Jack Della Maddalena cemented his position as a top welterweight contender at UFC 299 by knocking out Gilbert Burns in a tough back-and-forth war. Not only did Della Maddalena dig deep to earn the late third round stoppage, he did it with a badly broken arm.
In a new interview with ESPN, the Australian contender revealed he wasn’t sure when the arm broke, and he certainly didn’t realize it was a full bone break during the fight.
“I felt not necessarily that it was broken, but I just felt that my grip had just gone, I couldn’t really grip anything,” Della Maddalena said. “But I thought it may have just been a solid bruise. Definitely some of those kicks, they were solid thuds and I took ‘em right on the forearm, so I definitely knew my forearm had been bruised at least. But I didn’t know it was that bad.”
“I feel like the second the ref pulled me off, then five seconds after that the pain really started to sink in. Adrenaline, it’s a hell of a drug. I felt pretty sweet.”
Following the win, Della Maddalena called out No. 3 ranked Shavkat Rakhmonov, one of the toughest fights in the division. Few men call out Shavkat, but Jack has been asking to fight “Nomad” for years.
“Probably for the last three [years], I reckon since my Contender Series fight or my first fight in the UFC,” he said. “I’ve always seen him and thought he’s young, he’s my age, and he’s finishing everyone, and I always thought he was the toughest fight in the division. So yeah, it’s the fight I’ve been hanging out for.”
I respect your courage and confidence Jack, but you will face the same fate as my previous opponents
— Shavkat “Nomad” Rakhmonov (@Rakhmonov1994) March 10, 2024
Rakhmonov’s ice cold response to the call out has only fueled fans’ desire to see the Della Maddalena match-up. While he hasn’t heard anything official from the UFC, “JDM” thinks it may finally come together.
“I think they know it’s inevitable, to be honest, and I think they’re trying to make it at the right time,” he said. “And my thoughts are this is the right time. I reckon it’s the biggest title elimination fight to go down in UFC. [Shavkat’s response] was great, he’s perfect. I feel like he’s a James Bond villain, so I’m happy to be James Bond and I thought that was the perfect response from him. I don’t know how this thing works, but I think it’s on.”
“I’ve seen that he wanted to fight early August, he’s carrying an injury, I’m carrying an injury, I’m good to go early August, so August sometime. Mid-August, maybe down this side of the world? Who knows.”
