Ian Garry maps out welterweight takeover, says Jack Della Maddalena is next to fall

In just eight fights in the UFC, Jack Della Maddalena has reached the top of the promotion's welterweight ladder. He put on a fight for the ages against former champion Belal Muhammad to snatch the belt via a unanimous decision.

With his performance, Della Maddalena has put the entire UFC welterweight division on notice. One specific welterweight who took a keen interest on the Aussie's performance that night is no.6 welterweight Ian Machado Garry.

Garry, who beat Carlos Prates at UFC on ESPN 66 last month, took to X to send a warning to the new champion:

"I was wrong. Jack Della Maddalena is the new champion in the division. Because Belal [Muhammad] didn't shoot any takedowns. Mental, I know."

Get the latest updates on One Championship Rankings at Sportskeeda and more

He then proceeded to make two possible match-ups in the welterweight division: Carlos Prates vs Geoff Neal and former welterweight king Leon Edwards vs Michael 'Venom' Page'. After which, Garry turned his attention back to the champion:

"Now, you've got the new champion, Jack Della Maddalena.The Aussie. Great performance, but sloppy. Rumor is [UFC lightweight champ] Islam Makhachev is moving up to 170lbs. And if he does, then all of us welterweight will have to take a step back and give the man the respect he deserves. But if negotiations don't go so well, then you got a tall blonde, Irishman who's ready to take over the UFC and take that belt, and I will smoke Jack Della Maddalena."

Listen to Ian Machado Garry here:

Expand Tweet

Jack Della Maddalena ready to take on Islam Makhachev next after resounding win over Belal Muhammad

In the weeks leading up to UFC 315, rumors suggested that if Jack Della Maddalena wins the belt, UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev will move up to challenge for the welterweight strap. The only thing stopping the Dagestani champion from challenging for the 170-pound throne was his relationship with then-champion, Belal Muhammad.

Now that the strap is no longer on Muhammad's waist, Makhachev has the greenlight to challenge for a second belt. With Della Maddalena wearing the gold, it paints a compelling narrative as the Aussie champion has a score to settle with Makhachev for beating his fellow Aussie Alexander Volkanovski twice.

In his post-fight octagon interview, Della Maddalena was asked about what he thought of Makhachev moving up to challenge him. The new champion replied (3:11):

"I think it's a beautiful challenge, you know. He [Makhachev] is pound-for-pound number one. I'm going to get him back for Volk [Volkanovski]."

Listen to him here:

About the author

Duane is an expert MMA writer at Sportskeeda with over 10 years of experience working for the likes of Philippine Star, Esquire Philippines, Playboy Philippines, etc. A major in English, he has written over 2000 articles for Sportskeeda section, extensively covering UFC and boxing fights.

Duane is a practicing MMA fighter with a 11-7 record. He is also a Brazilian jiu-jitsu purple belt and trains Muay Thai. His connection with MMA dates back to 2005, when he turned into a fan after watching Fedor Emelianenko defeat Mirko ‘Cro Cop’ Filipovic at Pride FC - Final Conflict 2005.

Emelianenko finds himself right at the top of Duane’s Mt. Rushmore of MMA fighters, alongside other big names like Demetrious Johnson, Jon Jones, Georges St-Pierre, and Anderson Silva.

Duane’s love for the sport is reflected in his writings, where he believes in speculating but not insinuating. He uses his intensive knowledge and skills in MMA to provide unique insights to the readers, along with sourcing information only from reliable sources.

Outside of work, Duane enjoys martial arts training, visual arts, film criticism, video games, and creative writing.

Know More

Follow One Championship News, Schedule & Results at Sportskeeda.

Edited by Krishna Venki