Jack Della Maddalena doesn’t mind being the underdog.
After delivering a dominant performance against Belal Muhammad to claim the welterweight world title in May, ‘JDM’ will put his gold on the line against former 155-pound champion Islam Makhachev in the UFC 322 headliner at Madison Square Garden.
Despite walking into the bout as the defending titleholder, Della Maddalena is a sizeable underdog, with Makhachev trending as a near 3-to-1 favorite to become the UFC’s next two-division king.
“I feel like the fighters always tend to lean towards the champion,” Della Maddalena said during Wednesday’s UFC 322 media day when asked about going into her first title defense as the underdog.