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Jack Della Maddalena was asked about a potential move to middleweight. Australia’s Della Maddalena became the UFC welterweight champion earlier this year when he defeated Belal Muhammad by unanimous decision at UFC 315 in May. Months later, JDM is set to make his first title defense against former pound-for-pound king and lightweight champion Islam Makhachev in the main event of UFC 322 on Nov. 15. This is Makhachev’s welterweight debut. Makhachev was given an immediate title fight with Della Maddalena after defending his 155 lb title four consecutive times. While he doesn’t cut a ton of weight to make 170 lbs, Della Maddalena could see himself moving up a weight class in the future. Jack Della Maddalena calls Khamzat Chimaev ‘good challenge’ at middleweight Della Maddalena isn’t one to rush a potential move to middleweight as he wants to ‘clean house’ against the division’s top contenders first. “I would like to be a defending champion,” Della Maddalena told New York Post Sports (h/t: Championship Rounds). “I like to see a champion sort of, at least, like, clean out a lot of the top 10 guys before moving up. “I respect what Islam’s done. I think he’s moved up at a good time. He’s done good work at lightweight. Cleaned out the division, moved up. “I’ll try and do this,” Maddalena said. “I’ll try and defend my belt multiple times before even considering changing the division.” Undefeated at 15-0, Khamzat Chimaev currently rules over the UFC middleweight division after defeating Dricus du Plessis at UFC 319 in August. “Yeah, for sure,” Della Maddalena said if the middleweight division is on the horizon for him. “I think so. I’ve always, I would like to fight Khamzat Chimaev at one point. “If my career goes well, it’d be a good challenge,” Della Maddalena said of fighting Chimaev. A week after, former champion Belal Muhammad looks to rebound from his title loss against Della Maddalena when he meets Ian Machado Garry at UFC Qatar. There’s also the undefeated Shavkat Rakhmonov, who has been inactive since beating Machado Garry last December. Don’t forget Kamaru Usman, the former pound-for-pound king and welterweight champion. Usman got back to winning ways by dominating Joaquin Buckley over the summer.
