Diesel AK Blog

Fighter Profile: Jack Della Maddalena

Jack Della Maddalena: former UFC welterweight champion — record, boxing style and 2026 setbacks.

Fighters13 July 2026

Background

Australian welterweight from Perth, fighting out of Scrappy MMA. A former UFC welterweight champion with a professional record of 18-4, he built his reputation on close-range boxing and an unusually resilient defensive game.

Career timeline

Won a long run in the UFC after joining via Dana White’s Contender Series, beating Gilbert Burns and Kevin Holland among others.
Won the UFC welterweight title from Belal Muhammad at UFC 315 in Montreal on 10 May 2025 by unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 49-46), ending Muhammad’s long unbeaten run.
Lost the title to Islam Makhachev at UFC 322 on 15 November 2025 by unanimous decision, 50-45 on all three cards.
Lost again at UFC Perth on 2 May 2026, stopped by Carlos Prates by TKO at 3:17 of round three.
Has said he wants a rematch with Makhachev and has named Michael Morales and Carlos Prates as alternatives; no bout is booked as of 1 August 2026.

Fight craft

Della Maddalena’s signature is short, sharp punching in the pocket — hooks and uppercuts thrown from angles most fighters need more space to generate — supported by defensive grappling good enough to have survived heavy wrestlers. His title win over Muhammad was a case study in exactly that: absorb the takedown pressure, then out-land in the exchanges. The two 2026 defeats show the flip side. Against elite control grappling he had no answer at all, and against a rangier, harder-hitting striker in Prates his willingness to stay in range became a liability.

In the modern MMA landscape

Our wider MMA analysis says Della Maddalena “remains a top-tier contender”. That needed updating: he has since been stopped by Carlos Prates and is on a two-fight losing run, which puts him some distance from a title rematch rather than one win away.

Return to What the Modern MMA Game Demands.

Sources

Record and competitive status checked 1 August 2026.