Jack Della Maddalena warms up for his fight against Islam Makhachev: "He's too small."

Islam Makhachev has earned the right to move up a weight class and claim the double belt. After successfully defending the lightweight belt (155 pounds or 70.3 kilos) of the world's largest mixed martial arts (MMA) company, the UFC, four times, the Dagestani will move up to welterweight (170 pounds or 77.1 kilos). There, he will face the new champion of the division, Jack Della Maddalena , who recently defeated Makhachev's teammate, Belal Muhammad, to claim the title.

Despite many criticizing the Dagestani's decision to move up a weight class, claiming he avoided a clash with Ilia Topuria , Islam Makhachev still broke the 155-pound record for championship fights. He had also defeated the biggest names in the division . Meanwhile, Della Maddalena has yet to prove he can be a solid champion, so this first defense will be key to his future as a champion.

And while Makhachev's resume is more imposing on paper than the Australian's, size can be decisive. This isn't like jumping from featherweight (145 pounds or 65.8 kilos) to lightweight, where the difference is 10 pounds. Here the jump is 15. The differences are starting to become noticeable in muscle and height. Della Maddalena recalls this in an interview with 'Eternal MMA': "It's a dream first title defense. Number one pound for pound, give it back to Volk. We saw what Volk did to him recently. I'm going after Islam. He's too small . So I'm going to finish him."

The truth is that in terms of height, the difference isn't that much. The Russian is 1.78 meters tall, compared to the Australian's 1.80 meters. Even so, the latter is accustomed to facing people who are bigger and taller. Added to this is Della Maddalena's excellent boxing and the mastery he displayed in stopping the takedowns of former champion Belal Muhammad . It will be a duel of styles through and through. The Russian wrestling will have to prevail over the methodical boxing of the 170-pound champion.

Aspects such as cardiovascular endurance, takedown defense, and accuracy will be key for Jack Della Maddalena. Although there is no official date yet, Islam Makhachev revealed during UFC Abu Dhabi that everything was practically finalized. He also said that it would almost certainly be at the numbered event in November, held at the legendary Madison Square Garden . This was confirmed by Khabib Nurmagomedov a week later, assuring that everything was finalized.