Makhachev Vs. Maddalena – Who Wins?

Islam Makhachev’s coach, Javier Mendez, believes that Jack Della Maddalena will face a tough task against his fighter as we look at how the fight could play out. 

Makhachev, who set a record number of title defenses at 155 pounds, recently decided to shift his focus to the 170-pound welterweight division, aiming to become a two-division UFC champion. His last fight was a first-round submission win against Renato Moicano at UFC 311, securing his fourth title defense after defeating Alexander Volkanovski twice, Dustin Poirier, and Renato. Meanwhile, Maddalena upset Belal Muhammad at UFC 315 to win the welterweight title. Maddalena remains undefeated with an 8-0 UFC record, having beaten the likes of Gilbert Burns and Kevin Holland. However, Mendez expects Maddalena to face a much tougher challenge against Islam. 

“Islam is a whole different animal than Jack’s ever been involved with. So, if that fight does materialize, we’re going to see a hell of a fight and you’re going to see Islam perform at an absolute incredible level. And also, the weight is not super big for him either,” Mendez said 

Breakdown

Maddalena appears to have the striking advantage, with superior boxing skills. He is undefeated in his eight UFC fights, having knocked out four of them. Makhachev has better grappling skills, meaning Maddalena will have to improve his takedown defence to keep the fight on the ground.

Maddalena is an Australian, as he will pick the brains of his fellow countryman Alexander Volkanovski, who faced Islam twice, coming up short in both fights. Maddalena had the perfect preparation for the Islam fight by beating Belal Muhammad. However, Belal played into Jack’s hands by boxing rather than trying to take the fight to the ground like he had done against Leon Edwards. 

Makhachev has developed a reputation for his pressure, aiming for a takedowns immediately. Islam uses his Muay Thai clinch to open up chances to use his knees and elbows. This has been vital for his KOs. Islam has only gone the distance five times in his 17 UFC fights. Maddalena will have to keep the range to avoid getting into clinches while also avoiding a potential KO, just like Islam had done against Volk, setting up an intriguing fight.