With Sean Brady out of his UFC 290 scrap with Australian star Jack Della Maddalena, a little-known talent out of Ohio is about to get a big opportunity to make a name for himself.
Josiah Harrell (7-0), an unbeaten teammate of Matt Brown with the quirky nickname “Muscle Hamster,” is set to step into the fight against Maddalena (14-2) this Saturday.
Brown wound up giving away the news himself on social media (h/t Chris Taylor), noting that Harrell was “going to surprise people.” Brady, meanwhile, was forced out of the fight after contracting a bacterial infection which developed into septic bursitis.
The 24-year old Harrell has competed for the likes of LFA and Cage Fury FC, and has competed at both welterweight and lightweight in the past. Maddalena’s fight with Brady was set for 170lbs.
A 2021 Contender Series winner, Jack Della Maddalena is 4-0 inside the octagon with four stoppage victories. All four of those wins have come inside of a round, with the last three earning JDM Performance of the Night bonuses.
UFC 290, which caps off this year’s International Fight Week, goes down live on Saturday, July 8, 2023 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. A featherweight title unification bout between champ Alexander Volkanovski and interim champ Yair Rodriguez headlines.
The following bouts are attached to UFC 290 at the moment:
- Alexander Volkanovski (c) vs. Yair Rodríguez (ic) — for the UFC featherweight championship / title unification bout
- Brandon Moreno (c) vs. Alexandre Pantoja — for the UFC flyweight championship
- Robert Whittaker vs. Dricus du Plessis
- Jalin Turner vs. Dan Hooker
- Bo Nickal vs. Tresean Gore
- Robbie Lawler vs. Niko Price
- Yazmin Jauregui vs. Denise Gomes
- Jimmy Crute vs. Alonzo Menifield
- Vitor Petrino vs. Marcin Prachnio
- Cameron Saaiman vs. Terrence Mitchell
- Shannon Ross vs. Jesús Santos Aguilar
- Kamuela Kirk vs. Esteban Ribovics
- Jack Della Maddalena vs. Josiah Harrell
