{"id":52162,"date":"2025-05-12T21:23:16","date_gmt":"2025-05-12T20:23:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/?p=52162"},"modified":"2025-05-12T21:23:23","modified_gmt":"2025-05-12T20:23:23","slug":"welterweight-contender-believes-that-islam-makhachev-can-beat-jack-della-maddalena-but-not-without-taking-a-few-bruises-first","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/welterweight-contender-believes-that-islam-makhachev-can-beat-jack-della-maddalena-but-not-without-taking-a-few-bruises-first\/","title":{"rendered":"Welterweight Contender Believes That Islam Makhachev Can Beat Jack Della Maddalena but Not Without Taking a Few Bruises First"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/mma\/\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>UFC <\/a>315&rsquo;s main event between Jack Della Maddalena vs. Belal Muhammad, was arguably the best fight we&rsquo;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.<\/p><p>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 <a href=\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/mma\/\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>UFC <\/a>315 took place) without the strap. He had also claimed that he would show Maddalena, what it meant to what &ldquo;Canelo hands.&rdquo; However, things did not go according to Muhammad&rsquo;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.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The belt looks good on him! &#129761;<br><br>[ <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/UFC315?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>#UFC315<\/a> | Jack Della Maddalena ] <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/SGzAqagzu9\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>pic.twitter.com\/SGzAqagzu9<\/a><\/p>&mdash; UFC (@ufc) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ufc\/status\/1921455250763870394?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>May 11, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure><p>Also Read: <a href=\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/dan-hardy-makes-bold-prediction-ahead-of-potential-jack-della-maddalena-vs-islam-makhachev-showdown\/\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>Dan Hardy Makes Bold Prediction Ahead Of Potential Jack Della Maddalena vs Islam Makhachev Showdown!<\/a><\/p><p>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.<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">&lsquo;Wonderboy&rsquo; Believes That Makhachev Can Win, but JDM Will Make Him Earn It<\/h2><p>Stephen &lsquo;Wonderboy&rsquo; Thompson, a welterweight contender, who&rsquo;s currently 17-8-1 in his <a href=\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/mma\/\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>MMA <\/a>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, <strong><em>&ldquo;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&hellip; I think it&rsquo;s going to be a tough fight for him,&rdquo; <\/em><\/strong>via submission radio.<\/p><blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DJjM5m2JIOW\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\" style=\" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);\"><div style=\"padding:16px;\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DJjM5m2JIOW\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" style=\" background:#FFFFFF; line-height:0; padding:0 0; text-align:center; text-decoration:none; width:100%;\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'> <div style=\" display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;\"> <div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;\"> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;\"><\/div> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><div style=\"padding: 19% 0;\"><\/div> <div style=\"display:block; height:50px; margin:0 auto 12px; width:50px;\"><svg width=\"50px\" height=\"50px\" viewbox=\"0 0 60 60\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" xmlns:xlink=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/1999\/xlink\"><g stroke=\"none\" stroke-width=\"1\" fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><g transform=\"translate(-511.000000, -20.000000)\" fill=\"#000000\"><g><path d=\"M556.869,30.41 C554.814,30.41 553.148,32.076 553.148,34.131 C553.148,36.186 554.814,37.852 556.869,37.852 C558.924,37.852 560.59,36.186 560.59,34.131 C560.59,32.076 558.924,30.41 556.869,30.41 M541,60.657 C535.114,60.657 530.342,55.887 530.342,50 C530.342,44.114 535.114,39.342 541,39.342 C546.887,39.342 551.658,44.114 551.658,50 C551.658,55.887 546.887,60.657 541,60.657 M541,33.886 C532.1,33.886 524.886,41.1 524.886,50 C524.886,58.899 532.1,66.113 541,66.113 C549.9,66.113 557.115,58.899 557.115,50 C557.115,41.1 549.9,33.886 541,33.886 M565.378,62.101 C565.244,65.022 564.756,66.606 564.346,67.663 C563.803,69.06 563.154,70.057 562.106,71.106 C561.058,72.155 560.06,72.803 558.662,73.347 C557.607,73.757 556.021,74.244 553.102,74.378 C549.944,74.521 548.997,74.552 541,74.552 C533.003,74.552 532.056,74.521 528.898,74.378 C525.979,74.244 524.393,73.757 523.338,73.347 C521.94,72.803 520.942,72.155 519.894,71.106 C518.846,70.057 518.197,69.06 517.654,67.663 C517.244,66.606 516.755,65.022 516.623,62.101 C516.479,58.943 516.448,57.996 516.448,50 C516.448,42.003 516.479,41.056 516.623,37.899 C516.755,34.978 517.244,33.391 517.654,32.338 C518.197,30.938 518.846,29.942 519.894,28.894 C520.942,27.846 521.94,27.196 523.338,26.654 C524.393,26.244 525.979,25.756 528.898,25.623 C532.057,25.479 533.004,25.448 541,25.448 C548.997,25.448 549.943,25.479 553.102,25.623 C556.021,25.756 557.607,26.244 558.662,26.654 C560.06,27.196 561.058,27.846 562.106,28.894 C563.154,29.942 563.803,30.938 564.346,32.338 C564.756,33.391 565.244,34.978 565.378,37.899 C565.522,41.056 565.552,42.003 565.552,50 C565.552,57.996 565.522,58.943 565.378,62.101 M570.82,37.631 C570.674,34.438 570.167,32.258 569.425,30.349 C568.659,28.377 567.633,26.702 565.965,25.035 C564.297,23.368 562.623,22.342 560.652,21.575 C558.743,20.834 556.562,20.326 553.369,20.18 C550.169,20.033 549.148,20 541,20 C532.853,20 531.831,20.033 528.631,20.18 C525.438,20.326 523.257,20.834 521.349,21.575 C519.376,22.342 517.703,23.368 516.035,25.035 C514.368,26.702 513.342,28.377 512.574,30.349 C511.834,32.258 511.326,34.438 511.181,37.631 C511.035,40.831 511,41.851 511,50 C511,58.147 511.035,59.17 511.181,62.369 C511.326,65.562 511.834,67.743 512.574,69.651 C513.342,71.625 514.368,73.296 516.035,74.965 C517.703,76.634 519.376,77.658 521.349,78.425 C523.257,79.167 525.438,79.673 528.631,79.82 C531.831,79.965 532.853,80.001 541,80.001 C549.148,80.001 550.169,79.965 553.369,79.82 C556.562,79.673 558.743,79.167 560.652,78.425 C562.623,77.658 564.297,76.634 565.965,74.965 C567.633,73.296 568.659,71.625 569.425,69.651 C570.167,67.743 570.674,65.562 570.82,62.369 C570.966,59.17 571,58.147 571,50 C571,41.851 570.966,40.831 570.82,37.631\"><\/path><\/g><\/g><\/g><\/svg><\/div><div style=\"padding-top: 8px;\"> <div style=\" color:#3897f0; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:550; line-height:18px;\">View this post on Instagram<\/div><\/div><div style=\"padding: 12.5% 0;\"><\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;\"><div> <div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);\"><\/div><\/div><div style=\"margin-left: 8px;\"> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;\"><\/div> <div style=\" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)\"><\/div><\/div><div style=\"margin-left: auto;\"> <div style=\" width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);\"><\/div> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);\"><\/div> <div style=\" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);\"><\/div><\/div><\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;\"> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;\"><\/div> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;\"><\/div><\/div><\/a><p style=\" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DJjM5m2JIOW\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" style=\" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>A post shared by Submission Radio (@submissionradio)<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/blockquote><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><p>Makhachev has been eyeing the welterweight title for a while, and is eager to become a double champ in the <a href=\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/mma\/\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>UFC<\/a>. There have only been 9 double champs so far in UFC&rsquo;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&rsquo;ll drop down again to the lightweight division to beat whoever the interim champion will be at that time.<\/p><p>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 <a href=\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/mma\/\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>UFC <\/a>President Dana White. <\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">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 &#129327;<br><br>The stakes might be even highter after <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/UFC315?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>#UFC315<\/a> &#128064; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/jNzmi8ykrm\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>pic.twitter.com\/jNzmi8ykrm<\/a><\/p>&mdash; ESPN MMA (@espnmma) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/espnmma\/status\/1921622984944456012?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>May 11, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure><p>Also Read: <a href=\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/khamzat-chimaev-takes-heavy-shots-at-belal-muhammad-amid-online-stir\/\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>Khamzat Chimaev Takes Heavy Shots At Belal Muhammad Amid Online Stir!<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"mm-layout mm-layout-type-post mm-layout-slot4\">\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>UFC 315&rsquo;s main event between Jack Della Maddalena vs. Belal Muhammad, was arguably the best fight we&rsquo;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 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":52164,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_mux_skip_reasons":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[1783],"tags":[1821,2565,6738,1983],"class_list":["post-52162","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mma","tag-islam-makhachev","tag-jack-della-maddalena","tag-stephen-thompson","tag-ufc"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Welterweight Contender Believes That Islam Makhachev Can Beat Jack Della Maddalena but Not Without Taking a Few Bruises First - The Playoffs<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"UFC welterweight contender believes lightweight champion Islam Makhachev could defeat Jack Della Maddalena at 170 pounds, but expects the new welterweight champ to deliver a tough, bruising fight in a potential superfight.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/welterweight-contender-believes-that-islam-makhachev-can-beat-jack-della-maddalena-but-not-without-taking-a-few-bruises-first\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Welterweight Contender Believes That Islam Makhachev Can Beat Jack Della Maddalena but Not Without Taking a Few Bruises First - The Playoffs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"UFC welterweight contender believes lightweight champion Islam Makhachev could defeat Jack Della Maddalena at 170 pounds, but expects the new welterweight champ to deliver a tough, bruising fight in a potential superfight.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/welterweight-contender-believes-that-islam-makhachev-can-beat-jack-della-maddalena-but-not-without-taking-a-few-bruises-first\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Playoffs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-05-12T21:23:23+01:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/USATSI_25225216_168416100_lowres.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2353\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1623\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Eric Divakaran\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@https:\/\/x.com\/EricHar44584857\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ThePlayoffsEN\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Eric Divakaran\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/welterweight-contender-believes-that-islam-makhachev-can-beat-jack-della-maddalena-but-not-without-taking-a-few-bruises-first\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/welterweight-contender-believes-that-islam-makhachev-can-beat-jack-della-maddalena-but-not-without-taking-a-few-bruises-first\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Eric Divakaran\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/98ac2e1774499fd4d7a7e37d04514940\"},\"headline\":\"Welterweight Contender Believes That Islam Makhachev Can Beat Jack Della Maddalena but Not Without Taking a Few Bruises First\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-05-12T20:23:16+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-05-12T20:23:23+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/welterweight-contender-believes-that-islam-makhachev-can-beat-jack-della-maddalena-but-not-without-taking-a-few-bruises-first\/\"},\"wordCount\":567,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/welterweight-contender-believes-that-islam-makhachev-can-beat-jack-della-maddalena-but-not-without-taking-a-few-bruises-first\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/cdn.theplayoffs.news\/en\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/USATSI_25225216_168416100_lowres.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Islam Makhachev\",\"Jack Della Maddalena\",\"Stephen Thompson\",\"UFC\"],\"articleSection\":[\"MMA\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"copyrightYear\":\"2025\",\"copyrightHolder\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#organization\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/welterweight-contender-believes-that-islam-makhachev-can-beat-jack-della-maddalena-but-not-without-taking-a-few-bruises-first\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/welterweight-contender-believes-that-islam-makhachev-can-beat-jack-della-maddalena-but-not-without-taking-a-few-bruises-first\/\",\"name\":\"Welterweight Contender Believes That Islam Makhachev Can Beat Jack Della Maddalena but Not Without Taking a Few Bruises First - 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