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Jack Della Maddalena | The Calm Before The Storm
Welterweight Title Challenger Jack Della Maddalena Remains Unfazed By The Spotlight Ahead Of Main Event Clash With Champion Belal Muhammad At UFC 315 On May 10
Despite being just days away from the opportunity of a lifetime, welterweight title challenger Jack Della Maddalena is treating UFC 315 fight week like he’s been here a hundred times before.
In reality, the 28-year-old has only stepped inside the Octagon eight times, including his contract-earning performance on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2021. He hasn’t been here long, but when you look at what the Aussie’s done with that time, it makes sense why he’s the one facing Belal Muhammad in the champ’s first title defense in Saturday night’s main event in Montreal.
UFC 315 FULL FIGHTS: Muhammad vs Edwards 2 | Della Maddalena vs Burns | Shevchenko vs Murphy | Fiorot vs Namajunas
He was originally scheduled to kick off his 2025 campaign in London against former champion Leon Edwards. And while no fighter wants to hear they’re being pulled from a booked matchup — especially one he was so keen on taking — pushing things back two months for a shot at a world title is about as good a reason as there is.
“It was the dream call to get the call to fight for the belt,” Della Maddalena said. “I was looking forward to the fight with Leon. We prepped pretty hard for the striking matchup against the former champion, but to get the call to fight the current champion, it was a dream come true. We know we have our work cut out for us, but we feel like we’ve been preparing for this day for a long time.”
That preparation hit a new gear once he officially made his debut against Pete Rodriguez three years ago. Della Maddalena rattled off four straight first-round finishes over Rodriguez, Ramazan Emeev, Danny Roberts and Randy Brown — a win that’s aged like fine wine following Brown’s impressive run of form ever since.
What was so impressive during that stretch was seeing how much damage Della Maddalena inflicted with each shot. In those four wins, he didn’t just sprint across the Octagon hunting for a finish. He took his time and picked the right shots when they presented themselves. And once he connected, it was only a matter of time before the damage became too much to handle.
MORE UFC 315: Coach Conversation: Muhammad vs Della Maddalena | Fight By Fight Preview | Fighters On The Rise
Della Maddalena then grinded through two 15-minute battles with Bassil Hafez and Kevin Holland to earn a fight with former title challenger Gilbert Burns at UFC 299. It was in that fight where his calm and composed nature inside the Octagon was truly tested, after going down two rounds on two of the judges’ scorecards.
It was all or nothing heading into the third, but Della Maddalena stayed true to the game plan and executed it to perfection. After stunning Burns, the Brazilian clinched up and managed a takedown. With the clock winding down, Della Maddalena wiggled free and landed a beautiful step-in knee that dropped Burns. Sensing the finish, he swarmed with vicious elbows and sealed the win with under 90 seconds left in the round.
This time around, against a fighter in Belal Muhammad who uses relentless pressure and cardio to wear down opponents, Della Maddalena actually plans to be a little more aggressive and make Muhammad pay every time he engages.
“I’ve been practicing for this day for a long time, so I feel like I’ve got the experience to stay calm,” Della Maddalena said. “I feel like I’ll just do what I do. I know I’ve got the skills to beat Belal. I’ll try not to be too calm. He’s going to be coming forward, so I want to meet him in there, meet fire with fire.
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“I expect him to come forward, but he’s going to have to walk through the fire to take me down. I think I can do some good damage; think I can sting him. I think I can take him out before the final bell.”
A major factor in this fight is that it will be Della Maddalena’s first UFC bout slated for five rounds. Fortunately, he’s been training for a 25-minute fight ever since his UFC London main event with Edwards was in the works. With at least four months of dedicated preparation — plus 10 years of daily mixed martial arts training — he feels more than ready for the challenge ahead.
“Prepping for those (extra) two rounds has been the main difference,” Della Maddalena said. “Training camp’s been much the same as usual, trying to get as fit as possible. Adding the two rounds, you gotta have a little bit more endurance, but I think when it gets to the championship rounds it’ll be more of just a mindset thing at that point.
“He’ll keep coming forward, putting pressure on, shooting takedowns. He doesn’t stop until the final bell, so we know what we’re in for, but I believe I got the skills to take him out.”
MORE JDM: View Della Maddalena's Athlete Profile Page | Della Maddalena's Greatest Hits
Should Della Maddalena rise to the occasion on Saturday night inside Bell Centre, it wouldn’t just be a career-defining win for him personally, but a landmark moment for Australian MMA, as he’d become the country’s second concurrent UFC champion alongside newly crowned featherweight king Alexander Volkanovski.
“It’d be a surreal feeling,” Della Maddalena said. “I’ve been working toward this point for a long time. I put in a lot of sacrifice and hard work. A lot of supporters of mine have come over to support, so it’d mean a lot to bring the belt back to them, and taking the belt back to Australia would mean the world.”
UFC 315: Muhammad vs Della Maddalena, live from Bell Centre in Montréal, Québec, Canada on May 10, 2025. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!
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