Overview
- The Nov. 15 main event at Madison Square Garden features Islam Makhachev’s welterweight move against Jack Della Maddalena’s first title defense.
- Della Maddalena says he plans to “surprise” in grappling and expects long stretches on the feet after working with Craig Jones and Alexander Volkanovski.
- Belal Muhammad, who trained with Makhachev and faced Della Maddalena, picks Makhachev and warns that JDM’s scrambling mistakes could be punished on the ground.
- Makhachev’s camp highlights reduced weight cutting and increased strength at 170 pounds, with Ali Abdelaziz and Josh Thomson saying he feels healthier and stronger.
- Odds favor Makhachev, yet opinions diverge as Michael Bisping calls the matchup a coin toss and Din Thomas advises early takedowns to blunt Jones-inspired counters.