Jack Della Maddalena's rise to King of the Welterweights

Before the ufc

Della Maddalena's MMA career started back in March 2016 where he made his debut at Eternal MMA. The Perth-born fighter did not get off to a great start though as he suffered a third-round TKO loss before losing his next fight by first-round submission.

However, his success eventually began in October 2016 where he earned a first-round knockout win against Brandt Cogill at Eternal MMA 20.

The following year would see him fighting in three different promotions, scoring a TKO win at Eternal MMA 26 and Reign Fighting 3. The Aussie made is only Cage Warriors appearance in November 2017 where he secured his first submission win, defeating James Duckett in the second round with a Rear-Naked Choke.

The knockout artist would have five more bouts in Eternal MMA before earning a significant opportunity on Dana White's Contender Series (DWCS), earning five consecutive KO/TKO victories from March 2018 to October 2020. This included a win over a recently released UFC fighter, Kevin Jousset.

Della Maddalena earned his contract into the UFC after going the distance with Ange Loosa to win by unanimous decision in the fifth season of DWCS.

becoming a contender

The Australian had an eye-catching and significant rise in the UFC Welterweight division, especially in his debut year of 2022 where he earned three first-round KO/TKO wins.

The first came at UFC 270, where he took out Pete Rodriguez in just three minutes. The second came at UFC 275, where he featured on the main card, defeating Ramzan Emeev before earning his third victory at the APEX against Danny Roberts at UFC Vegas 65.

It was clear that the UFC community saw Della Maddalena as a threat on the feet, but he would be just as vicious on the ground, as he submitted Randy Brown in the first round at UFC 284, picking up a victory in his hometown of Perth.

After becoming a promising prospect, things almost took a turn for the worst as Della Maddalena's next fight would be against UFC debutant, Bassil Hafez in the co-main event of UFC Vegas 77. The Aussie only just managed to steal the win as he went to the judges scorecards to win by split decision, receiving some backlash from fans.

Just two months later, Della Maddalena took on a Welterweight contender for the first time as he fought Kevin Holland at Noche UFC. Once again the fight was a close shave as the Perth-born mixed martial artist won by split decision to enter the 170-pound rankings.

The New UFC Welterweight Champion

Six months after picking up his second consecutive split decision win, Della Maddalena had the opportunity to face a former title challenger as he took on Gilbert Burns at UFC 299.

Despite being the favourite on the betting odds heading into the battle, Della Maddalena struggled in the first two rounds as the Brazilian's wrestling was a problem for the Aussie as he had to finish the fight in the third round. 

Miraculously he did as he landed a knee to the skull of Burns before eventually finishing the comeback victory with a vicious ground and pound to secure a spot in the top five of the Welterweight rankings.

After months and months of inactivity, it was announced that Della Maddalena would take on Leon Edwards at UFC London, however, because Shavkat Rakhmonov was injured and was meant to challenge for the 170-pound champion, Belal Muhammad, at UFC 315, an intriguing change was made which gave the 28-year-old a championship opportunity.

The Perthian did have a far bigger unbeaten streak compared to Muhammad, but the Palestinian had a better resume of names with wins over the likes of; Leon Edwards, Sean Brady, Vicente Luque, Stephen Thompson and Demian Maia.

Della Maddalena was the underdog heading into the title bout, especially after Muhammad's performance against Edwards in enemy territory, but would turn the doubters into believers after his electric achievement at UFC 315.

The striking, head movement, footwork, takedown defence, and pressure was part of the excellent game plan which allowed a new King of the Welterweights to be crowned as he went the distance with Muhmmad to win by unanimous decision.