Kamaru Usman thinks too many people are counting Jack Della Maddalena out against Belal Muhammad at UFC 315.
Welterweight champion Muhammad (24-3 MMA, 15-3 UFC) makes his first title defense against Della Maddalena (17-2 MMA, 7-0 UFC) in the May 10 (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+) main event from Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
After repeatedly getting taken down against Gilbert Burns at UFC 299, Della Maddalena was able to rally to score a late knockout. Usman thinks that’s indicative of the type of challenge Della Maddalena will present to Muhammad, who boasts a strong grappling base.
“I think he’s a sleeper guy,” Usman said on his “Pound 4 Pound” podcast with Henry Cejudo. “I’ve seen him fight, and obviously I do know how to beat a guy like that. But the one thing about him is he’s so relaxed to where it’s very, very hard to beat him. When I say beat him, I don’t mean just win the fight. It’s very, very hard to discourage him from trying.
“There are some guys you can take down 50 million times, and they’re still going to keep trying to get up. And as wrestlers, we know how annoying that is. It’s very, very hard to do that with a guy like Jack Della Maddalena. Now I do think Belal has better grappling than him as far as taking him down, having top control, maybe looking for a choke here and there. But striking wise, I think JDM is much better than Belal.”
Muhammad opened up as a moderate favorite over Della Maddalena, but Usman says don’t count the Aussie out.
“It’s an intriguing fight,” Usman said. “I don’t think it’s a landslide that Belal is going to win the fight. I do think it’s a very intriguing fight. Honestly, I like the fight, and I can’t wait to see it. I think JDM presents a different threat than what Belal was expecting.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 315.
