Overview
- The welterweight title fight is set for Nov. 15 at Madison Square Garden, with Islam Makhachev moving up after vacating the lightweight belt earlier this year.
- Jack Della Maddalena told Fox Sports Australia he expects to spend much of the bout standing and believes his Craig Jones–honed grappling can throw Makhachev off, noting he stuffed six of nine takedowns vs. Belal Muhammad.
- Belal Muhammad, who fought Della Maddalena, warned that lapses during scrambles could be costly and predicted a Makhachev win if the fight hits the ground.
- Ex-teammate Josh Thomson and manager Ali Abdelaziz say Makhachev’s reduced weight cut to 170 will boost performance, with Thomson estimating a 195-pound walk-around and Abdelaziz calling this the best version of him.
- Israel Adesanya backed Della Maddalena’s ability to escape and strike, while Paddy Pimblett publicly rooted for the champion and taunted Makhachev ahead of UFC 322.