Jack
Della Maddalena got all he could handle from short-notice foe
Bassil
Hafez in the
UFC on ESPN 49 co-main event.
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While the Australian welterweight struggled with the takedowns and
top control from his opponent, he ultimately avoided an upset with
a split-decision triumph at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday
night. It was trying few weeks for Della Maddaleba, who had a pair
of matchups fall through at UFC 290 one week prior.
“When I look back it wasn’t my best performance but it was a lot of
fun,” Della Maddalena said at Saturday’s post-fight press
conference. “I came in with a crazy three weeks and at the end of
the day, you’ve just got to get in there and grit out a tough
fight. It was a tough fight. That’s what I came here for. The team
came out and it was a tough fight. I expected a tough fight. A guy
with a big opportunity on his hands and he delivered. It was a lot
of fun.
“I never underestimate anyone’s toughness. For a guy to step in on
a week’s notice, you’ve got to think that he’s a tough guy. It
wasn’t anything unexpected. There are things that I can probably
learn from and I could have done better but that’s what this game
is all about.”
When all was said and done, Haffez attempted a whopping 20
takedowns — landing three — and racked up 6:48 of control time.
Maddalena was more proficient on the feet, outlanding his adversary
by an 83-to-32 count in significant strikes.
“I thought I landed the bigger shots,” Della Maddalena said. “You
never know. Like when I heard the split decision, I thought it
could go either way. The judges are always all over the place but I
felt like I landed the bigger shots, he was shooting pretty
desperately and I feel like on top he didn’t do a whole lot of
damage.
“I’ll look back on it and see but I’m glad to get my hand raised
and I’m happy for him. Big opportunity and he delivered.”
It should come as no surprise that Hafez’s view of the scoring
differed from that of Maddalena’s.
“I thought I won the fight. I definitely still could’ve done more,”
Hafez said on his Instagram stories. “One of the toughest weight
cuts of my life, but I still showed up, made weight and fought my
heart out. I love all my fans, all my people. Thank you. This is
just the beginning. Can’t wait to get a camp and a proper weight
cut, and congratulations to Jack. He’s a beast and his striking is
on point. I showed that I can take his punches and maybe we’ll meet
again in the future.”
Maddalena has won his first five fights in the UFC, but his matchup
with Hafez was the first to make it past the opening round. He
hopes to rebook the bout against Sean Brady,
potentially at UFC 293, for his next Octagon appearance. Brady
withdrew from UFC 290 due to septic bursitis in his elbow.
“It’d be cool to do that fight – I think that was a great fight,”
Della Maddalena said. “Hopefully he sees this and goes, ‘Yeah, I
would love to go to Sydney.’ … I’d take Sean Brady. That was a
fight I really put work into. He’s a high-ranked guy.”