Khabib on UFC 322: Islam ready, but Jack Della Maddalena will be a fierce test
Khabib Nurmagomedov has expressed deep respect for Jack Della Maddalena, warning fans not to underestimate the welterweight champion ahead of UFC 322 in New York this Saturday.
Della Maddalena, nicknamed “JDM,” will defend his title against Nurmagomedov’s close friend and teammate, Islam Makhachev. After claiming the belt from Belal Muhammad in May, this marks Della Maddalena’s first title defense against the former lightweight champion, who has won 15 consecutive fights, News.Az reports, citing MMA Fighting.
While much of the discussion around the bout has centered on where a Makhachev victory would place him among MMA’s all-time greats, Nurmagomedov stressed that fans should not overlook Della Maddalena.
“Islam, on top of his game the last five years, he was champion at lightweight, and he was long time a contender,” Nurmagomedov told Josh Thomson on YouTube. “People know him the last five years, on the top, Islam. But JDM, he just won his biggest fight in his life against Belal, and people don’t know him.
“But the way how he showed his skills, I think he’s a very, very tough opponent for us. That’s why we train so hard. … It was 11 weeks of very hard training, Islam is ready to go, and we expect a very tough fight against JDM and we give him credit and we know he’s a tough guy.”
Makhachev has moved up from 155 to 170 pounds to pursue a two-division legacy alongside MMA legends such as Jon Jones, Conor McGregor, Amanda Nunes, B.J. Penn, Daniel Cormier, and Alex Pereira. Nurmagomedov emphasized that the weight adjustment has been gradual and that Makhachev is well-prepared.
“Honestly, he was lifting,” Nurmagomedov said. “He was preparing for this fight to move to welterweight after he finished his fight in January. The last six, seven months, he was putting on weight a little bit, but he was never more than 200 [pounds], no, never.”
Regarding Makhachev’s potential place in the GOAT debate, Nurmagomedov is less concerned about rankings than continuing the legacy of his father and coach, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, who passed away in 2020—a loss that prompted Khabib’s retirement.
“It’s like this, when I was young, it was people around me with who I was improving my game,” Khabib said. “And Islam was with me. He’s younger than me and he was improving with me. I was world champion in amateur and I had, maybe, seven, 10 fights? Islam was just beginning. And when you look at the history and the way I was improving with other guys after Islam was improving with me, now Usman [Nurmagomedov] improving with Islam. It’s like we’re giving legacy to legacy, legacy to legacy, guys coming up, there’s other young guys, they are not very famous but they are coming with Usman now. It’s like stairs. This was father’s plan. It was his plan, because of his wisdom.”
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