Della Maddalena wins Muhammad's belt in slugfest

Jack Della Maddalena defeated Belal Muhammad in a grueling five-round battle, earning a unanimous decision to become the new welterweight champion Saturday night in the main event of UFC 315 at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada.

Fighting out of Perth, Australia, Maddalena (18-2) was sharp in the striking department, as he neutralized Muhammad's forward pressure and outstruck his opponent 200-155. The war of attrition left both fighters battered and bruised, but Della Maddalena landed the bigger punches and avoided Muhammad's takedowns.

The judges scored the bout 48-47, 48-47 and 49-46 for Della Maddalena.

"It's exactly how I thought it would feel. It feels f---ing good," Della Maddalena said in his postfight Octagon interview. "Coming in there against someone like Belal with that pressure wrestling, I knew I had to be smart. ... Belal's the man. He's a tough dude."

Della Maddalena was in the right place at the right time for the title opportunity. Originally scheduled to face Leon Edwards in March, the Australian was pulled from that fight and placed into a title fight with Muhammad when Shavkat Rakhmonov was unavailable due to a lingering injury.

Muhammad (11) and Della Maddalena (17) entered the fight riding double-digit unbeaten streaks, but it would be Della Maddalena who would extend his run with a scintillating performance in front of 19,786 fans who witnessed a fight far more exciting than many expected.

Muhammad's self-imposed commitment to striking proved to be his undoing. He fought the first and second rounds almost exclusively on the feet and didn't secure his first takedown of the fight until the fourth round. By then, it was too late as Della Maddalena had made his mark behind a crisp lead right hand and distance control.

The win opens the door for lightweight champion Islam Makhachev to move up to welterweight and be the first fighter to challenge Della Maddalena for the 170-pound title in hopes of becoming a two-division champion. Makhachev announced that he would make the move only if Muhammad, with whom he has trained with, lost Saturday.

Della Maddalena embraced the opportunity, seeing it as a chance to get redemption for countryman Alexander Volkanovski, who dropped two title bouts to Makhachev in 2023.

"I think it's a beautiful challenge," Della Maddalena said. "He's pound-for-pound No. 1. I'm gonna get it back for Volk."