A new welterweight champion was crowned on Saturday at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Jack Della Maddalena defeated Belal Muhammad to capture the 170-pound championship in the UFC 315 main event.
Della Maddalena handed Muhammad his first loss since January 2019 while extending his own winning streak to an outrageous 18 consecutive fights. Former two-division UFC titleholder turned commentator Daniel Cormier was impressed by the Australian’s championship winning display.
“It was a virtuoso performance from the new champion,” Cormier said on his YouTube channel. “From the moment he stepped into the octagon you could tell we were looking at a completely different Jack Della Maddalena.
“This guy’s striking looked amazing to me. His takedown defense looked amazing. Jack Della Maddalena was as good as we’ve ever seen him in the octagon,” Cormier continued. “The moment that the fight started, you could tell Jack Della Maddalena was in his zone. His jab looked phenomenal. He was switching between his stances effortlessly. He was defending takedowns at a crazy high rate.”
Della Maddalena is expected to face lightweight champion Islam Makhahev in his first title defense. Makhachev plans to move up to the welterweight division specifically to hunt for a second divisional championship. He does not intend to relinquish his 155-pound championship, however.
