Outside Source
Islam Makhachev challenged Jack Della Maddalena for the welterweight title in the main event at UFC 322 last weekend at Madison Square Garden in New York. While Makhachev was a sizeable favorite, the odds didn’t reflect the domination that the former lightweight champ imposed.
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Makhachev (28-1) targeted Maddalena’s (18-3) lead leg, which neutralized any striking threat from the Australian in the latter rounds. Makhachev also took Maddalena down with ease and controlled him for 19 minutes to earn a lopsided decision victory. Tsarukyan was surprised by Maddalena’s inability to offer any counter to Makhachev. “Ahalkalakets” had expected Maddalena to defend some takedowns and to get back on his feet when taken down. However, Tsarukyan credits Makhachev for displaying the different levels to this game.
‘He Was On Another Level’
“I thought Jack would be able to defend some takedowns and get up from the ground,” Tsarukyan told Red Corner MMA. “But he could do absolutely nothing. Islam showed he was on another level. He nullified all of [Maddalena’s] strong attributes and just dominated.”
Tsarukyan (22-3) was originally supposed to challenge Makhachev for the lightweight title earlier this year, but was forced out with an injury a day before the fight. Tsarukyan was denied a shot at the vacant title when Makhachev moved up to welterweight. Ilia Topuria went on to win the vacant strap against Charles Oliveira. While Tsarukyan was rallying for a title shot against Topuria, “El Matador” is more interested in defending his belt against Paddy Pimblett. Tsarukyan is now scheduled to face Dan Hooker (24-12) in the main event at UFC Qatar on Saturday at the ABHA Arena in Doha.
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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