Copyright Yardbarker
UFC middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev has offered his prediction for the upcoming welterweight title fight between Jack Della Maddalena and Islam Makhachev. On November 15, Islam Makhachev will finally challenge for the welterweight title when he takes on Jack Della Maddalena in the UFC 322 main event. The fight comes months after the Russian vacated his lightweight title in pursuit of becoming a two-weight champion, with it set to be one of the biggest title fights of the year. And ahead of his first title defense, Della Maddalena has outlined his dream plan, as well as talking about a future middleweight title fight against Khamzat Chimaev. Chimaev offers UFC 322 main event verdict ‘Borz’ was once ranked at welterweight and it seemed inevitable that he would fight for the title eventually, but long-term health issues forced him to make the move up to 185lbs. And once he made his permanent move up in weight, it didn’t take him long to win the title when he dethroned Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 319 earlier this year. Despite that, the 31-year-old has continued to tease that maybe he isn’t done at welterweight and in the future could make the move back down again. With that, ahead of the main event in a few weeks time, Chimaev has offered his verdict on the clash between the Australian and Makhachev. “Jack or Islam? I think Islam, we will see. Both are good fighters. Islam moving up is interesting to see how he’s gonna do but I think Islam will win, he’s gonna use his wrestling more in this fight,” Chimaev said in a video on his social media. Despite Makhachev being the wide favorite in this fight, he has been warned by UFC legend Michael Bisping about Della Maddalena’s key skill. Could we see Chimaev fight the winner in the future? Although Chimaev has seemingly found his correct weight at 185lbs, there always seems to be a possibility that he might return to welterweight at some point. Pairing that with the fact that Della Maddalena has admitted he would like a future fight against ‘Borz’, a lot of it leans on who wins in the UFC 322 main event. If Makhachev successfully wins the title, it is unlikely that Makhachev and Chimaev will fight in the future, considering their historic ties.
