He saw it coming: Belal Muhammad predicted Della Maddalena’s loss to Prates

Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images

Carlos Prates earned a statement win on Saturday, and Belal Muhammad was quick to point out the key factor that swung the fight in his favour.

The Brazilian stopped Jack Della Maddalena in Perth, putting together a performance that highlighted just how dangerous he can be when he’s dialled in.

Even Islam Makhachev noticed what happened. The welterweight champion took time to acknowledge Prates for getting the better of a man he once shared the cage with.

Prates’ reach advantage turned out to be a real problem for Della Maddalena. That was something Muhammad had seen coming long before they touched gloves.

Speaking with Helen Yee ahead of the fight, Muhammad gave his thoughts on how things might play out, predicting that Prates’ reach would be too much for Della Maddalena to handle this time around.

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

Belal Muhammad backed Carlos Prates over Jack Della Maddalena because of his kicking game

Jack Della Maddalena was dethroned as welterweight champion in November, losing to Islam Makhachev during the Russian’s first title defence. Makhachev’s wrestling was clearly the difference-maker, but he also found success with his kicks throughout all five rounds.

When discussing ‘The Nightmare’ and the man who took his belt, Belal Muhammad pointed to this aspect of the fight.

“We saw in Jack’s last fight, right? Islam was landing some very good kicks. Low kicks,” Muhammad said in a video on his YouTube channel. “You’ve got to attack the legs, attack the arms, attack the head. I think switching up those kicks, mixing it up. Jack, he has good boxing defence, but he doesn’t really have really good kick defence.

“So, I think for Prates, putting those kicks in and then that’ll make Jack second-guess those punches, right? Because he does get hit a lot, even though it’s boxing. Sometimes he’ll take a punch to get three.”