Montreal — Australian Jack Della Maddalena is the man who fortune shone upon in advance of UFC 315.
With Shavkat Rakhmonov injured, Maddalena was pulled from a headlining gig at UFC London last month to headline this Saturday’s Pay-Per-View card in Montreal, while challenging Belal Muhammad for the promotion’s welterweight title.
As luck would have it, Maddalena was already preparing for a five round fight in London, opposite Sean Brady. Yet in combat sports, there’s timing, and then there’s timing. Fighters can get to title shots too soon in their careers, and wind up bounced back, or too late, and miss their window, especially their athletic prime.
Jack Della Maddalena told Cageide Press during Wednesday’s UFC 315 media day that he feels the title shot has come roughly when he expected it.
“I think it was good timing. I think if I hadn’t got the injury, my thought is I would have been fighting for a title at a similar time,” said Maddalena, referring to an arm that required surgery, and a nasty infection that followed. “I would have fought one of the top guys later in the year. And then I believe it’s worked out the same. I’ve obviously missed a fight, I think perfect world, we would have had the fight beforehand, but I think timeline, it works out well.”
The Australian doesn’t get to fight for his first UFC title at home, but he is headlining the card in another commonwealth nation, which at the least is neutral ground, rather than on Muhammad’s home turf in the United States. Then there’s the history that Montreal brings with it, as far as MMA goes.
“It’s a pleasure to fight here, especially with the welterweight division, obviously the man, GSP, is from here. So there’s a bit of history in the division. I’m excited to kick off my title run in Montreal.”
JDM also gave his thoughts on whether champ Muhammad, who has been habitually overlooked by fans, has improved, or just never gotten credit for being as good as he is.
“I think he’s always been pretty good,” said Maddalena. “I think he’s always done what he needs to do to win, and I think that’s his strong suit. He’s a winner. It’s a tough fight, it’s a tough guy to beat, but I think I’ve got the skills. There’s a lot of tape on him, so I’ve been studying, and I think I’ve got the ability to beat him.”
Watch Jack Della Maddalena’s full UFC 315 media day appearance above.
