Della Maddalena hits Muhammad with backhanded compliment

Jack Della Maddalena isn’t the biggest fan of UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad’s fighting style.

Della Maddalena (17-2 MMA, 7-0 UFC) challenges Muhammad (24-3 MMA, 15-3 UFC) for the welterweight title May 10 in the UFC 315 main event (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+) at Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

In what is dubbed as a striker vs. grappler matchup on paper, Della Maddalena criticized Muhammad’s style but admitted it’s effective.

“It’s no question he’s got a boring fight style,” Della Maddalena told Fox Sports Australia. “He’s good at holding people down, getting victories, but fair play to him. (Georges St-Pierre) got some flack back in the day for being a boring style, and it’s just because he’s better than people across the board. He can hold down the strikers and outstrike the grapplers, that sort of thing.

“So, we’ve got to give him credit. I definitely think it’s a boring style, but I think winning is obviously his No. 1 goal and fair play to him, but I feel like I can beat him. I’m a more dangerous fighter for sure, and I think I cannot only get the world title, but get the world title off a dominant finish with style points for sure.”

Della Maddalena was taken down seven times and controlled for more than five minutes in his come-from-behind knockout win over Gilbert Burns at UFC 299, which has resulted in oddsmakers pitting him as a moderate underdog.

“I got some practice with that against Gilbert Burns,” Della Maddalena said. “And I feel like in the three-round fight, I was able to continuously get back to my feet and cook him. Like a good-old jiu-jitsu match, cook him and then get the finish later in the fight, and I feel like having five rounds I believe will be to my advantage. I believe I will be able to continuously get back to my feet and sting Belal. Having those extra two rounds to damage him, I think it works well for me. I’m going to keep pushing until the final bell.”