Jack Della Maddalena is targeting a statement rebound when he faces Carlos Prates in the main event of UFC Perth, his first appearance since losing the UFC welterweight title.
Della Maddalena returns after dropping his belt to Islam Makhachev by lopsided decision over five wrestling-heavy rounds at UFC 322 this past November, the first defeat of his UFC run after starting 8-0 in the promotion.
“It’s part of the game,” Della Maddalena said of the setback. “Wins and losses, that’s what this sport’s about. Yeah, it haunted me for a few nights for sure, but I was always expected to fight some of the big challenges, obviously. Carlos was someone I definitely thought I was going to fight at some point. It would be nice to be fighting him as the champion but that’s just not the way it turned out.”
After the loss, he allowed himself a brief reset. “I just ate a lot of pizza in New York,” he said. “Sort of enjoyed New York City. Yeah, just sort of ate my way through the city and then got home and yeah, it was a bit sad when I got home, but that’s the sport. That’s what makes winning so good is the potential of losing.”
Della Maddalena and his team have since reviewed the Makhachev bout. “Obviously, some technical things didn’t go my way in the fight, so we went back, looked at those… and try and rebuild off those, but yeah, different stylistic matchup [against Prates] for sure.”
He does not expect an immediate title shot with a win. “Probably not,” he said. “I think there’s a lot of contenders, a lot of fights that need to be had… But yeah, I would expect probably two more fights and then have another shot.”
