UFC Hall of Famer Michael Bisping disagrees with the betting odds for Jack Della Maddalena vs. Islam Makhachev.
Della Maddalena (18-2 MMA, 8-0 UFC) defends his welterweight championship against ex-lightweight champ Makhachev (27-1 MMA, 16-1 UFC) in the UFC 322 main event Nov. 15 from Madison Square Garden in New York. Makhachev has opened up as a moderate favorite over Della Maddalena, which Bisping finds baffling.
“The crazy thing is that Islam Makhachev is quite a sizable favorite, and I think that’s a little bit disrespectful to Jack Della Maddalena,” Bisping told Bloody Elbow. “The man’s on an 18-fight win streak, he just beat Belal Muhammad, he defended all the takedowns there, he’s beaten grapplers before in the past.
“Yes, Islam Makhachev is incredible, and he’d be another contender for pound-for-pound No. 1, greatest of all time, whatever you want to call it. But Belal Muhammad was a perfect warm-up fight for Islam Makhachev.”
Della Maddalena was able to fend off Muhammad’s grappling for the most part and inflict damage on the feet in his title-winning performance at UFC 315 in May.
“With the boxing of Jack, if Islam was to stand with him, that would be a bad idea,” Bisping said. “With Jack’s boxing and the footwork that’s associated with boxing, that’s going to help, and that’s going to be very advantageous. He knows how to defend a takedown. He knows what he’s doing off his back. He can get back to his feet. Yeah, I understand why Islam is a slight favorite because he’s tried and tested and the greatest lightweight fighter that the sport has ever seen, but don’t be surprised if Jack Della Maddalena gets it done.”
