Makhachev will not be vacating the belt, and according to the latest reports we could potentially see Ilia Topuria take on Charles Oliveira for the interim championship match soon. There is a lot of chaos in both the lightweight and the welterweight division. However, all the confusion will soon be cleared by UFC President Dana White.

If Islam moves up and wins the welterweight title and Ilia wins in an interim lightweight title bout, we could double champion Islam Makhachev vs. interim champion Ilia Topuria 🤯

The stakes might be even highter after #UFC315 👀 pic.twitter.com/jNzmi8ykrm
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) May 11, 2025

Also Read: Khamzat Chimaev Takes Heavy Shots At Belal Muhammad Amid Online Stir!

Islam Makhachev

Jack Della Maddalena

Stephen Thompson

UFC

Eric Divakaran

nba

nfl

mma

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