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Makhachev will challenge Maddalena for the welterweight title in the main event at UFC 322 on Nov. 15 at Madison Square Garden in New York. The former lightweight champ recently praised Maddalena’s skillset while also pointing out a hole in his game. While Makhachev thinks Maddalena is a great striker, he believes the Australian lacks effective takedown defense. However, Makhachev notes that while almost all of Maddalena’s UFC opponents took him down, the welterweight champ can defend himself on the ground. Makhachev believes Maddalena is confident in his ground game and doesn’t make mistakes in panic.
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Makhachev: JDM Doesn’t Panic When Taken Down
“His striking is good, his boxing is very good. His wrestling not so good but he is good in the ground,” Makhachev told ESPN. “He knows how to defend, how to escape, how to get up. He have good skills on the ground… I saw his defense, a lot of guys take him down. I think all of his opponents in the UFC took him down. But he feels good on the ground. When somebody take him down, he does not panic, doesn’t make mistakes.”
Makhachev defended his lightweight title four times, the most in the division’s history, before moving up to welterweight. Meanwhile, Maddalena hasn’t lost in 18 straight outings since dropping his first two professional fights in 2016. Maddalena won the welterweight title with an upset unanimous decision over Belal Muhammad at UFC 315 this past May.
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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