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Jack Della Maddalena praises Islam Makhachev in first message after UFC title fight

Originally posted on MMA on SI | By Drew Beaupre | Last updated Nov 20, 2025 1:07 PM ET

UFC star Jack Della Maddalena has shared his first statement since losing his welterweight belt to Islam Makhachev at UFC 322.

Still sitting at #9 in the UFC’s official pound-for-pound rankings even after losing his belt, Della Maddalena stepped into the Octagon for his first title defense in the main event of UFC 322 and welcomed former lightweight king Makhachev to the welterweight division.

Makhachev was favored to claim his second UFC belt ahead of the event, but few could have predicted quite how dominantly he would handle Della Maddalena over the course of five rounds to take get his hand raised at Madison Square Garden.

Jack Della Maddalena Addresses Fans After Losing UFC Title

After taking a few days to process things in the immediate aftermath of UFC 322, Della Maddalena took to Instagram to share a brief message with fans and praise both Makhachev’s performance and his overall place in MMA history.

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"Thanks to those always supporting. Islam is one of the greats and deserved to win. I wil learn and moved forward.

A contract winner on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2021, Della Maddalena was undefeated in the UFC heading into UFC 322. The Australian famously dropped his first two pro bouts in 2016 before putting together a staggering 18-fight win streak, which was capped off by a unanimous decision victory over Belal Muhammad at UFC 315 to claim the welterweight belt.

Who Will Fight Islam Makhachev Next?

Undefeated outside of a knockout-loss to Adriano Martins in his second UFC outing in 2015, Makhachev has now won 16 fights in a row and has competed in six-straight title bouts dating back to 2021.

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The 34-year-old defended the UFC lightweight title four times after stopping Charles Oliveira to win the vacant belt at UFC 280. His lightweight title run included back-to-back wins over featherweight great Alexander Volkanovski before he defeated former interim titleholder Dustin Poirier and Renato Moicano, who received a short-notice title shot at UFC 311 after Arman Tsarukyan withdrew from his rematch with Makhachev on weigh-in day.

There’s no shortage of challengers for Makhachev in his new weight class, as the UFC 322 main card also saw top welterweight contenders Michael Morales and Carlos Prates score stunning knockout-wins over Gilbert Burns and Leon Edwards.

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Two other top 170 lbs. fighters will also be in action this weekend, as former divisional king Muhammad is set to return and face Ian Machado Garry in the co-main event of UFC Qatar.

This article first appeared on MMA on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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