Of all the upcoming UFC fights, Islam Makhachev’s purported welterweight double-champ fight with Jack Della Maddalena is one of the most intriguing.
Makhachev’s size was his greatest asset at lightweight. A great boxer-wrestler, Makhachev mauled opponents with technique mixed with unparalleled strength. This is why his move to the 170 lbs division —a jump of 15 lbs— is enticing to so many fans.
Standing in his way at welterweight is the severely underestimated Jack Della Maddalena, a City Kickboxing product and teammate of Alexander Volkanovski and Israel Adesanya. The latter of whom believes ‘JDM’ has what it takes to pull off an upset…
Eric Bolte-Imagn Images
Speaking with Volkanovski on his YouTube channel, Adesanya provided his cerebral prediction for Makhachev vs. Maddalena.
“I don’t think he’s [Islam] going to be able to handle him [Maddalena] in the scrambles or when he gets back up,” Adesanya explained. “Della’s just so stoic, and he just focuses on his own game. And when he does that, I really think he’s gonna get him.”
Makhachev carries an aura of invincibility into this matchup, but the blueprint has been laid several times on how to beat him. He holds one loss on his record from 2015, where Adriano Martins knocked him out with some slick counter-punching.
Otherwise, fighters like Volkanovski and Dustin Poirier have shown that recovering from takedowns and boxing Makhachev on the feet is a surefire way to put a dent in the Dagestani phenom. This is exactly how Maddalena earned his welterweight title against Belal Muhammad, and fans will have to wait and see if he can do the same against Makhachev when the time comes.
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