It was midway through a Five Guys burger that Jack Della Maddalena decided to roll the dice – again – on what will be the biggest test of his breakout career at UFC 293 in Sydney.
Importantly too, while sat by a backyard pool, having just spent two weeks cooped up inside a Las Vegas casino.
“Yeah, I don’t think there’s much chance I could’ve done a third in the desert,” laughs the Australian who, having already endured back-to-back bout cancellations at UFC 290, will finally throw down against Bassil Hafez on a Las Vegas Fight Night card this Sunday afternoon (AEST).
“But for all three weeks I’ve been over here now, the team and I have been staying in our own place out off the strip.
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“It’s a nice house, pool, big kitchen to cook whatever we like … it all helps.”
But the real kicker?
“I’m a fighter,” the reigning UFC Rookie of the Year continues, speaking with Fox Sports Australia from inside his US camp.
“This is what I do, what I enjoy; I like to glove up my hands and compete.”
Which is why this weekend in the world’s fight capital, this 26-year-old Next Big Thing will do exactly that.
With JDM not only throwing down in a bout bumped up to co-main, but needing to win comprehensively enough to fight again in just eight weeks time.
Apart from being Maddalena’s third new opponent within eight days, Hafez (8-3) also stands in the way of what the Perth native knows will be the biggest test of his career — a showdown with American prospect Sean Brady at UFC 293 in Sydney, September 10.
Brady, of course, is the man Della was initially meant to fight at International Fight Week last Sunday, however the division’s No.8 ranked fighter withdrew after contracting septic bursitis in his left elbow.
“But I came all the way out here to fight him, and he didn’t show,” Della shrugs. “So now he can make the trip down to Sydney.”
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Following the Brady cancellation, UFC newcomer Josiah Harrell was parachuted in as a UFC 290 replacement – only for a prefight MRI to also rule him out after revealing an undiagnosed brain disease, moyamoya.
As a result, UFC executives immediately withdrew Harrell, who could have died had he fought and will now require a future brain procedure.
“When I initially got the news, after making weight, that my fight was off again – devastated,” Maddalena says.
“But then the UFC explained to me about Josiah’s medical — how there was something wrong with his brain … it’s just so fortunate that fight never took place, that nothing seriously bad happened to him.
“Straight away too, the UFC asked if I wanted to stick around and try to fight this week. I just asked them to give me 24 hours to think about it.”
Which entailed what?
“I let the hair down a bit,” Maddalena says, grinning.
“I didn’t get on the beers — didn’t go that far — but I enjoyed a good feed from the Five Guys burger chain and watched the fights on TV at our house.
“Initially, I was going to go watch the event live.
“But at the last minute I decided to stay home.
“I told the team ‘look, if any of you want to go to the event please go, but I’m just gunna chill’.
“But they all decided to chill as well.”
Which is when, over that Five Guys feed, the decision was made to stay one more week in the desert.
Which is no small thing considering his upcoming spot at UFC 293, it was already guaranteed. Likely, the fight purse from his cancelled bout too.
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Asked if he would have been paid for UFC 290 without appearing, Maddalena says: “I think so, yeah.
“The UFC have always been good to me and I was expecting them to help out at least with my expenses over here.
“I probably wouldn’t have expected my whole show purse but they would have helped out, they wouldn’t have left me in the lurch.”
So as for now winning, then turning around for Sydney in just eight weeks?
“If I didn’t think I could turn this all around in time, I would’ve gone home,” Maddalena reveals.
“But I feel I’ve got extended time.
“Even if it’s three rounds, 15 minutes of the most brutal fight, I still feel like I will have the time to turn around in eight weeks.”
Asked if Brady has already agreed to fight him in Sydney, the Aussie continues: “Not that I know of.
“The only communication I’ve had with the UFC over the past few days is trying to get an opponent for this weekend, I’ve been hounding them.
“But we’ll be pushing for that fight.
“People want to see that fight and, rankings wise, it makes sense.”
First, of course, the Aussie must beat Hafez, who makes his UFC debut off the back of winning four of his last five – including a KO of Evan Cutts, last start.
“He has fights on UFC Fight pass that we’ve been able to watch,” Maddalena says.
“I feel this will be a good challenge for me.
“Obviously, he’s got a good opportunity on his hands so he’s going to come at me and I’m up for that.
“I just need to stick to my game plan.
“Stay defensively sound, not take too much damage, then get after him and finish it.”
