"Maddalena believes a win over Rakhmonov earns him an immediate rematch against Makhachev. "Islam's wrestling is good," Maddalena told YouTuber N3on. "He's good at holding people down, pinning. He's really good at pinning people, and I got stuck there. [Rematch] is the dream, and that's why I want to fight Shavkat, because beating someone like him, you get thrown right back in there.""
"Rakhmonov (19-0) was originally expected to challenge Belal Muhammad for the title last year. However, the undefeated Kazakh couldn't accept the fight due to an unspecified injury. The opportunity instead went to Maddalena (18-3), who dethroned Muhammad in an upset at UFC 315 in May. Maddalena was riding an 18-fight winning streak before his loss to Makhachev in his first defense. Meanwhile, Rakhmonov has finished 18 of his 19 career wins, which include seven UFC outings."
Jack Della Maddalena lost the UFC lightweight title to Islam Makhachev by unanimous decision at UFC 322 in November. Maddalena aims for a rematch and believes a victory over top contender Shavkat Rakhmonov will thrust him back into title contention. Rakhmonov is an undefeated 19-0 fighter who missed a planned title shot against Belal Muhammad due to an unspecified injury. Maddalena captured the belt from Muhammad at UFC 315 after an 18-fight winning streak and suffered his first title defense loss to Makhachev. Rakhmonov has finished 18 of 19 wins and went to the judges for the first time in December 2024.
Read at Sherdog
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]