Jack Della Maddalena has surely taken everyone by surprise. Going up against Belal Muhammad, Della Maddalena made a thumping statement. And now that he is the champion, the Australian fighter is getting his flowers from the former UFC double champ, Daniel Cormier. Hailing Della Maddalena, Cormier laid out his analysis of how his fight with Islam Makhachev would look.
In a recent analysis, Cormier opined that most people underestimated Della Maddalena significantly. Regarding the heavily hyped matchup, DC stated that it will be a battle between Makhachev’s wrestling and Della Maddalena’s defense. Although Della Maddalena is known for his brutal striking, Makhachev will surely go for the takedown early on in the fight.
“I think that it’ll come down to the wrestling of Islam versus Jack’s takedown defense and (0:29) how stingy is he going to be able to be with Islam? (0:31) Because when Islam can take guys down early, they really struggle,” said Cormier.
Daniel Cormier @dc_mma gives his breakdown of the Islam @MakhachevMMA vs Jack Della Maddalena fight, as the Russian lightweight king gets ready to step up to welterweight to face the Australian champ. pic.twitter.com/pizRm6xWGr
— Red Corner MMA (@RedCorner_MMA) May 19, 2025
The former champ also pointed out the only way for the fight to remain attractive: Della Maddalena successfully breaking out of Makhachev’s takedowns. Meanwhile, coming face to face with the Dagestani, Della Maddalena, too, made his respect known.
Jack Della Maddalena Gives His Due Respect To Islam Makhachev
In the upcoming days, we might see some heated verbal exchanges between Islam Makhachev and Jack Della Maddalena. However, ahead of all that, Della Maddalena knows in his mind how great a fighter Makhachev is. And he is not shying away from giving him his flowers. Speaking about his next opponent, Della Maddalena stated that the fight would be tough.
“His grappling is some of the best we’ve seen. So, I’ve got to be extremely prepared, but I think I’ve got the skills to beat him. Obviously, I’m gonna have to work extremely hard, but my team fully believes that we’ve got the skills to beat Makhachev,” Della Maddalena said.
Thus, with things heating up considerably, it remains to be seen who comes out on the brighter side.
Also Read: Robert Whittaker Backs Jack Della Maddalena To Do The Impossible Against Islam Makhachev