"Can make our night a very bad night" - Islam Makhachev's coach heaps praise on Jack Della Maddalena for his striking ability

Islam Makhachev's head coach, Javier Mendes, has heaped praise on Makhachev's upcoming opponent, Jack Della Maddalena. Mendes is impressed by the striking ability and well-roundedness of Maddalena and has predicted a challenging welterweight debut for the former lightweight kingpin.

Makhachev vacated his lightweight title earlier this year and is now set to face Maddalena at UFC 322 in a bid to attain double champion status. On the other hand, the Aussie defeated Belal Muhammad via unanimous decision to capture the 170-pound title in May.

Mendes appeared on Submission Radio, where he weighed in on his star disciple's upcoming challenge. He stated that Maddalena blends his striking effectively and has a variety of weapons to inflict damage.

"[Maddalena's] striking is very good. It's diverse, and he's very powerful with every strike. He can hurt you with anything. He can hurt you with a kick, a left hook, a right hand, a right uppercut, a left hook, you name it. The guy has got the total arsenal to be able to put you down...... [Maddalena] is not a one-type guy. He's a one-two-three-four type, then rechambers and comes back again. And he will switch the style while he's punching you."

Mendes added:

"When I say [that] I am extremely impressed by him, that means I better work harder, because we actually have a real opponent and we have to make sure that we get everything right because this is the individual that can make our night a very bad night if we don't do our homework. And I'm definitely doing my homework."

Check out the comments from Islam Makhachev's coach, Javier Mendes, below (7:38, 8:50):

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Robert Whittaker picks Jack Della Maddalena to defeat Islam Makhachev

UFC legend Robert Whittaker has backed Jack Della Maddalena to pull off the upset against Islam Makhachev in their upcoming clash.

Whittaker appeared on the MMAArcade Podcast, where he weighed in on the UFC 322 headliner. According to him, the Aussie holds the advantage in the striking department.

"I’m going to go [with] Jack. I think Jack has that X-factor. I think he has the guts, the grit, the determination to fight the takedowns. To fight the ground, to fight the takedown attacks that Islam is going to go for. And I think in a striking fight, straight up, Jack is better. I think he wins in the hands."