For a UFC fighter, being compared to Georges St-Pierre is an honor. Widely rated as pound-for-pound the greatest mixed martial arts fighter of all time, the Canadian superstar’s record would be something any fighter would give an arm and a leg to have — two division UFC champion, greatest number of title bout wins, 3X welterweight champ…we could go on.
So, like we said, quite an honour to be compared to GSP. Unless, that is, you’re Belal Muhammad, and the ‘compliment’ is coming from your latest opponent, Jack Della Maddalena.
The Australian has made it amply clear that he is not a big fan of Belal’s fighting style. He’s got grudging respect for Belal’s grit, but a fan, he’s not. Ditto for Belal, who stirred up a storm by claiming he’s going to beat JDM with just his boxing hands, without going for a takedown.
So, when JDM says Belal reminds him a bit of the greatest welterweight of all time, it’s hard not to see it as a left-handed compliment. Not that the comparison is totally unwarranted. Belal, like GSP, has a style rooted in its flawless execution of a ground game. Sure, both GSP and he would submit an opponent when the opportunity presented itself, but the approach was always intended to score enough points to win.
So what is Della Maddalena’s beef? It’s something shared by many fans who prefer strikers over grapplers as well.
“It’s no question he’s got a boring fight style you know, he’s good at holding people down, getting victories“, JDM said in a recent interview.
“Fair play to him, like GSP 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, he can out-strike the grapplers”, the Aussie challenger pointed out.
All the respect and admiration aside, though, JDM knows exactly what he has to do when he steps into the octagon at UFC 315. In fact, he has shared a bold prediction for the fight.
Della Maddalena’s fight prediction
The Australian has been on a tear since joining the UFC back in January 2022. Since then, he has gone on an unbeaten seven-fight win streak, taking out the likes of Kevin Holland and Gilbert Burns during this run.
JDM understands that trading with Belal for five rounds is the equivalent of offering him the title defense on a plate. So he doesn’t want to wait for five. He doesn’t even want to wait for three.
“Eyes on the price (sic), stoked the UFC have put their trust in me to save the division. This will be done in 1 no doubt”, he posted on Instagram.
This idea of having to save the division comes from the notion of Belal not being a very attractive fighter. It’s been an argument often used to de-rate the championship reigns of grapplers everywhere.
And now, with at least four major divisions of the UFC — bantamweight, lightweight, welterweight, and light heavyweight, all being championed by grapplers — this fallacious idea is once again gaining ground in some circles.
An explosive striker like Maddalena would be a welcome change. For casual fans and viewers who tune in to watch slug fests, Madalena as champion would be a good enough reason to shell out $79.99.
