Belal
Muhammad (24-3) believes he can beat Jack
Della Maddalena (17-2) on the feet.
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Muhammad puts his welterweight title on the line against Maddalena
in the main event at UFC 315
on May 10 at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. While
Muhammad was originally expected to defend his title against
Shavkat
Rakhmonov, the Kazakh couldn’t accept the matchup due to an
injury.
While Muhammad is arguably one of the best wrestlers on the
UFC roster, Maddalena has devastating knockout power in his
hands. However, Muhammad claims it won’t be a typical striker vs.
wrestler matchup. “Remember the Name” vows to not be gun shy
against Maddalena and prove himself as the best boxer at 170
pounds.
“I’m gonna go in there and I’m gonna outbox Jack,” Muhammad
said on “The Coach and the Casual” podcast. “I’m not
gonna shoot one takedown, and I’m gonna show him the meaning of
Canelo hands. I’m gonna show the UFC fighters [and] the fans that
I’m the best boxer in the UFC, best boxer in the welterweight
division.”
Muhammad is on an 11-fight unbeaten streak since 2019. Muhammad won
the title with a dominant unanimous decision win over Leon
Edwards at UFC 304 in Jul, 2024. However, the champ is often
criticized for the lack of finishes on his resume.
Meanwhile, Maddalena hasn’t lost since his first two pro outings in
2016. The Australian is has finished five of his seven UFC wins so
far and comes off a knockout win over Gilbert
Burns at UFC 299 last year.