Locked in: Perth champ Della Maddalena to face UFC superstar

West Australian UFC champion Jack Della Maddalena will put his welterweight belt on the line when he takes on Islam Makhachev at UFC 322 in New York on November 15.

Della Maddalena became just the third Australian to win a UFC crown when he defeated Belal Muhammad in a welterweight title showdown in Montreal in May.

Della Maddalena’s victory over Belal Muhammad earned him the UFC Welterweight Championship.Credit: Paul Kane/Zuffa LLC

That against-the-odds victory was all the more remarkable given it was Della Maddalena’s first fight since suffering a career-threatening broken arm 14 months earlier.

The 28-year-old West Australian ended up needing four rounds of surgery due to a series of infections, and there were even fears at one point he may lose his arm.

Della Maddalena (18-2) showed no signs of ring rust as he pummelled Muhammad to win their five-round bout by unanimous decision.

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Now, the bright lights of Madison Square Garden awaits Della Maddalena, who boasts a perfect 8-0 record since making his UFC debut in 2022.

Muhammad, Gilbert Burns, Kevin Holland and Bassil Hafez are among Della Maddalena’s impressive list of victims, but Makhachev (27-1) represents the biggest challenge of them all.

Makhachev, who twice defeated Australian champion Alexander Volkanovski in 2023, vacated his lightweight belt earlier this year in order to have a crack at welterweight glory.

Della Maddalena has openly spoken about wanting to avenge Volkanovski’s defeats, and he now has the chance as part of the headline event in New York.

The co-main event will see Valentina Shevchenko defend her flyweight belt against strawweight queen Zhang Weili.

AAP

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