Jack Della Maddalena does not blame his peers for having doubted him The greatest fight in his life.
A sequence of 17 victories-victories is quite a race. But what makes Della Maddalena all the more unique is that he came after abandoning his first two professional fights – both via demoralizing finishes. The last thing you expect from a 0-2 fighter is to remain undefeated for the next nine years and to challenge an opportunity to be legitimately one of the best fighters in the world. However, we are there, as Della Maddalena should challenge the UFC Welter weight champion, Belal Muhammad, at UFC 315 In Montreal, Canada.
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As large as the moment, no pressure compared to what could have been the funeral of the MMA of Della Maddalena against Brandt Cogill in his third fight during a small show by the Gold Coast in Australia in 2016. He won via via A Knock-Out of the vicious rear elbow Three timid seconds of the two -minute brand, and the rest belongs to the story.
“I felt a lot of pressure that day; it was probably the one I might have wrapped,” said Della Maddalena. “But I always liked sport. I did not have a long amateur career-I only had two amateur fights and then I was straight in there. And I was in there with a fairly strong professional fighter (in my beginnings), so I suppose that I just cut my licking, I also liked the training.
“Many people probably said to me like:” Oh, you should probably conclude it. It doesn't really make sense. Obviously, you are not very good. “But then, the nearby people who trained with me, they said in a way the opposite, like:” No, you have even more to give. “My trainer, after the second fight, we have almost said that we are fed up.
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The role of the oppressed is not familiar to Della Maddalena, 28, in the years that followed the path of his winner late. After having accumulated these 10 consecutive victories to go to the UFC, it was favored in the seven previous octagon fights. However, despite this, it is counted by the Betmgm Oddsmakers against Muhammad, and his The other contenders for the Welter weights have followed suit in recent weeks, predicting its fall.
Although this negligent feeling is a new feeling for Della Maddalena, The same cannot be said for his championship opponent. Muhammad was mainly life disabled The radar since he made his debut in the octagon in 2016. There were turbulence along the way for the champion, but he ultimately never reached a tray, instead of climbing up to an undefeated sequence of 11 fights which led to his coronation in July.
Although Muhammad's redemptive victory over Leon Edwards was surprising in his determination, it was not persuasive enough. Even here, at the Crown, only one of our members of our team predicted, at the beginning of 2025, that Muhammad would be champion by 2026.
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On paper, Della Maddalena has several factors stacked against him, such as his launch of 14 months and his lack of experience on the main event. Just excluding the first of these two, and Della Maddalena can swing the consensus of perceptions for this match. After all, he was one of the quietest for fans to get out of the series of UFC candidates.
Anyway, the challenger has his blinders and considers the champion as a legitimate holder of the throne.
“I think he tends to be underestimated,” said Della Maddalena about Muhammad. “I don't know if it is like something in fashion simply say that he is zero, but yes, he is underestimated. He has a good curriculum vitae together. He beat really better fighters and he is a champion, so you shouldn't tell him that he sucks too much. But I suppose that people think.
“I respect what he did, of course. I said it several times – like 'GSP' (Georges St -Pierre) at the time, I have the impression that he was not respected enormously. Many people thought he was boring. Obviously, he started to accumulate victories, but some of his subsequent wines were a little tightened, and people said it was boring.
Belal Muhammad and Jack Della Maddalena led the UFC 315 on Saturday. (Chris Unger / Zuffa LLC)
(Chris Unger via Getty Images)
“I don't feel any additional pressure for the title,” added Della Maddalena. “I consider that it like another fight of five laps. But yes, I am excited for that. I definitely built a strong hunger to go back – and now it came, and it's a big fight. I have the impression of being able to beat Belal. I have always seen it from the outside and believe that I can beat it, so I think it's just to do the work.”
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When Push arrives in Shove, the artist Knockout Australian tends to get his hands dirty – and have raised – with only three decisions that release his curriculum vitae from 19 fights. But in truth, even if Saturday evening is going well, the real hard work is just starting for Della Maddalena in the resurgence basin of pretenders at 170 pounds. So when he hears doubts surrounding his chances at the UFC 315, he can't help but flash a sly smile.
“I think many candidates secretly hope that I do not win,” he said. “Then, I guess you just have to give respect to the champion – he did the job, he is a pro, he had a much larger curriculum vitae in the UFC, a curriculum vitae much better than me in the UFC. I understand where comes from (the story is).
“There's a lot of clear contenters at the top. There's a few guys that, you could probably put any of them in the Title Fight. … It's a good Time (in the division). A lot of young contenters, a lot of people Who Haven't ferght for the Belt Cuming Up, Think It's Great.
Almost a decade for this miserable beginning of his MMA career, Della Maddalena has only been three fights to double his first major goal – which seemed practically impossible when it was worth in this early pit at 0-2. Win no. 18 would be his greatest possible to date, but “JDM” and his team have already planned far beyond.
“After 10-2, we then said 20-2,” he said. “So we are all on the way. And then I'm probably sure that it will be 30-2 very soon.”
