Jack Della Maddalena will aim to become the first UFC champion from Western Australia when he takes on Belal Muhammad for the welterweight title in Montreal, Canada this weekend.
Della Maddalena is currently riding a 17-fight win streak after dropping his first two professional bouts.
Speaking at UFC’s media day, the Perth local previewed the matchup and gave his bold prediction for how the fight will play out.
“I’m going to try and finish him dominantly you know, that would be the way I’d like it to go down,” he said.
“I’m a professional, I’m just coming in to take him out,”
“I think a third round knockout sounds pretty spot on.”
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The 28-year-old has surged through the rankings and views Muhammad as the toughest fight of his career to this point.
“He’s a winner, so it’s a tough fight, a tough guy to beat, but I believe that I’ve got the skills,” he said.
When asked about his opponents pre-fight antics, Della Maddalena is looking to take the back-and-forth in his stride and keep focused on the task at hand.
“All he does is talk trash,” he said.
“His bread and butter is pushing a hard pace, mixing it up, takedowns, striking. So yeah, I try not to listen too much to what he’s going to say,”
“He can say what he wants, I’m prepared for it all.”
A win for the Australian could have significant implications on the mixed martial arts scene in Western Australia.
The promotion has visited Perth three times, every card being a pay-per-view. With a local champion, the opportunity to continue their relationship with the Western Australian Government would be appealing for the UFC.
““I think it makes sense, you know. If Perth have a homegrown champion why not? It would be obviously a dream come true for me to defend the belt in Perth,” said Della Maddalena.
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In recent times, Della Maddalena has accrued a significant amount of training time with current featherweight champion, Alexander Volkanovski.
Travelling from Perth to help ‘The Great’ with his recent fight camp, the experience training with an Australian mixed martial arts legend could prove to be a valuable resource to draw from when taking on the well-rounded Muhammad.
“Watching Volk prepare for the big fights, he’s obviously been in the big fights, multiple world title fights,” he said.
“Just to be able to be in the room with him and see how he handles himself, see how he works and then just learning from him, very experienced champion,”
“It was a beneficial trip for me for sure.”
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