A former UFC Welterweight Champion is skeptical of Jack Della Maddalena finding success in his era.
Maddalena is the reigning 170-pound titleholder. He captured the gold by defeating Belal Muhammad at UFC 315 via unanimous decision. Maddalena demonstrated effective takedown defense and standup to earn the welterweight gold.
“JDM” is expected to put his gold at stake against former UFC Lightweight Champion Islam Makhachev before 2025 comes to a close. During an interview with Action Network, Tyron Woodley claimed Maddalena wouldn’t have even been a title challenger when he was the reigning welterweight champion
“He wouldn’t even have been in my crosshairs,” Woodley said. “I wouldn’t have been looking at him in the scope. He wouldn’t have gone through Carlos (Condit). He definitely wouldn’t have gotten through Robbie (Lawler). ‘Wonderboy’ (Thompson) does better against pure strikers than all of us.
“His timing and his abilities, just to get in-out real quick, he would have beat him. I think he’s a good fighter. I never take away from people, it’s hard to win a championship just because there’s so much pressure. But I can just think of ten people in my division at that time that was the champion that would have beat him.”
Woodley successfully defended the UFC Welterweight Championship against Stephen Thompson, Demian Maia, and Darren Till. He knocked out Robbie Lawler to capture the 170-pound gold. “The Chosen One” ended up losing the championship in a blowout decision to Kamaru Usman in 2019.
As for Maddalena, he’ll likely have a chance to hand to Makhachev the first loss of his pro MMA career. Many experts believe that Maddalena will be a stern test for Makhachev due to his size and improved takedown defense. If Maddalena can keep the fight standing, things might get interesting in the striking department.
BJPenn.com will provide updates on Maddalena vs. Makhachev once they become available.