Brady believes Della Maddalena’s strength and resilience will upset Makhachev in highly anticipated UFC 322 clash
UFC welterweight contender Sean Brady has backed Jack Della Maddalena to pull off a surprise victory over Islam Makhachev in their upcoming fight at UFC 322. The highly anticipated bout, scheduled for November 15 at Madison Square Garden in New York, will see Della Maddalena (18-2 MMA, 8-0 UFC) defend his welterweight title against the dominant Makhachev (27-1 MMA, 16-1 UFC), the former lightweight champion.
Brady, who himself is a rising star in the welterweight division, is impressed by the way Della Maddalena has evolved and feels that his opponent’s grappling-heavy style won’t be as effective against the Australian striker. Della Maddalena, fresh off his victory over Belal Muhammad at UFC 315, stunned fans with his striking abilities and knockout power, claiming the welterweight title. Now, he’ll face a much tougher challenge in Makhachev, but Brady believes Della Maddalena has the tools to outclass the Russian.
“I think it’s a lot tougher of a fight for Islam than people are giving Jack credit for,” Brady said on UFC Unfiltered. “Jack’s very hard to hold down. He’s a big body, hits like a freight train, has knockout power, and he’s shown that just because someone gets you down doesn’t mean you’re stuck. Can you hold him down? Jack is really good at creating scrambles and getting back to his feet—he’s shown that against Belal.”
Brady pointed out that while Gilbert Burns had more success with takedowns against Della Maddalena than Belal Muhammad, the latter still struggled to maintain control. “Jack’s really good at separating the hands and creating chaos,” Brady added.
Although Brady has a personal stake in the fight, wanting Makhachev to win so he could challenge the Russian for a legacy fight, he still picked Della Maddalena as the underdog for the upset. “Selfishly for me, I want Islam to win because I want to fight Islam for a legacy thing, and I think I can beat him. I think I can beat anybody in the world,” Brady said, further fueling the hype for his potential matchup with Makhachev.
Brady (18-1 MMA, 8-1 UFC), who is coming off a dominant submission victory over Leon Edwards in March, is also eyeing a potential fight at UFC 322 against other top contenders like Ian Machado Garry, Belal Muhammad, or Shavkat Rakhmonov.
As UFC 322 approaches, all eyes will be on the clash between Della Maddalena and Makhachev, with Brady’s pick adding more intrigue to this high-stakes showdown.
