By Justin Chadwick
Australia have two current UFC champions for the first time in the country’s history after Jack Della Maddalena produced an upset victory over Belal Muhammad in their welterweight bout in Canada.
Della Maddalena left his opponent bloodied early in Saturday night’s (Sunday WST) fight in Montreal, and his take-down defence was superb throughout.
The West Australian landed the more significant blows, and twice threatened to end the fight in the fifth and final round, only for Muhammad to recover in the nick of time to defend his space.
The three judges scored the bout 48-47, 48-47, 49-46, handing Della Maddalena a unanimous decision victory.
With Alexander Volkanovski winning the featherweight title last month and Della Maddalena claiming the welterweight belt, Australia have two current champions for the first time.
The only other champion in Australian history was Robert Whittaker in the middleweight division.
“Australia we’ve got three of these babies. Let’s go,” Della Maddalena said after claiming the belt.
“It’s exactly how I thought it would feel, it feels f—ing good.
“He brings the pressure. I knew I had to be smart on my feet.
“I should have been sharper with the shots, but it is what it is.
“I couldn’t spend too much time on my back. I felt like I took my breath and made my move.”
The opening round was an even affair, with both fighters landing some nice blows.
Della Maddalena copped a couple of early rights, but fought back with a nice kick to the head, followed by a left-right combo.
The Australian’s confidence continued to grow in the second round, with a nice jab leaving the champ momentarily on the back foot.
By the end of the third round, there was a strong sense Della Maddalena was winning the fight, with his quick movement and take-down defence continually frustrating the champ.
Muhammad, sensing the fight slipping away, came out swinging in the fourth round, finally earning his first take-down.
Jack Della Maddalena (left) has defeated Belal Muhammad to win the world welterweight title. Credit: AP
Della Maddalena managed to get up, and it was open slather at times as the fighters traded heavy blows.
The final round was even more explosive.
Muhammad twice took down Della Maddalena, but the Aussie dug deep to get up each time.
Drenched in his opponent’s blood and with his right eye closing up, Della Maddalena landed a flurry of blows with punches and knees to put Muhammad on the ropes.
“I looked up at the clock and saw 30 seconds left, but I wanted to take him out of there,” Della Maddalena said.
“But he’s a tough dude, he’s not easy to put away.”
The bout marked Della Maddalena’s first fight since breaking his left forearm in a TKO win over Gilbert Burns in March last year.
Della Maddalena ended up needing four surgeries and an extended stint on antibiotics before he was finally cleared to fight again.
The 28-year-old boasts an impressive 18-2 record, including a perfect 8-0 since joining the UFC in 2022.
In the lead-up to the fight, Della Maddalena said he wants to chase down Georges St-Pierre’s record of nine consecutive UFC welterweight title defences.
Della Maddalena said if he won the belt against Muhammad, he would love to defend his title in Perth this year.
In the co-main event, Valentina Shevchenko retained her flyweight title with a unanimous decision victory over Manon Fiorot.
All three judges scored the five-round bout 48-47, with Shevchenko landing the more significant blows despite Fiorot being the better fighter with the take-downs.
It marked Shevchenko’s 10th title fight win, putting her sixth on the all-time list for male and female UFC title wins.
AAP
