Jack Della Maddalena knows he has a tough task ahead of him, so why not pick the brain of a man who has shared the octagon with Islam Makhachev on two different occasions?
Della Maddalena recently captured the UFC welterweight title with a unanimous decision win against Belal Muhammad at UFC 315, and now knows he’ll defend his title for the first time against the soon-to-be former lightweight champion later this year. Current featherweight champ Alexander Volkanovski faced Makhachev twice — including a decision loss in MMA Fighting’s 2023 Fight of the Year in their first meeting at UFC 284.
Volkanovski had more success against Makhachev than most, which is why Della Maddalena was asked if he’ll pick the two-time 145-pound champion’s brain prior to his matchup with Makhachev.
“Yeah, 100 percent, I definitely plan to,” Della Maddalena told The West Sport. “After the last two fights, I’ve spent a bit of time in Woolongong. So yeah, I think, [it will] probably be the first stop to go to Woolongong, talk to Volk, see what he reckons.”
The UFC 315 main event result was a heavy one based on where the promoton — and Makhachev — would go with the UFC 317 main event on June 28, and with both the welterweight and lightweight divisions. Had Muhammad won, Makhachev would’ve defended his lightweight title against Ilia Topuria, but now Topuria will battle Charles Oliviera for the vacant belt.
Makhachev now has a path to becoming a champ in two different weight classes now that his friend and training partner is no longer champion at 170 pounds. In Della Maddalena’s eyes, he believes the matchups, for the most part, are similar between Makhachev and Muhammad, with a few caveats.
“I think Islam is a better version of Belal,” Della Maddalena said. “The striking on the feet, I think it’s easier than Belal because he’s more... he’ll stay in one stance. He’s more [of a] traditional style, but yeah, he’s the pound-for-pound No. 1 so it’s a tough fight.
“But I guess we will just watch all these fights again, make a solid game plan, then just start working at it. From pretty much now, I’m going to start working on ways to beat him, ways to get back to my feet, stuffing the takedown, but I’m pretty confident I can get this one done.”
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