After seeing his fight at UFC 290 fall through this past weekend after not one but two opponents were forced out due to medical issues, Jack Della Maddalena has managed to land a fight just a week out from his original date.
The Australian fighter was to have squared off with Sean Brady, and later Josiah Harrell — but the latter was pulled from the card after weighing in when his pre-fight MRI revealed he was suffering from moyamoya disease, a rare brain condition which may require surgery.
Now, Maddalena (14-2), who has not lost a fight since 2016 after starting his career 0-2, will face the newly signed Bassil Hafez (8-3-1) at UFC Vegas 77 this weekend.
Ariel Helwani was first to report news of the match-up.
Maddalena reportedly stuck around Las Vegas in the wake of International Fight Week and UFC 290 in the hopes of landing a fight. And while it’s not Sean Brady, the bout does give JDM the opportunity to earn his fifth straight win inside the octagon.
All four of Jack Della Maddalena’s UFC bouts thus far have come via stoppage.
As for Hafez, he’s won two straight, over Evan Cutts and UFC alum Anthony Ivy. He’s also the man who said yes, getting his foot in the door even in a tough match-up against one of the UFC’s quickest-rising welterweights.
UFC Vegas 77 is headlined by a women’s bantamweight bout featuring Holly Holm and Mayra Bueno Silva. The following match-ups have been reported for the Fight Night event:
- Holly Holm vs. Mayra Bueno Silva
- Albert Duraev vs. Park Jun-yong
- Walt Harris vs. Josh Parisian
- Norma Dumont vs. Chelsea Chandler
- Ottman Azaitar vs. Francisco Prado
- Terrance McKinney vs. Nazim Sadykhov
- Tucker Lutz vs. Melsik Baghdasaryan
- Viktoriia Dudakova vs. Istela Nunes
- Austin Lingo vs. Melquizael Costa
- Evan Elder vs. Genaro Valdez
- Tyson Nam vs. Azat Maksum
- Alexander Munoz vs. Carl Deaton III
- Ashlee Evans-Smith vs. Ailín Pérez
