Islam Makhachev considers Jack Della Maddalena one of his toughest opponents to date but he obviously doesn’t buy that the reigning UFC welterweight champion is about to show him something he’s never seen before.
In the leadup to the UFC 322 main event, both fighters involved have been very respectful towards each other but only one man can walk out victorious when they clash in the cage. When addressing his advantages in the fight, Della Maddalena said rather emphatically that “I’m a better mixed martial artist than” Makhachev and he plans to “break” the Russian when they finally meet.
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Della Maddalena might be saying it but Makhachev doubts he actually buys it.
“I think nobody believes this,” Makhachev said with a laugh when reacting to Della Maddalena’s comments during UFC 322 media day. “He’s a good boxer. He’s a good fighter but I know I have better skills.”
A huge part of the narrative surrounding this fight has come down to the stylistic differences with Makhachev being best known as a suffocating grappler and Della Maddalena much preferring a standup battle so he can look for the knockout.
Of course, Makhachev promises he’s got plenty of striking skills to deal with whatever gets thrown at him and Della Maddalena has worked tirelessly to prepare for an eventual battle on the ground.
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In fact, Della Maddalena employed multi-time grappling champion Craig Jones as a major part of his training camp to get ready for former champion Belal Muhammad and now with Makhachev ahead of him. To his credit, Della Maddalena largely shut down Muhammad’s wrestling in that fight but Makhachev isn’t too concerned about Jones’ coaching making some kind of dramatic difference in this matchup.
“He helped [Alexander Volkanovski] a lot,” Makhachev said about Jones after he faced and defeated the UFC featherweight champion twice.
Throughout his career, Makhachev has never shied away from taking on a different kinds of opponents from elite strikers to top grapplers and everything else in between.
While he clearly thinks he’s the better fighter overall, Makhachev still ranks Della Maddalena near the top of his list when it comes to the most challenging opponents he’s ever faced.
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“Like top three [all time],” Makhachev said about Della Maddalena. “He’s one of the best [fighters] who I’ve fought. Because he’s a champion. A UFC champion, it means you are a high level fighter.”
The odds say Makhachev is an overwhelming favorite to win on Saturday but don’t expect the now former UFC lightweight champion to believe he’s got an easy night ahead of him.
UFC 322 serves as Makhachev’s first test at welterweight but more importantly he’s got a well-rounded opponent ready to take his head off if he’s not careful.
“Not because he’s the bigger guy, because he’s good,” Makhachev said about the fight. “I saw his fight with Belal, with many guys, he’s good everywhere. His striking is very good. But I saw his wrestling, he can defend. His grappling, if somebody takes him down, it’s not like he’s surprised. He feels good there. I know my skill is better.”
