Islam Makhachev built his entire UFC career around being the perfect lightweight fighter. At 155 pounds, his wrestling looked unstoppable and his ground game felt like a cheat code against most opponents. He dominated that division so completely that UFC started running out of challengers to throw at him. But now he’s doing something different. He is moving up to welterweight to fight Jack Della Maddalena for the 170 pound title at UFC 322. Weight cutting has always been one of the trickiest parts of MMA, and moving in the opposite direction brings its own set of problems that even elite fighters struggle to solve.<\/p>
The move up in weight class isn’t just about carrying extra pounds. It’s about facing naturally bigger, stronger opponents who have spent their entire careers learning how to use that size advantage. Makhachev will be giving up reach, power, and probably some of his wrestling dominance when he steps into the octagon with Della Maddalena. Recent photos show that Islam has clearly bulked up for this fight, but there’s a difference between looking bigger in pictures and actually being able to handle the physicality of elite welterweights. Many legendary fighters have tried this same jump and discovered that what worked perfectly in their original division suddenly becomes much harder against bigger opponents.<\/p>
Daniel Cormier, who knows a thing or two about moving between weight classes, recently gave his thoughts on this matchup and didn’t sugarcoat the challenges facing Makhachev. DC pointed out that Makhachev and his team are very aware that Della Maddalena presents serious problems, especially after what he did to Belal Muhammad. When JDM dominated Muhammad at UFC<\/a> 315, a fighter known for his incredible durability and cardio, it sent shockwaves through the welterweight division. Cormier emphasized that this fight is much more even than people initially thought, mainly because of how impressive Della Maddalena looked in that title winning performance.<\/p>