Islam Makhachev Smothers Jack Della Maddalena, Becomes Two-Division UFC Champion

Classic Makhachev: Takedown, Control, Break Your Will

It didn’t take long for the tone to be set. In Round 1, Makhachev shot a clean single leg in the center of the cage with nearly four minutes left and planted Della Maddalena on the mat. From there, it was familiar territory: heavy top pressure, smothering control, and calculated submission threats. Della Maddalena did well early to defend chokes and avoid serious ground-and-pound, but he couldn’t create the space needed to get anything going offensively.

Round 2 opened with both men trading on the feet, and Della Maddalena briefly found success with a sharp short punch that landed cleanly. The moment he touched Makhachev, though, the champion-in-waiting closed the distance, clinched, and dragged the fight right back to the canvas with plenty of time to work. Again, Makhachev blanketed him from top position. Della Maddalena survived, but he wasn’t winning anything.

Della Tries to Adjust, Islam Shuts the Door

In Round 3, Makhachev allowed the standup to play out a bit longer, but it felt like a formality. As soon as he wanted to, he returned to his bread and butter and put Della Maddalena on the mat once more. The Australian defended the submissions but had no real answers beyond that.

Round 4 played out with a similar pattern, though Della Maddalena started trying to force scrambles in desperation. Instead of escaping, those attempts only put him in worse positions as Makhachev rode him, advanced position, and continued to wear him down.

By the time the final round began, Della Maddalena clearly needed a finish. He came out with more urgency, but Makhachev shut it down almost immediately with another takedown and spent the rest of the fight chaining submission attempts and maintaining suffocating control until the horn.

“Donald Trump, open the White House, I am coming.”

After the lopsided decision was read, Makhachev spoke with Joe Rogan and revealed how much better he felt not having to torture his body with the lightweight cut. Competing at 170, he said, allowed him to feel stronger and fresher throughout the fight. Then he turned his attention to what’s next.

“Donald Trump, open the White House, I am coming,” Makhachev said when asked about his future.

On the undercard, fellow welterweights Carlos Prates and Michael Morales also strengthened their own cases as future title contenders, adding even more intrigue to a suddenly stacked division that now runs through Dagestan.

Elite Company, Historic Streak

By vacating the lightweight title after four defenses to chase welterweight gold and succeeding Makhachev now joins one of the most prestigious lists in MMA:

Two-division UFC champions:

• Henry Cejudo

• Daniel Cormier

• Randy Couture

• Jon Jones

• Conor McGregor

• Amanda Nunes

• B.J. Penn

• Alex Pereira

• Georges St-Pierre

• Ilia Topuria

• Islam Makhachev

Makhachev also ties Anderson Silva’s legendary 16-fight UFC winning streak, further cementing his place among the all-time greats.

For Della Maddalena, 29, the loss snaps his 18-fight winning streak and denies him his first successful title defense. He won the belt by unanimous decision over Belal Muhammad, but against Makhachev, he simply couldn’t keep the fight where he needed it to be. Now the welterweight division has a new overlord and Islam Makhachev’s case as the pound-for-pound best fighter on the planet just got even stronger.