Jack
Della Maddalena knows he has to put in some work to earn a
title rematch against Islam
Makhachev.
Makhachev vacated the lightweight title and moved up to
welterweight to challenge Maddalena for the title at UFC 322
this past November. There were high expectations from Maddalena
after he dethroned Belal
Muhammad to win the title in a massive upset at UFC 315.
However, Makhachev completely dominated Maddalena on the canvas for
five rounds to earn a lopsided unanimous decision win.
Advertisement
While an immediate rematch was unlikely for Maddalena, UFC 322 also
saw Michael
Morales and Carlos
Prates emerge as fresh contenders. Meanwhile, Ian Garry
defeated Muhammad a week later at
UFC Qatar to make a claim for title contention. While Maddalena
wants a rematch against Makhachev, the Australian knows that he
will have to get past at least one hungry contender first.
No Shortcuts
“My goal is obviously to go back,” Maddalena told FightWave. “I
want to get the world title back and also to challenge myself
against these guys, all those new contenders and really find out
who the best is. I believe I can reign supreme. I’d love to get a
shot at Islam again; that’d be the dream. But obviously, he is at a
different part of his career. Hopefully, I can get to a point where
he grants me the rematch… It’s gonna be tough competition in the
Top 5, we’re all gonna have to bring our A-game come fight night.
Because there’s a lot of people working hard to get the belt.”
Maddalena (18-3) was riding an 18-fight winning streak with eight
UFC victories before his loss against Makhachev. Makhachev
(28-1) has since been calling for a spot on the UFC White House
card in June. While fans were hoping for a matchup between
Makhachev and Ilia
Topuria, that ship has seemingly sailed for the time being.
Lightweight champion Topuria will reportedly fight interim champ
Justin
Gaethje in a title unifier. Meanwhile, Garry is reportedly the
frontrunner for a welterweight title shot against Makhachev at a
later date.
Jack
Della Maddalena hopes Islam
Makhachev grants him a rematch after a win over a top
contender„My goal is obviously to go back and get the world title back and
also to challenge myself against these guys – all those new
contenders and really find out who the best is. I… pic.twitter.com/FDiECbsvkX— Red Corner MMA (@RedCorner_MMA)
February 17, 2026