"Same approach he took with Charles Oliveira" - Islam Makhachev’s roadmap for Jack Della Maddalena fight gets dissected by former UFC fighter

Former UFC fighter Josh Thomson recently weighed in on a potential bout between Islam Makhachev and newly crowned welterweight champion Jack Della Maddalena. Earlier this week, Dana White dropped the bombshell news that Makhachev had relinquished the lightweight title.

Ilia Topuria will now face Charles Oliveira for the vacant belt, with Makhachev set to move up to 170-pounds and challenge Della Maddalena.

Makhachev's movements were dependent on the outcome of the UFC 315 main event between Belal Muhammad and the Australian last weekend. If Muhammad had retained his title, Makhachev would have likely remained at 155-pounds to face Topuria due to his friendship with 'Remember the Name'.

However, following Della Maddalena's impressive unanimous decision victory, it's expected his first title defense will be against Islam Makhachev later this year.

Josh Thomson recently offered his take on the potential fight during a recent episode of the WEIGHING IN podcast. According to Thomson, he expects Makhachev to adopt the same gameplan he did when he faced Charles Oliveira. He explained:

"Even JDM thinks 'He's [Makhachev] going to take me down and submit me'. That's what I think! I'm not trying to knock JDM, I'm simply saying I think he [Makhachev] is going to take the same approach he took with Charles Oliveira. He's going to stand with him a little bit becasuse he's not just going to rush in and try and shoot the take down...He's going to touch him a little bit, see if he can land something, that southpaw headkick is there."

Catch Thomson's comments below (24:20):

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Jack Della Maddalena's coach predicts knockout win over Islam Makhachev

Ben Vickers, coach of Jack Della Maddalena, recently offered an early prediction for the bout. Speaking in a recent interview with Submission Radio, Vickers highlighted the striking, in particular the power Della Maddalena possesses. According to the Aussie coach, Makhachev has never faced somebody with the knockout pedigree and ability to push the pace like his pupil. He explained:

"I watched a bit of footage of Islam Makhachev, in particular the Poirier fight. I've never watched Makhachev before as a potential opponent, I've just enjoyed him fighting because he's brilliant to watch. But, I think Jack will knock him out."

He continued:

"Poirier only hit [Makhachev] once in the first round. I just feel like he's not used to taking damage. He's not used to being in tough fights with someone pushing the pace, and he's been knocked out before. Jack's got size on him. Belal is a perfect warm-up fight. I feel very confident going into that fight."

Check out Ben Vickers' comments below: