Belal Muhammad vs Jack Della Maddalena Preview & Picks
Belal Muhammad is tipped to retain the welterweight title by decision.
Muhammad’s grappling will be the key factor for him once again, as he uses it to smother Jack Della Maddalena and grind out the victory on points.
- Belal Muhammad is on a 6-fight win streak
- Belal Muhammad is unbeaten in his last 11 fights
- 12 of Belal Muhammad’s last 14 wins have come by decision
- Belal Muhammad has gone the distance in 13 of his last 16 fights
Belal Muhammad Form
Belal Muhammad is the reigning UFC welterweight champion with a professional record of 24-3 (5 KOs, 1 Sub) with 1 No Contest.
Muhammad first debuted in the UFC in July 2016, and he got off to a rough start as he lost two of his first three fights.
He rallied with a four-fight streak that was eventually ended by a points loss to Geoff Neal, but he rebounded quickly from that setback with another four-fight tear.
The 36-year-old Chicagoan’s run ended when an accidental eye poke cause a premature end to his fight with Leon Edwards, but his response was to surge to the very top of the division.
Muhammad returned to winning ways with a unanimous decision victory over Demian Maia, and he then ended 2021 with a points victory over Stephen Thompson.
He began 2022 with a decision success against Vicente Luque, before ending a three-year wait for a stoppage win as he knocked out Sean Brady in the second round.
The American fought just once in 2023, but a decision victory over Gilbert Burns was enough to earn him a fight for the welterweight title.
Muhammed took his big chance last July as he dethroned Leon Edwards to claim the welterweight title via unanimous decision.
Jack Della Maddalena Form
Jack Della Maddalena is the number five ranked welterweight contender with a professional record of 17-2 (12 KOs, 2 Subs).
Maddalena debuted in the UFC in 2022 after a successful showing on Dana White’s Contender Series, and he got off to a fast start.
He marked his debut with a first round knockout of Pete Rodriguez, and backed that up with two more first-round TKO wins that year as he stopped Ramazan Emeev and Danny Roberts.
The 28-year-old Australian then produced the first submission win of his UFC career as he tapped out Randy Brown in the first round to start 2023.
Maddalena fought twice more that year and he was able to keep his streak intact with split decision victories over Bassil Hafez and Kevin Holland.
JDM’s sole outing of 2024 was much more emphatic though, as he knocked out Gilbert Burns in the third round.