BELAL MUHAMMAD’s reign as welterweight champion came to a bloody end at UFC 315.
The Palestinian-born American looked to make the first defence of the 170lbs title he ripped from Leon Edwards’ clutches in Manchester last July.
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Standing between him and a successful title defence was Aussie Jack Della Maddalena, who was returning from a 14-month lay-off following a horror BONE INFECTION.
But it wasn’t to be as he suffered a unanimous decision defeat to JDM, who wrote his name into the history books by becoming Australia’s third-ever UFC title holder.
An elated Della Maddalena said: “It’s exactly how I thought it would feel. It feels f***ing good.
“I knew I had to be smart on my feet. I should have been a bit sharper with the shots.
“Coming in there against someone like Belal with that pressure wrestling, I knew I had to be smart.
“I thought I was ahead, I wanted to take him out of there. Belal’s the man, he’s a tough dude.
“Australia, we got three of these babies. Let’s go!”
Della Maddalena put on a striking clinic throughout the contest and punished Muhammad from the very first round.
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Muhammad, to his credit, ate JDM’s best shots and kept coming forward as he looked to land the takedown.
Della Maddalena showed great takedown defence throughout the fight and scrambled back to his feet incredibly well when he was grounded.
Damage ended up being the difference when it came to the scoring of the contest.
And the huge gash Della Maddalena inflicted under Muhammad’s eye with a beautiful knee in the fifth round likely swayed the judges, who scored the contest 48-47, 48-47 and 49-46 in his favour.
Della Maddalena’s victory has had major ramifications for Dana White and Co.’s plans for the UFC’s International Fight Week card on June 28.
Had Della Maddalena lost, a mammoth lightweight title fight between champion Islam Makhachev and former featherweight king Ilia Topuria would’ve headlined UFC 317.
But his victory has paved the way for Makhachev to move up to 170lbs to try to become a two-weight world champion.
Dagestani destroyer Makhachev is champing at the bit to move up in weight, writing on X: “Time to become a double champion #inshaAllah. Let’s go.”
Della Maddalena is relishing the task of dethroning the sport’s pound-for-pound king, saying: “I think it’s a beautiful challenge.
“He’s pound-for-pound No. 1. I’m going to get him back for [Alexander Volkanovski].”
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