Alexander Volkanovski likes Jack Della Maddalena’s chances of spoiling Islam Makhachev’s welterweight debut.
Welterweight champion Della Maddalena (18-2 MMA, 8-0 UFC) makes his first title defense against Makhachev (27-1 MMA, 16-1 UFC) in the UFC 322 main event on Nov. 15 at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Volkanovski pushed Makhachev to the brink in their lightweight title fight at UFC 284, but was knocked out in their rematch on short notice at UFC 294. Having gone five hard rounds with Makhachev, Volkanovski likes what he saw out of Della Maddalena in his title-winning performance over Belal Muhammad at UFC 315.
“You can’t doubt him. He’s a welterweight, and you’ve got Belal, who’s a grappler-wrestler. Look how he handled that,” Volkanovski told Submission Radio of Della Maddalena. “He’s a beast on the feet. I guarantee you from that fight, his confidence in grappling and takedown defense has just gone to a whole other level.
“He’s going to be an absolute nightmare. I’m hoping to get some training in with him for this one, as well. We’ll tee something up, for sure. JDM – he’s a weapon. I know that Islam is not taking this one lightly, and he shouldn’t.”
Della Maddalena is envisioning a finish, and UFC featherweight champion Volkanovski doesn’t rule out that possibility.
“JDM’s boxing and pressure that he can do, incredible,” Volkanovski said. “He can definitely get a finish. Islam’s great. Him moving up, I still think, is a nightmare for a lot of the people in the division. But I think JDM can do it.”
