Outside Source
Jack Della Maddalena (18-2) will put his welterweight title on the line against Islam Makhachev (27-1) in the main event at UFC 322 on Nov. 15 at Madison Square Garden in New York. The champion has opened as a sizeable +205 underdog against Makhachev, a -265 favorite. While Bisping acknowledges Makhachev’s skillset, he doesn’t think the odds are fair for Maddalena. The UFC Hall of Famer notes that Maddalena is riding an 18-fight winning streak, where he has proven himself against elite grapplers like Belal Muhammad and Gilbert Burns. “The Count” is also confident that trading against Maddalena on the feet won’t go down well for Makhachev.
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Bisping: Della Maddalena Has Skills to Win at UFC 322
“The crazy thing is that Islam Makhachev is quite a sizable favorite,” Bisping told Bloody Elbow. “I think that’s a little bit disrespectful to Jack Della Maddalena. The man’s on an 18-fight win streak, he just beat Belal Muhammad, he defended all the takedowns there, he’s beaten all the grapplers before in the past… If Islam was to stand with Jack, that would be a bad idea. Jack’s boxing and the footwork that’s associated with boxing, that’s gonna help, and that’s going to be very advantageous. He knows how to defend a takedown, he knows what he’s doing off his back, he knows how to get up… Don’t be surprised if Jack gets it done.”
Maddalena has a history of upsetting the odds, having opened as an underdog in his last three wins. The Australian has finished four of his eight UFC opponents so far, compared to Makhachev’s 10 finishes in 15 wins. The Dagestani star defended his lightweight title four times, the most in the division’s history, before moving up to welterweight.
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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