Jack
Della Maddalena couldn’t resist engaging in a little
back-and-forth with the notoriously chatty Kevin
Holland in the
Noche UFC co-main event.
Advertisement
“I didn’t want to get involved, but it’s hard not to,” Maddalena
said at the post-fight press conference. “I’ve never fought someone
that does that sort of thing before, so it’s interesting.”
That friendly banter didn’t aversely affect the result in the
Octagon for Maddalena, who emerged with a split-decision triumph
over Holland in their welterweight bout at the T-Mobile Arena in
Las Vegas on Saturday night. Of course, there was that little bit
of doubt that crept in when the Aussie heard that at least one
scorecard was in favor of his opponent.
“I thought I was winning,” Maddalena said. “I feel like I was
pushing the pace, landing the heavier shots. As soon as I heard the
split decision, you never know. You never know with the
judges.”
While Holland outlanded Maddalena by a 127-to-105 count in
significant strikes per UFCStats.com, the Aussie appeared to land
the more impactful offense over the course of the fight. Holland’s
length and unorthodox striking ability made for an interesting
challenge.
“He’s hard to read and I didn’t know what to expect going in there,
so I just wanted to be defensively sound in landing shots,”
Maddalena said. “I wanted to try to take him out into the last
round, but yeah, he was hard to read.”
After beginning his promotional tenure with four straight
first-round finishes, Maddalena has encountered more difficult
sledding in recent months with split-decision wins over Holland and
short-notice foe Bassil
Hafez this past July. Those longer fights can be beneficial, he
says.
“Every fight you take things away,” Maddlena admitted. “Especially
when you’ve got three rounds, there’s a lot more film to study and
a lot more technical aspects you can work on. Just good
experience.”
Of course, the closely-contested victories don’t always resonate
with the masses nearly as much as the quick finishes. Because of
that, Maddalena is aware that he probably didn’t silence his
critics with his latest performance.
“Probably not,” he said. “I don’t think you every shut everyone up.
I’m sure they will keep talking s—t.”