Former UFC welterweight champion Jack Della Maddalena finally spoke out after losing in the main event of UFC Perth earlier this month.
Della Maddalena was finished via third-round TKO by rising superstar Carlos Prates at UFC Perth, which took place on May 2. Since then, he has remained rather quiet, as the sting of losing two straight fights clearly hurt, following this defeat to Prates and a five-round unanimous decision defeat to Islam Makhachev last November, where Della Maddalena lost his belt.
Now, he has finally spoken out after the loss to Prates.
Jack Della Maddalena Speaks Out
Taking to his social media this week, Della Maddalena issued a brief statement where he thanked his supporters for their well-wishes after he was brutally knocked out by Prates.
“Thanks for all the love and support. I could not be prouder to represent my gym @scrappy_mma_and_fitness , my family, my city and country. Not the desired result this time around but it was in line with the desired challenge; fighting the most vicious and toughest opponents,” the former UFC welterweight champion Della Maddalena wrote on his Instagram.
What’s Next for Jack Della Maddalena?
It will be interesting to see what the UFC does with Della Maddalena next.
After losing to Prates, Della Maddalena fell three spots in the official UFC welterweight rankings, where he now sits at No. 4, behind the champ Makhachev, Ian Machado Garry, Prates, and Michael Morales, in that order. While Della Maddalena is a former UFC champion, the fact that he has been dominated in his last two fights is a tough look no what way you cut it.
As for what the UFC will do with him now, it’s up in the air. After absorbing so much damage against Prates, Della Maddalena will likely take some time off to rest and recover, both mentally and physically, before he makes his return to the cage. When he does return, likely near the end of this year, Della Maddalena will have to fight down in the rankings.
Taking a look at the rest of the top 15, there are a few very intriguing fights for the Aussie. Sean Brady, who just smashed Joaquin Buckley at UFC 328, would be a very interesting matchup stylistically, and he deserves a big fight after such a dominant victory. Another intriguing option is Yaroslav Amosov, who just picked up a second-round stoppage win over Joel Alvarez at UFC 328 to move to 2-0 in the UFC. That would also be a very interesting fight. Then, there’s Mike Malott, who is 7-1 in the UFC. He is coming off a huge knockout win over Gilbert Burns in his last fight and is due to fight someone higher up the rankings.
In any case, don’t write off just because Della Maddalena has lost two straight fights. He is still an excellent fighter who is just one year removed from beating Belal Muhammad at UFC 315 to win the welterweight belt. It may be tough for him to win it back, but there is every reason to believe he can be competitive with top-15 opponents, and his return to the UFC, presumably, later this year will be a very highly anticipated fight.
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