In his first-ever title defense, Belal Muhammad suffered a staggering defeat to Jack Della Maddalena and lost his welterweight title at UFC 315.
Jack Della Maddalena entered the octagon riding a 17-fight winning streak, and he showed no signs of slowing down in his bout with Belal Muhammad. Maddalena came in with devastating strikes and jabs, and Muhammad kept eating those shots. Muhammad landed a few blows and connected on the chin, but Maddalena kept coming forward. Many expected Muhammad to go for a takedown, but he stayed on his feet, exchanging shots. Maddalena never let up, continuing with leg kicks and headshots. Midway through the opening round, Muhammad switched tactics and started wrestling with Maddalena until the round ended.
The two kept trading shots in the second round, with Maddalena landing stiff punches and a clean one-two combo, while Muhammad fired back before diving for a takedown. Maddalena continued to pepper him with strikes.
After both fighters exchanged heavy blows on the feet—including a knee that opened a cut on Muhammad’s face—the champion finally secured his cleanest takedown of the fight. Unfortunately, Muhammad couldn’t capitalize on it, and Maddalena exploded back to his feet.
With Muhammad still pressing forward, Maddalena blasted him with a brutal combination that clearly rocked the Chicago native. Knowing time was running out, Maddalena poured on the punishment, doing everything possible to ensure he left Montreal with the welterweight title. In the end, he did just that after a five-round slugfest.
“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!”
Following his loss, Muhammad released a statement on Instagram addressing the defeat and his plans for the future.
“Allah’s plan is the best plan,” Muhammad wrote. “Alhamdulillah for everything. Thank you to all my supporters. I’ve been here before, and I’ll be back.”
