UFC welterweight division champion Jack Della Maddalena (77 kilograms) wants to have a fight against Shavkat Rakhmonov.
«I’ve always wanted to fight Shavkat, I don’t know, I just thought when I first saw him coming to the UFC, I thought he’d be doing good things, you know? I think he just…well, he dominated for a bit,» Maddalena said in conversation with former UFC champion Israel Adesanya.
The Australian athlete is currently preparing to defend his title against Islam Makhachev. Their bout is scheduled for Nov. 15 at UFC 322 in New York. According to Maddalena, the fight against the Russian athlete will help him prepare for a possible bout with Rakhmonov.
«All matches bring different experiences. You learn from all of them. Yeah, but I think so… I mean, Shavkat is a bit different to Islam. Yeah, longer, bigger,» Maddalena said when asked whether the fight with Makhachev would help against someone like Rakhmonov.
The Australian fighter challenged Rakhmonov in 2024, but at the time Maddalena suffered a leg injury and a bone infection, which sidelined him for 14 months.
«I always believed our paths would cross. I think I got the skills to beat him,» Maddalena concluded.
