Australian fighter Jack Della Maddalena is preparing for a UFC 315 clash with Belal Muhammad in Montreal, but has already set his sights on a dream clash with Islam Makhachev, where he is looking to secure a measure of revenge after his potential opponent took down fellow Aussie Alex Volkanovski at UFC 294.
Clearly, the 28-year-old Perth-born star still needs to deal with Muhammad first, and that clash, which takes place at the Bell Centre on May 10th, won’t exactly be a walk in the park, not least because his opponent is the reigning Welterweight UFC Champion and a fighter who has not lost since 2019.
UFC fans who want to back either fighter in the top fight can make such a wager all the more glorious with the help of this BetMGM promo code, therefore making the bet even less of a risk.
Makhachev has actually beaten Volkanovski on two occasions, having also beaten him in UFC 284 in Perth, which was a far tighter affair, and the chance to take on the 33-year-old Dagestan-born star is very much on Maddalena’s mind.
On the possibility of a showdown with Makhachev, he commented.
“That would be nice,”
“In Perth! That would be a bit of a story, Volk [revenge]. We’ll see. Anything’s possible. We get through Belal, and then I think, yeah, I guess opportunities will present themselves.” Maddalena added.
Volkanovski got back into the groove by beating Diego Lopes in UFC 314 and therefore took back his featherweight crown.
Maddalena comes into his fight with Belal Muhammad in great shape, having won 17 straight fights. He is unbeaten since his back-to-back opening losses in the UFC, which came at the hands of Aldin Bates and Darcy Vendy back in 2016, and he has matured into a well-rounded fighter of real promise.
His last fight came in UFC 299 in Florida, when he tamed Gilbert Burns, but Muhammad promises to be a very tough opponent indeed.
He also defeated Burns and followed up that victory with a strong showing in UFC 304, where he beat Leon Edwards by a unanimous decision. In February, it did look as if Maddalena would be facing Edwards, but he had no qualms with switching his focus, stating.
"I was ready to go, big fight [against Leon Edwards],"
"Bit of a change in opponent, but I am pretty confident I can get the win. I'm ready to tackle the next few weeks, sharpen the tools and come in the best version of myself.
This is Maddalena’s first title shot, and is seemingly not a fighter that overly concerns Muhammad, who said after his win over Edwards.
"I am the best striker in the welterweight division," said Muhammad. "I am the best grappler, I am the best wrestler, I am the best fighter.”
"We've seen it. Leon Edwards – he was the next one up. He knocked out Kamaru Usman and I made it look easy. I am going to make it look easy on 10 May. People keep doubting me and I am just going to keep breaking those barriers."
One of these in-form talents is going to come up short in the octagon, but right now, it would take a brave fan to select who will emerge victorious.
