Jack Della Maddalena admits that his loss to Islam Makhachev haunted him for several nights. He is set to fight Carlos Prates at UFC Perth, marking his first bout since losing the welterweight title at UFC 322.
MIAMI, FLORIDA - MARCH 09: Jack Della Maddalena of Australia reacts after his TKO over Gilbert Burns of Brazil in a welterweight fight during the UFC 299 event at Kaseya Center on March 09, 2024 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images) | Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Jack Della Maddalena had never lost in the UFC before crossing paths with Islam Makhachev and the result wasnât easy to shake off.
On Saturday, Della Maddalena looks to bounce back from his disappointing performance against Makhachev when he takes on Carlos Prates in the main event of UFC Perth. Itâs the first fight for âJDMâ since losing the welterweight title at UFC 322 this past November, and heâs focused on the task at hand even though he admits the Makhachev defeat lingered.
âItâs part of the game,â Della Maddalena said at UFC Perth media day on Wednesday. âWins and losses, thatâs what this sportâs about. Yeah, it haunted me for a few nights for sure, but I was always expected to fight some of the big challenges, obviously. Carlos was someone I definitely thought I was going to fight at some point. It would be nice to be fighting him as the champion but thatâs just not the way it turned out.â
Makhachev won a lopsided decision over Della Maddalena, grounding him with wrestling for five rounds and denying Della Maddalena any opportunity to show off the dynamic striking that made him champion. It was the first loss for the Australian star after beginning his UFC career 8-0.
Fortunately for Della Maddalena, New York City offered plenty of ways to cope with the loss.
âI just ate a lot of pizza in New York,â Della Maddalena said. âSort of enjoyed New York City. Yeah, just sort of ate my way through the city and then got home and yeah, it was a bit sad when I got home, but thatâs the sport. Thatâs what makes winning so good is the potential of losing.â
In the five months since the Makhachev fight, Della Maddelana and his team have had plenty of time to review what went wrong and theyâre confident going five round with will only make him better.
Jack Della Maddalena lost to Islam Makhachev, which he described as a difficult experience to overcome.
Jack Della Maddalena is scheduled to fight Carlos Prates in the main event of UFC Perth.
Jack Della Maddalena lost the welterweight title at UFC 322.
Della Maddalena admitted that the loss haunted him for a few nights, reflecting on the challenges of the sport.
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âObviously, some technical things didnât go my way in the fight, so we went back, looked at those, looked at the reasons why we couldnât get those things off and try and rebuild off those, but yeah, different stylistic matchup [against Prates] for sure,â Della Maddalena said, later adding, âIn the fight itself, I guess more footwork. Probably just be more calm. I think I was just too emotional going into it, but theyâre the things you sort of take away, come back better.â
A win over Prates would keep Della Maddalena in the thick of the welterweight title race, one that has stayed hot in recent months. Aside from Della Maddalena and Prates, Ian Machado Garry appears to be the front-runner to challenge Islam Makhachev next, with the undefeated Michael Morales and former champion Kamaru Usman also waiting in the wings.
Given that cluster of names, Della Maddalena doesnât expect to challenge for the belt next no matter what happens Saturday night.
âProbably not,â Della Maddalena said. âI think thereâs a lot of contenders, a lot of fights that need to be had, so weâll see what happens. But it would definitely keep me in the top picture and I got the title shot originally from just being active and just ready to sort of jump in at a momentâs notice, so I guess it would just keep me in that position if anything does fall through Iâll be able to jump in. But yeah, I would expect probably two more fights and then have another shot.â