‘The Takedown Defense King’—that should be the newly crowned welterweight champion, Jack Della Maddalena’s new moniker. The Aussie had already shown amazing sprawls against Gilbert Burns at UFC 299. But, in the UFC 315 main event against Belal Muhammad, he showed a whole new level! Mixing elite-level striking with that defense brought another championship belt to the land Down Under. The credit definitely goes to him, but a special member of his team also deserves recognition.

Della Maddalena’s MMA prowess turned some heads after he hoisted the gold belt in front of 19,786 screaming fans inside the Bell Centre. Praise has poured in from all directions, pointing out the Aussie’s ways of victory. But Brendan Schaub made it clear that ‘JDM’s takedown defense, which he believes is even better than that of former champ Leon Edwards, was the true X factor in the headlining event.

Former UFC heavyweight on his Thiccc Boy podcast, said, “I think you’re taking away from how good ‘JDM’ is. I think, here’s what’s going on here. I think ‘JDM’ is a hell of a lot better than we all thought, especially his takedown defense, and we just assumed that Belal is going to be able to take him down because we watched the Leon Edwards fight, and Belal figured out Leon, and I assume most of the fan base thought, if he takes that game-plan, brings it ‘JDM’, he wins in similar fashion.”

Schaub definitely makes a good point, Jack Della Maddalena looked phenomenal. Fans leaned toward Belal partly because ‘JDM’ showed vulnerability against Bassil Hafez and edged past Kevin Holland via split decision. While he improved against Burns, Burns isn’t a dominant wrestler. So, picking Belal made sense. But the Aussie’s performance proved otherwise. Schaub believes Craig Jones deserves major credit for ‘JDM’s improved takedown defense and overall evolution.

He added, “Where there’s a disconnection, there is ‘JDM’s takedown defense is so much better than Leon Edwards. But, he was taken down by Gilbert Burns, I get that. But, the guy was training his a– off, has Craig Jones—the Dagestani Achilles Heel—in his corner. So, I think it’s not that Belal ‘Canelo Hands’ thought he could strike with ‘JDM’. I think it’s more of ‘JDM’s takedown defense is so much better than everyone expected. He’s freaking good!”

The two-time ADCC Submission Wrestling silver medalist has definitely become a game-changing coach in the Aussie MMA landscape. He was the mastermind behind Alexander Volkanovski’s impressive performance against Islam Makhachev at UFC 284. Unfortunately, ‘The Great’ came up short in that fight, but this time, Jack Della Maddalena’s camp turned out to be a successful in their championship expedition.

Now, with the super-fight against the Dagestani juggernaut around the corner, it will be fascinating to see how this elite coaching staff prepares ‘JDM’ for the challenge ahead. But here’s an intriguing twist—there’s someone who believe Jack Della Maddalena actually lost his fight against Belal Muhammad? Let’s take a closer look at what that’s all about.

Jack Della Maddalena fired back after Jeremy Stephens backed Belal Muhammad as the winner of UFC 315

Jeremy Stephens was among the many tuning in for the UFC 315 main event. While Jack Della Maddalena was declared the victor and had his hand raised after smothering Belal Muhammad, the newly returned UFC lightweight sees it differently. Stephens believes the former 170 lbs champion should have been awarded the win instead.

He took to X after the fight, writing, “Belal won that fight. Wanted Maddalena but wow, AGAIN.” ‘Lil Heathen’ didn’t elaborate on why he thought Belal Muhammad should have been the winner, but his comment certainly caught the attention of the current champ. The Aussie didn’t hold back, calling Stephens “Old punch drunk, Jeremy” on his Instagram story.

That was an unexpected reaction to the UFC 315 main event, where ‘JDM’ clearly emerged victorious. Whether Jeremy’s post was just for fun or if he genuinely believed that “Remember The Name” should have won remains a mystery. 

That being said, do you think the trash talk between Jeremy Stephens and ‘JDM’ will escalate? And also, do you think Craig Jones could be a real strategic headache for Islam Makhachev and his team when the superfight happens? Leave your thoughts in the comment box below.