Jack Della Maddalena doesn’t blame his peers for doubting him in the biggest fight of his life. A 17-fight win streak is quite a run to go on. But what makes Della Maddalena’s all the more unique is that it came after he dropped his first two pro fights — both via demoralizing finishes. The last thing you’d expect from a 0-2 fighter is to go undefeated for the following nine years and challenge for an opportunity to be legitimately one of the best fighters in the world. Yet here we are, as Della Maddalena is set to challenge UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad at UFC 315 in Montreal, Canada.
As large as the moment is, no amount of pressure will compare to what could’ve been Della Maddalena’s MMA funeral against Brandt Cogill in his third bout at a small show in Australia’s Gold Coast in 2016. He won via a vicious back elbow knockout three seconds shy of the two-minute mark, and the rest is history.
“I felt a lot of pressure that day; that was probably the one that I would have maybe wrapped it up,” Della Maddalena told Uncrowned. “But I just still loved the sport. I didn’t have an extensive amateur career — I only had two amateur fights and then was straight in there. And I was in there with a pretty strong professional fighter [in my debut], so I guess I just copped my licking, copped my lesson as well — and then stepped into another tough fight, took another hard lesson. But … I just still enjoyed training. I still really wanted to compete, so I still just remember having the hunger for it.
“A lot of people were probably saying to me like, ‘Oh, you should probably wrap it up. This doesn’t really make sense. Obviously, you’re not very good.’ But then the people close by who were training with me, they were saying sort of the opposite, like, ‘No, you’ve still got more to give. We can push harder.’ My coach, after the second fight, we pretty much said that we’re sick of this. We’re going to set the goal of getting 10 wins in a row, which seemed pretty crazy at the time, but that was our thing. Like, we’re going to get to 10-2. That was always the number we were chasing. Then just got back in the gym, still had the hunger for the game, and just got to work and just ticked off win after win.”
The underdog role has become unfamiliar for Della Maddalena, 28, in the years since he belatedly found his winner’s path. After racking up those 10 straight wins to get to the UFC, he’s been favored in all seven of his previous Octagon fights. Yet despite that, he’s being counted out by the BetMGM oddsmakers against Muhammad, and his fellow welterweight contenders have followed suit in recent weeks, predicting his downfall.
While that overlooked feeling is a new sensation for Della Maddalena, the same can’t be said for his championship opponent. Muhammad has essentially been living off the radar since he first debuted in the Octagon in 2016. There’s been some turbulence along the way for the champ, but he ultimately never plateaued, instead leveling up to the tune of an 11-fight unbeaten streak that culminated in his coronation in July.
Although Muhammad’s redemptive win over Leon Edwards was surprising in its decisiveness, it wasn’t persuasive enough. Not even here at Uncrowned did a single one of our team members predict, at the start of 2025, that Muhammad would be champion by 2026.
On paper, Della Maddalena has several factors stacked against him, such as his 14-month layoff and lack of main event experience. Exclude just the first of those two, though, and Della Maddalena may swing the consensus of perceptions for this matchup. After all, he’s been one of the quieter fan-favorites to come off the UFC’s Contender Series.
Regardless, the challenger has his blinders on and sees the champion as a rightful holder of the throne.
“I think he does tend to be underrated,” Della Maddalena said of Muhammad. “I don’t know if it’s like a trendy thing to sort of just say that he sucks, but yeah, he’s underrated. He’s got a good résumé together. He’s beaten some really top fighters and he’s a champion, so you shouldn’t tell him he sucks too much. But I guess that’s what the people think.
“I respect what he’s done, of course. I’ve said it a few times — like ‘GSP’ (Georges St-Pierre) at the time, I feel like he wasn’t respected hugely. A lot of people thought he was boring. Obviously he started racking up wins, but some of his later wins were a bit tighter, and people said he’s boring, and this and that. But yeah, you can’t disrespect the résumé that he (Muhammad) has and the workload that he has.
“I don’t feel any extra pressure for the title,” Della Maddalena added. “I just look at it as another five-round fight. But yeah, I’m excited for it. I’ve definitely built a strong hunger to get back in there — and now it’s come around, and it’s a big fight. I feel like I can beat Belal.”
“I’ve always seen him from the outside and believe I can beat him, so I believe it’s just getting the job done.”
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When it comes down to it, the Australian knockout artist isn’t afraid to roll up his sleeves and get the job done. With only three decisions in his 19-fight career, Della Maddalena is no stranger to hard work and determination. However, even if he emerges victorious on Saturday night, the real challenge lies ahead as he navigates the competitive landscape of the 170-pound division.
“I think a lot of my competitors are secretly hoping I won’t succeed,” he remarked. “But I have to give credit to the champion — he’s put in the work, he’s a seasoned professional with a much more impressive UFC record than mine. I understand where the doubt is coming from.”
“There are plenty of strong contenders at the top. Any of them could potentially challenge for the title. It’s a competitive division with a lot of up-and-coming fighters, which I think is fantastic. Whoever emerges as the champion — and that will be me — will have a tough road ahead defending the title. I’m ready for the challenge.”
Almost ten years after a rocky start to his MMA journey, Della Maddalena is now just three fights away from achieving his goal of doubling his initial success. While victory number 18 would be a significant milestone, both “JDM” and his team are already looking towards the future.
“After reaching 10-2, our next target is 20-2,” he revealed. “We’re well on our way there, and I have no doubt that we’ll soon be aiming for 30-2.”