Jack Della Maddalena puts on punishing performance to take title from Belal Muhammad in UFC 315 main event

Jack Della Maddalena defied the odds with a punishing performance to beat Belal Muhammad and become the new welterweight champion in an absolute war to cap off UFC 315 from Montreal on Saturday night.

The Australian slugger showed that his year-plus out of the cage only gave him time to get better as he battered Muhammad with a devastating striking arsenal that probably would have flattened most fighters. Instead, Muhammad just kept absorbing his best shots and then coming back for more as he gave Della Maddalena everything he could handle during the five-round fight.

The difference really came down to the amount of damage that Della Maddalena was able to dish out to secure the decision win with the judges scoring the fight 48-47, 48-47, and 49-46 in his favor.

“It’s exactly how I thought it would feel. It feels f*cking good,” Della Maddalena said after becoming the new UFC welterweight champion. “I knew I had to be smart on my feet. I should have been a bit sharper with the shots.

“Coming in there against someone like Belal with that pressure wrestling, I knew I had to be smart. I thought I was ahead, I wanted to take him out of there. Belal’s the man, he’s a tough dude. Australia we got three of these babies let’s go!”

While it obviously wasn’t the result that Muhammad wanted, he engaged in an incredible battle but ultimately just couldn’t keep up with Della Maddalena’s striking prowess.

That showed up early and often from Della Maddalena as he established a slick lead jab with Muhammad firing back with a well-timed overhand right that connected on the chin. With Muhammad not looking to change levels for a takedown, Della Maddalena started launching kicks to the legs and then going back up top to the head.

With less than 90 seconds left in the opening round, Muhammad finally turned to his wrestling but he actually abandoned the takedown and instead hammered Della Maddalena with a couple of stiff punches before moving away from the cage.

On the restart, Della Maddalena really started throwing with power behind his right hand and he kept catching Muhammad on the chin. Still, Muhammad seemed resigned to stay standing with him as he tried to get going with his combinations.

As the fight moved into the third round, Della Maddalena was oozing with confidence as he displayed great head movement and then just popping Muhammad with stiff boxing combinations. A stiff jab from Della Maddalena kept finding a home with Muhammad coming back at him with more power behind his punches.

When Muhammad was able to close the distance, he was consistently connecting with his strikes but Della Maddalena was quick to react and fire back at him. Muhammad used that to then go for a takedown but he ultimately opted to throw some more punches with Della Maddalena cracking him right back in return.

The aggression from Muhammad continued but his willingness to trade bombs with Della Maddalena allowed the Australian to give as good as he was getting. The difference was just a little bit more volume from Muhammad, who was staying busier while also looking to drag Della Maddalena to the canvas.

After exchanging some heavy blows on the feet including a knee that opened a cut on Muhammad’s face, the champion finally secured his cleanest takedown in the fight. Unfortunately, Muhammad couldn’t do anything with it and Della Maddalena was able to explode back to his feet.

With Muhammad still moving forward, Della Maddalena blasted him with a devastating combination that appeared to rock the Chicago native. Knowing that time was running short, Della Maddalena just continued to pour on the punishment as he did everything possible to ensure he was leaving Montreal with the welterweight title around his waist.

It really was a stunning performance from Della Maddalena but his celebration didn’t last long because he already knows that his next challenge is almost certainly coming from UFC lightweight king Islam Makhachev with plans to move to 170 pounds now that his friend and frequent teammate is no longer the champion.

“I think it’s a beautiful challenge,” Della Maddalena said about facing Makhachev. “He’s pound-for-pound No. 1. I’m going to get him back for [Alexander Volkanovski].”