Belal Muhammad Plans to Outbox Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 315

Belal Muhammad (24-3) believes he can beat Jack Della Maddalena (17-2) on the feet.

Muhammad puts his welterweight title on the line against Maddalena in the main event at UFC 315 on May 10 at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. While Muhammad was originally expected to defend his title against Shavkat Rakhmonov, the Kazakh couldn’t accept the matchup due to an injury.

While Muhammad is arguably one of the best wrestlers on the UFC roster, Maddalena has devastating knockout power in his hands. However, Muhammad claims it won’t be a typical striker vs. wrestler matchup. “Remember the Name” vows to not be gun shy against Maddalena and prove himself as the best boxer at 170 pounds.

“I’m gonna go in there and I’m gonna outbox Jack,” Muhammad said on “The Coach and the Casual” podcast. “I’m not gonna shoot one takedown, and I’m gonna show him the meaning of Canelo hands. I’m gonna show the UFC fighters [and] the fans that I’m the best boxer in the UFC, best boxer in the welterweight division.”

Muhammad is on an 11-fight unbeaten streak since 2019. Muhammad won the title with a dominant unanimous decision win over Leon Edwards at UFC 304 in Jul, 2024. However, the champ is often criticized for the lack of finishes on his resume.

Meanwhile, Maddalena hasn’t lost since his first two pro outings in 2016. The Australian is has finished five of his seven UFC wins so far and comes off a knockout win over Gilbert Burns at UFC 299 last year.