Jack Della Maddalena vs. Islam Makhachev, basic striker vs. grappler matchup, proper?
That’s not how Makhachev’s coach Javier Mendez sees it.
In an interview with Submission Radio, Mendez was requested about feedback Della Maddalena lately made about Makhachev’s standup recreation being extra easy in comparison with that of Belal Muhammad. Della Maddalena defeated Muhammad to win the welterweight championship at UFC 315 and he defends that title towards Makhachev at UFC 322 on Nov. 15 at Madison Sq. Backyard in New York.
Mendez isn’t bothered by Della Maddalena’s appraisal, particularly if the champ retains that vitality on battle night time.
“If he’s saying that, I hope that he goes in believing that as a result of when he will get in there with Islam you’re going to seek out out an entire completely different story,” Mendez stated. “I’m sorry, they’re fully completely different, and not at all is Islam straightforward for anyone within the standup. Any MMA fighter that’s a striker isn’t going to have a simple time with him. I’ve been with this child happening 11 years of watching him simply destroy all people within the standup. Guys which might be significantly better standup than him and he nonetheless destroys them.
“Don’t go by what you see. Once you get in there with that man, it’s an entire completely different ballgame.”
Della Maddalena has been on a tear since an uninspiring 0-2 begin to his professional profession. He has gained 18 straight fights, 12 by knockout, together with three straight first-round TKOs to start his UFC run and a dramatic third-round end of longtime contender Gilbert Burns.
The UFC 315 principal occasion noticed Della Maddalena win a back-and-forth placing battle with Muhammad and given his spectacular credentials, Mendez is treating “JDM” with the utmost respect.
“His placing could be very, superb,” Mendez stated. “It’s very various and he’s very highly effective with each strike. He can harm you with something. He can harm you with a kick, a knee, left hook, proper hand, proper uppercut, left hook, you identify it. The man’s bought the overall arsenal to have the ability to put you down, so I’m positively totally conscious of what he can do. Additionally, the longer it stands, there’s at all times a superb probability he’s going to get hit, we’re going to get hit. So the longer it stands, the more serious it will possibly get for anyone. Sooner or later or one other, guys like this, they’re each quantity, form of precision strikers, so we simply should make it possible for he doesn’t land any of the bombs. And he may, it may occur due to the best way he does it.
“He’s not a 1-type man. He’s a 1-2-3-4 kind, then re-chambers and comes again once more and he’ll change his model whereas he’s punching you. He’s switching, so that you’re going from orthodox to southpaw again to orthodox all whereas placing and that’s extraordinarily spectacular.”
Mendez holds Della Maddalena in such excessive regard that he’s doing one thing he’s claimed he’s by no means accomplished earlier than: watching tape of an opponent to assist put together Makhachev. Specifically, Mendez is reviewing how Della Maddalena outworked Muhammad, a good friend and coaching companion of Makhachev and his teammates.
“I watched it two instances already, the entire battle, and I by no means used to so that is how a lot I respect him,” Mendez stated. “He’s a legit contender. I do know I’ve one of the best pound-for-pound fighter in my coronary heart, in my eyes, however we nonetheless have to be on prime so as to keep on prime. We have to respect somebody like Jack and provides him the due respect by giving him each ounce of my vitality to how good he’s and what we have to do to not enable his strengths to beat our potential weaknesses that he might expose.”
