Wednesday was a busy day for UFC as CEO Dana White delivered a series of blockbuster announcements, including news of Muhammad’s first defense of his welterweight title. In July, ‘Remember The Name’ delivered a mostly dominant performance against Leon Edwards to claim his first UFC gold.
Now, he’ll put it on the line against the division’s fourth-ranked contender, Jack Della Maddalena, at UFC 315 in Montreal.
The announcement came out of left field considering Maddalena was actually scheduled to headline the promotion’s return to London next month against none other than Leon Edwards.
Instead, ‘Rocky’ will now square off with Sean Brady inside the iconic O2 Arena while Maddalena will get promoted to his inaugural title opportunity on MMA’s biggest stage.
Following the announcement, Muhammad went on social media and threw some shade at the man he took the welterweight belt from last year.
Belal Muhammad looks to hand JDM his first loss inside the Octagon
Muhammad was originally scheduled to defend his belt in December against Shavkat Rakhmonov, but he was forced to bow out of the bout due to an infection in his foot. Unfortunately, ‘Nomad’ revealed that he was still nursing an injury and would be unable to go on May 10 when the UFC heads back to the Bell Centre.
Enter Jack Della Maddalena.
The Australian knockout artist is a perfect 7-0 under the UFC banner, including a third-round TKO over one-time title challenger Gilbert Burns in his last outing at UFC 299.
Former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping believes Sean Brady is a more difficult matchup for Leon Edwards than Jack Della Maddalena. In recent developments, UFC boss Dana White took to Instagram and made a massive 14-fight announcement, including three main events for the upcoming UFC London, UFC 314, and UFC 315 cards. The announcement also […]
Former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping believes Sean Brady is a more difficult matchup for Leon Edwards than Jack Della Maddalena.
In recent developments, UFC boss Dana White took to Instagram and made a massive 14-fight announcement, including three main events for the upcoming UFC London, UFC 314, and UFC 315 cards.
The announcement also included a big change for the UFC Fight Night 254 main event. Originally, Edwards was scheduled to face the No. 4-ranked welterweight Maddalena in London on March 22, 2025. However, after Maddalena’s shift to UFC 315, “Rocky” will face a short-notice replacement in Brady who is coming off consecutive decision wins over Gilbert Burns and Kelvin Gastelum.
Bisping believes this upheaval can make things worse for Edwards who would definitely want to enter the win column after soundly losing his UFC welterweight title to Belal Muhammad.
“Della Maddalena versus Leon—that’s off, and Sean Brady steps in. This is kind of a nightmare situation for Leon Edwards. I’m not saying Leon can’t beat him, but stylistically, and on short notice, this is a very, very different fight and potentially a harder fight than Jack Della Maddalena. Styles make fights. Leon is a sniper on the feet. Of course, he’s got great takedown defense. He was able to take down Kamaru Usman, fully mounted, and all the rest of it, right? We know he’s well-rounded.”
Although Bisping is confident about Edwards’s accurate striking, he is concerned about Brady’s wrestling-heavy style which is very different from Maddalena’s crisp boxing.
“But when you’re training for Jack Della Maddalena and you’re focusing on boxing and pretty much a standup affair, and you’re not really working on the takedown defense and defending chokes and all the variety of madness in the Jiu-Jitsu world that Sean Brady does offer, it’s a big mix-up. Now granted, all the work that he’s done in the past to beat Kamaru Usman, to fight and go up against Belal Muhammad—that’s all in the tank, okay? It’s like if you go out there and you win a fight really, really quickly, and people think, “Why did I bother? Why did I bother training?” No, the reason you did that is because you still leveled up in training camp. Your skill set overall got better.”
Talking about Edward’s previous opponents, Bisping further added how Brady would bring in problems similar to the current champ Muhammad.
“So, Leon’s been preparing for these kinds of fights his entire career, right? Everyone that Leon Edwards fights, whether it’s Colby Covington, Kamaru Usman, Belal Muhammad—they’re all trying to take him down. So, in a way, nothing changes for him. Yes, it’s not Jack Della Maddalena trying to box him, trying to piece him up on the feet. It’s Sean Brady, who’s very, very good, that dominated Gilbert Burns last time out, that’s going to be looking to take him down. So, it’s the exact same fight, essentially, almost on paper, stylistically, that Leon had in Manchester last year when he lost the belt. That’s why I say it’s a bit of a nightmare.”
However, Bisping is impressed with Edward’s will to accept Brady as a new opponent on short notice even when it could potentially ruin his return to the UFC welterweight title picture.
A new main event is set to go down in London next month after Jack Della Maddalena was announced as the next challenger to UFC Welterweight Champion Belal Muhammad’s reign. Della Maddalena was originally set to headline on March 22 in England’s capital in a likely title eliminator opposite Leon Edwards. But among a slew […]
A new main event is set to go down in London next month after Jack Della Maddalena was announced as the next challenger to UFC Welterweight Champion Belal Muhammad’s reign.
Della Maddalena was originally set to headline on March 22 in England’s capital in a likely title eliminator opposite Leon Edwards. But among a slew of announcements Thursday night, UFC CEO Dana White revealed that the Australian has been replaced by Sean Brady.
Rather than injury or travel issues causing the chance, Della Maddalena has found himself with an unexpected opportunity to capture gold next time out.
The striking specialist will headline UFC 315 in Montreal on May 10 in competition for Muhammad’s title due to an injury to number one contender Shavkat Rakhmonov.
“Nomad” has now seen two planned championship chances slip away. He was originally set to compete for the gold last December before a bone infection forced Muhammad out on late notice. He subsequently beat Ian Garry to further cement his claim to the next shot.
The Kazakh fighter will now be waiting in the wings to face the winner, as Della Maddalena looks to ride his undefeated UFC record all the way to the top in the “Great White North.”
Former UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards has had his return to action in the first quarter of next year confirmed. Edwards hasn’t competed since losing his grip on the 170-pound crown at UFC 304 in Manchester this past July, where he was convincingly defeated by Belal Muhammad in their headline rematch. “Rocky” has vowed to […]
Former UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards has had his return to action in the first quarter of next year confirmed.
Edwards hasn’t competed since losing his grip on the 170-pound crown at UFC 304 in Manchester this past July, where he was convincingly defeated by Belal Muhammad in their headline rematch.
“Rocky” has vowed to finish the new year with the gold back in his possession and announced that the path toward achieving that will start with a return in the main event of the UFC’s confirmed return to London on March 22.
A number of names floated around regarding an opponent, from the seemingly unretired Jorge Masvidal to top 10 contenders Ian Garry and Sean Brady. Ultimately, the assignment has fallen to Jack Della Maddalena.
During a video uploaded to his YouTube channel, Australian insider Benny P first reported on Della Maddalena’s planned trip to London to share the cage with “Rocky.”
And Friday night, the promotion officially announced the bout, alongside the rest of the lineup for March 22.
Della Maddalena hasn’t made the walk since a victory over Gilbert Burns at UFC 299 this past March. The Australian put his name in Comeback of the Year discussion by avoiding certain defeat on the scorecards with a late knockout.
The Perth native has now won 17 straight fights since an 0-2 start to his professional career, a run that includes a perfect 7-0 UFC record. With that in mind, a triumph over a recent champ in Edwards would likely secure the #4-ranked contender a first title shot.
Sorry Sean Brady, it looks like the UFC has another opponent in mind for former welterweight king Leon Edwards….
Sorry Sean Brady, it looks like the UFC has another opponent in mind for former welterweight king Leon Edwards.
With the promotion heading back to London on March 22 for another loaded Fight Night card in The Big Smoke, fans have been waiting with bated breath to find out who ‘Rocky’ will square off with in his highly anticipated return to the Octagon.
Following an impressive showing at Fury Grappling 12 on Saturday, fifth-ranked contender Sean Brady called for a clash with Edwards. However, a recent report from Aussie news breaker Benny P suggests that the promotion is in the process of finalizing a fight between Edwards and Perth native Jack Della Maddalena.
“It does seem like this is gonna happen, I’ve heard it from multiple sources from the JDM camp,” Benny P said in a video on his YouTube channel. “I just can’t imagine that all these people are hearing this if there’s no weight to it. Especially because it doesn’t appear like it’s going to be Usman at all.”
Since earning his contract on a 2021 episode of Dana White’s Contender Series, ‘JDM’ has rattled off seven-straight wins inside the Octagon, his most recent victory coming against perennial contender Gilbert Burns at UFC 299 in March.
Is Leon Edwards replacing Kamaru Usman as JDM’s next opponent?
Previously, Maddalena was linked to a fight with another former welterweight titleholder, Kamaru Usman.
“I don’t know what’s going on with Usman, to be honest with you,” Benny P continued. “I don’t know why Usman is out of this equation because it was looking very likely that it was going to be Usman vs. Jack Della, so I’m not sure what has happened to Usman, if he’s injured, if they found another opponent? But it does very likely we’re going to see Jack Della Maddalena vs. Leon Edwards in London, March 22nd.”
Overall, Maddalena is 17-2 in his mixed martial arts career, including a 7-0 run under the UFC banner.
Sorry Sean Brady, it looks like the UFC has another opponent in mind for former welterweight king Leon Edwards….
Sorry Sean Brady, it looks like the UFC has another opponent in mind for former welterweight king Leon Edwards.
With the promotion heading back to London on March 22 for another loaded Fight Night card in The Big Smoke, fans have been waiting with bated breath to find out who ‘Rocky’ will square off with in his highly anticipated return to the Octagon.
Following an impressive showing at Fury Grappling 12 on Saturday, fifth-ranked contender Sean Brady called for a clash with Edwards. However, a recent report from Aussie news breaker Benny P suggests that the promotion is in the process of finalizing a fight between Edwards and Perth native Jack Della Maddalena.
“It does seem like this is gonna happen, I’ve heard it from multiple sources from the JDM camp,” Benny P said in a video on his YouTube channel. “I just can’t imagine that all these people are hearing this if there’s no weight to it. Especially because it doesn’t appear like it’s going to be Usman at all.”
Since earning his contract on a 2021 episode of Dana White’s Contender Series, ‘JDM’ has rattled off seven-straight wins inside the Octagon, his most recent victory coming against perennial contender Gilbert Burns at UFC 299 in March.
Is Leon Edwards replacing Kamaru Usman as JDM’s next opponent?
Previously, Maddalena was linked to a fight with another former welterweight titleholder, Kamaru Usman.
“I don’t know what’s going on with Usman, to be honest with you,” Benny P continued. “I don’t know why Usman is out of this equation because it was looking very likely that it was going to be Usman vs. Jack Della, so I’m not sure what has happened to Usman, if he’s injured, if they found another opponent? But it does very likely we’re going to see Jack Della Maddalena vs. Leon Edwards in London, March 22nd.”
Overall, Maddalena is 17-2 in his mixed martial arts career, including a 7-0 run under the UFC banner.
Sorry Sean Brady, it looks like the UFC has another opponent in mind for former welterweight king Leon Edwards….
