Preview: UFC 270 Prelims

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Welterweights

NR | Jack Della Maddalena (10-2, 0-0 UFC) vs. NR | Pete Rodriguez (4-0, 0-0 UFC)

ODDS: Maddalena (-335), Rodriguez (+260)

This should be a banger between UFC newcomers. Australia’s Maddalena enjoyed one of the more entertaining victories on the most recent season of Dana White’s Contender Series with an entertaining decision over Ange Loosa in which he showed off his striking acumen. As with most fighters coming from the Oceanic circuit, the main concern for Maddalena is how well his wrestling defense can hold up against better competition, but he showed enough against Loosa to suggest that he should be able to hang with a certain level of the UFC roster. At just 25 years old and with a judo background, he has yet to truly break out, so there is a chance that Maddalena could be the promotion’s next successful product from Down Under. He will face a late replacement in Rodriguez, who certainly took the fast track to getting the UFC call. The entirety of Rodriguez’s professional career covers just four fights from October 2020 to June 2021, all of which were victories in under two and a half minutes. “Dead Game” does seem to be a solid prospect given his level. He is not particularly over-aggressive, and he does look to have the natural power that his string of knockout wins would suggest. However, against the low level of competition he has faced thus far, Rodriguez has not yet had to show much in the way of depth of dynamism. Even with Rodriguez being raw, this could line up for him to score the upset. He has that natural knockout power, and Maddalena is certainly a fighter who is willing to trade and engage. Nevertheless, the Aussie has to be the clear favorite. The pick is Maddalena via first-round knockout.

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