No one feels worse about Jack Della Maddalena’s efficiency at UFC 322 than the previous welterweight champion after he was unable to provide nearly any offense in opposition to Islam Makhachev whereas giving up 4 takedowns and over 19 minutes of management time on the bottom.
It was a dramatically totally different outing from the battle the place Della Maddalena received the title by thwarting Belal Muhammad at each flip and in the end successful a choice. On Saturday, Della Maddalena didn’t cease a single takedown and solely landed 18 vital strikes through the five-round battle.
Whereas there’s most likely loads of blame going round proper now about what went mistaken, UFC legend Matt Brown grew more and more pissed off listening to Della Maddalena’s coaches in his nook trying to encourage him between rounds however hardly ever providing any technical recommendation.
“It appeared very odd to me like they had been simply making an attempt to fireside him up the entire time,” Brown mentioned on the most recent episode of The Fighter vs. The Author. “I mentioned he might be as fired up as he needs, if he doesn’t begin doing one thing totally different, it’s not going to assist. He’s preventing exhausting as hell. He’s grimacing the entire time. He’s squeezing as exhausting as he can, preventing in opposition to these submissions as exhausting as he can. The man is giving it his all. Telling him to present it extra will not be going to assist a single factor. If something, inform him to calm down a bit bit.
“One of many issues I’m huge on with cornering, it’s very troublesome to remain within the second. We all the time take into consideration what occurred within the final spherical. I feel it’s quite a bit like golf. You’ll be able to’t fear about the place you simply hit the ball. You need to fear about the place you’re going to hit the ball subsequent to get nearer to the pin. Should you’re sitting there fascinated with your final shot, you’re simply mentally f*cking your self.”
Brown criticized his coaches on Twitter saying “horrible cornering” and whereas he wasn’t making an attempt to pile onto an already depressing state of affairs, he simply didn’t perceive the philosophy through the battle.
As a substitute, Brown heard Della Maddalena’s coaches shouting quite a bit with out actually making an attempt to strategize a approach to truly win the battle or produce a Hail Mary comeback within the closing moments.
“I’d have beloved to listen to them say ‘hey, Jack sprawl your legs again when he is available in for a shot, keep heavy, have your hips heavy.’ One thing alongside these strains,” Brown mentioned. “Whether or not it might have helped or not, who is aware of. It’s a kind of issues, we don’t have any concept the dynamic between them as associates, their relationship as coaches. I strive to not hate an excessive amount of however within the second once I was listening to it, and I posted on Twitter, it was simply driving me nuts. I can’t take heed to this.
“This isn’t the best way you nook a man at a excessive degree. You’re in a championship battle in opposition to probably the best of all-time, definitely one of many biggest of all-time. He’s completely in that dialog now. He has the potential to be the best of all-time. That’s not the way you discuss to a man within the nook. He’s already the champion. He’s motivated to go on the market and win the battle.”
Brown did give credit score to Della Maddalena’s grappling coach Craig Jones, who he heard making an attempt to present him some technical pointers between rounds, however even that wasn’t precisely the absolute best technique to cease Makhachev from repeatedly taking the battle to the bottom.
“I keep in mind the one spherical Craig Jones got here into the octagon, gave him a bit little bit of precise recommendation,” Brown mentioned. “I don’t keep in mind which was which however earlier in between rounds, it was Craig Jones and in a while it was no matter different coach. Craig Jones was making an attempt to present him actual recommendation. It might be attention-grabbing to listen to Craig’s tackle that or his coaches’ take.
“I’d like to listen to what they need to say, not simply beat a useless horse on individuals that may’t defend themselves. I want to hear their opinion, their ideas on what their nook technique was or what they had been pondering or what they had been making an attempt to say.”
So far as the precise technique within the battle, Brown noticed shades of a mistake he made throughout his personal profession mirrored in what Della Maddalena was making an attempt to do in opposition to Makhachev.
Reasonably than making a concerted effort to close down Makhachev’s wrestling, Della Maddalena appeared solely targeted on taking part in protection off his again and stopping any submissions from placing him in an excessive amount of hazard.
That sport plan paid off as a result of Della Maddalena didn’t get completed, however he additionally failed to essentially do any harm to Makhachev throughout a 25-minute battle.
“What it appeared simply from the skin wanting in and Jack is a tremendous fighter, don’t need to take something away from him, however what it appeared, he skilled quite a bit to defend jiu-jitsu of Islam and survive,” Brown mentioned. “It was wonderful how he survived these submission makes an attempt. Islam went for just a few actually good submission makes an attempt and Jack was very crisp on his protection. It appeared like that was what he skilled probably the most. After all we do not know, we’re simply speculating nevertheless it didn’t seem he skilled his wrestling a lot as a result of he didn’t give hardly any resistance in any respect to Islam’s wrestling.
“I’ll let you know I made an analogous mistake. Once I fought Demian Maia, I did the very same factor. I skilled a lot to defend Demian’s rear-naked choke particularly however different issues too. What occurred was, I ended up with him having my again many of the battle, and I defended it many of the battle. Truly, the one cause I ended up getting caught is I went for a kamikaze escape, 30 seconds left, you already misplaced the battle, nothing to lose however that was actually the story of the battle. It felt to me like Jack made the identical mistake that I made. I targeted on what my opponent was doing and easy methods to defend their offense versus how do I get some offense myself? However significantly with Jack simply defending the wrestling. I used to be actually stunned at how simple it was for Islam plenty of the instances.”
Brown admits giving credit score the place credit score is due that Makhachev simply appeared like a unique form of animal than something Della Maddalena or his coaches had been ready to take care of this previous Saturday evening.
As soon as the downward spiral began, it didn’t cease till the battle was over.
“I let you know what it felt prefer to me, he had by no means felt somebody like Islam earlier than,” Brown mentioned. “I don’t know who’s in his camp. Craig Jones is a jiu-jitsu man. One of many biggest of all time jiu-jitsu guys however that’s not Islam. It felt like he had by no means felt that form of strain earlier than and wasn’t actually certain easy methods to deal with it. It appeared like he had taken as a right his potential to rise up.
“He definitely defended the submissions very effectively and you could possibly see him making an attempt many alternative methods, some clear Craig Jones methods of making an attempt to face up like octopus guard and various things like that. However it felt like he didn’t notice what he was in for. That speaks nothing however volumes about Islam Makhachev. The man is one thing particular, and there’s most likely not that many individuals which have felt that form of strain earlier than.”
