Jack Della Maddalena’s Coach on Makhachev – ‘Easier than Muhammad’

The common consensus is that the #2 P4P fighter on the planet, Makhachev, will be the toughest fight of Della Maddalena’s career. That may not be the case, however.

Speaking to the Australian outlet ‘Southern Cross Combat‘, Ben Vickers, the champion’s coach, believes that the UFC 322 main event outing for his man may not be as difficult as his first championship fight with Belal Muhammad at UFC 315.

Jack Della Maddalena vs Islam Makhachev

Discussing Jack Della Maddalena vs Islam Makhachev, the champion’s coach Vickers stated:

“I think it might actually be a bit easier than the Belal fight, just given the styles and that. Belal’s a bit more unorthodox, so a bit harder to cope with, whereas Islam’s a more traditional sort of striker. Obviously, a slightly smaller guy and I don’t doubt that he’s going to put the weight on.”

Vickers is alluding to the fact that Makhachev has been a career lightweight and has only fought about 155lbs twice, once in 2014 and once in a catchweight bout at 160lbs in 2022. He’s going to have to put on 15lbs to face Della Maddalena, who is the defending welterweight champion.

“There’s two ways it could go. Does not having to cut weight help him or does carrying that extra weight hinder his cardio? We don’t know how that’s going to play out yet. He’s obviously never fought at ‘70 as a competitive fighter, I don’t think, so it’s going to be his first time stepping up a weight class, in a title fight, doing five rounds with the champ. It’s a tough ask for Islam and I understand that his body of work and the way that he’s sort of dispatched with everyone of late makes him the favorite, but I really think Jack’s going to have a good time in this fight.”

He’s acutely aware of Makhachev’s ability, highlighting that he’s the favourite going into UFC 322. The Russian is enjoying a 15 fight winning streak, finishing eight of his last nine fights, of which five have been title fights. The Aussie’s coach is aware of this finishing threat.

“I think obviously Islam’s a much greater finishing threat. He’s a guy that gets submissions, while Belal’s more of a ride out positions kind of guy and look to stall out the fight. I think there’s a bit more danger in Islam’s grappling. He’s getting stoppages, but he’s getting stoppages against smaller guys and Jack’s very hard to submit. If it’s not perfect, it’s not going to work, so he’ll get out”.

You can check out the full interview with Vickers here:

UFC 322 goes down from New York City’s Madison Square Garden next month and Jack Della Maddalena and Islam Makhachev will headline the card. The co-main event will see an exciting flyweight title clash between Valentina Shevchenko and Zhang Weili. Leon Edwards vs Carlos Prates and Sean Brady vs Michael Morales are also standout bouts on the huge card.