Islam Makhachev is an elite fighter, but can his chin withstand the striking of Jack Della Maddalena?
Maddalena’s coach, Ben Vickers, doesn’t seem convinced. Makhachev vacated the UFC Lightweight Championship to challenge Maddalena for the welterweight gold at UFC 322 in New York City. The title fight is scheduled to take place on Nov. 15.
“JDM” captured the 170-pound hardware by defeating Makhachev’s teammate, Belal Muhammad, back in May. Appearing on Submission Radio, Vickers suggested that Muhammad has a more sturdy chin than Makhachev (h/t MMAJunkie).
“I just don’t think Islam has the chin that Belal has,” Vickers told Submission Radio. “We know for a fact that if Jack clips someone clean on the chin, they can go over. So it could happen in the first minute, it could happen in the 24th minute, it could happen three rounds in. Jack likes long fights. He likes to be in there, but obviously we’re not getting paid for overtime.
“So if the opportunity arises, we’re happy to take it. But Jack’s cardio as we saw – Belal’s reputedly like the best cardio in the UFC and Jack out-cardio’d him. Belal was more tired than Jack toward the end of the fight. Jack’s cardio is exceptional. His power is exceptional. I like the fight – I really do.”
Makhachev has only been knocked out once in his career, and it has been his lone defeat up to this point. The loss occurred back in October 2015. Makhachev has engaged in the standup with the likes of Dustin Poirier before going to his bread and butter with the grappling. Some argue that Maddelena’s size could pose problems for the former lightweight champion.
It figures to be a stern test for Makhachev, who is a betting favorite going into the welterweight title fight at Madison Square Garden. Time will tell just how much Maddalena can test the chin of Makhachev.