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Jack Della Maddalena had to battle for five hard rounds to become welterweight champion. His coach Ben Vickers expects another hard fight when Della Maddalena defends his title against Islam Makhachev in the UFC 322 main event on Nov. 15 in New York, but maybe not as difficult as what Della Maddalena went through to take the belt from Belal Muhammad. “I like the matchup, I really do,” Vickers told Southern Cross Combat. “I think it might actually be a bit easier than the Belal fight, just given the styles and that. Belal’s a bit more unorthodox, so a bit harder to cope with whereas Islam’s a more traditional sort of striker. Obviously, a slightly smaller guy and I don’t doubt that he’s going to put the weight on. “There’s two ways it could go. Does not having to cut weight help him or does carrying that extra weight hinder his cardio? We don’t know how that’s going to play out yet. He’s obviously never fought at ‘70 as a competitive fighter, I don’t think, so it’s going to be his first time stepping up a weight class, in a title fight, doing five rounds with the champ. It’s a tough ask for Islam and I understand that his body of work and the way that he’s sort of dispatched with everyone of late makes him the favorite, but I really think Jack’s going to have a good time in this fight.” Makhachev has been one of the most dominant fighters in all of combat sports over the past nine years, recording 14 straight victories in the UFC’s loaded lightweight division including four consecutive title defenses. He is currently No. 1 in the MMA Fighting Pound-for-Pound Rankings. One factor that led to Della Maddalena winning the title this past May at UFC 315 was his ability to defend against Muhammad’s pressure wrestling. Though Muhammad made a conscious decision to strike more with Della Maddalena, when he did go to his grappling he was unable to generate much significant offense. Vickers is prepared for Makhachev to give them a different look should the contest become grappling-heavy. “I think obviously Islam’s a much greater finishing threat,” Vickers said. “He’s a guy that gets submissions, while Belal’s more of a ride out positions kind of guy and look to stall out the fight. I think there’s a bit more danger in Islam’s grappling. He’s getting stoppages, but he’s getting stoppages against smaller guys and Jack’s very hard to submit. If it’s not perfect, it’s not going to work, so he’ll get out. “We’ll see, but I do think that Islam, on paper, is a better grappler.” Makhachev’s coach Javier Mendez recently said it’s not the wrestling Della Maddalena needs to worry about. He warned the Australian champion that striking with Makhachev is “a whole different ballgame” when fighters are actually in there with him. Vickers respects Makhachev’s all-around game, but isn’t convinced his standup is superior to Della Maddalena’s. “[Makhachev is] a good striker, but I feel like he’s a learning striker,” Vickers said. “I feel like he’s not as fluent as his grappling is. I feel like it’s not his preferred thing and I feel like he doesn’t have extreme comfort there just yet. He’s definitely a good striker, but he’s definitely not on Jack’s level when it comes to striking.”
