Not many fighters have returned from a long hiatus and won a UFC championship, but Jack Della Maddalena did it last weekend. The Australian export put on an incredible fight against Belal Muhammad, and outclassed him with precision striking and great defensive wrestling tactics. Lightweight star Paddy Pimblett, who was tuned in to UFC 315, appears to have been quite impressed with Maddalena’s triumph, but also acknowledged the fact that some serious shake-up is oncoming, as it involves his division’s champion, Islam Makhachev.

“This is going to shake up my division in a big way,” said Paddy Pimblett in a recent YouTube video, highlighting how significant Jack Della Maddalena’s win was. Nevertheless, he had the Australian winning the fight all along. Claiming that he won more rounds than Belal Muhammad, ‘The Baddy’ even praised the former champion, claiming it to be one of his best fights as he’s often termed as a ‘boring’ fighter by the masses due to the nature of his fighting style.

Following Jack Della Maddalena’s win, it was clear that he and Islam Makhachev want to fight each other. Given how well he was able to tackle Belal Muhammad’s wrestling, Paddy Pimblett has no doubts that the newly crowned welterweight champion will give the lightweight champion a run for his money. However, the Scouse star isn’t counting Khabib Nurmagomedov’s protégé out.

“3-2 or 4-1 for me, that. To Jack Della… He deserved that [title win]. Best fight I’ve watched of Belal’s ever,” Paddy Pimblett further stated. “Della vs Islam, he showed he’s got good takedown defense there. But Islam’s a different beast, isn’t he? So, we’ll have to see how his strength transfers up to welterweight.” Meanwhile, Paddy Pimblett believes that the UFC matchmaking team, especially Dana White, may not be too fond of seeing most of the fights going to decision. But despite that, he claims the main event was “better than I expected it was gonna be, to be honest.”

Now, Islam Makhachev is finally on the verge of realizing his second belt aspirations, as Ilia Topuria is more or less set to face Charles Oliveira, either for the interim or a vacated lightweight title. Understanding the current scenario, Paddy Pimblett believes this could also affect him and his journey to a title shot. “Jack Della, new champ. He’ll be fighting Islam next, I think. Let’s see what happens in my division now… Could have big implications for my career going forward,” ‘The Baddy’ added.

Things will change for sure, but maybe not to Paddy Pimblett’s liking. The Liverpudlian star spoke about his title aspirations after the huge win over Michael Chandler. In fact, he is hoping to face Islam Makhachev for the title. But he knew things could change in the future, and it now has. But with the lightweight champion expressing his wish to fight for the welterweight title, a 170-pound contender has come to issue him a warning.

Islam Makhachev warned about fighting Jack Della Maddalena

Welterweight stalwart Stephen Thompson has been keeping a close eye on the current welterweight title scene as he provided a recent take on Islam Makhachev taking on Jack Della Maddalena. One of the biggest warning signs that he has highlighted to the lightweight champion is the fact that 170-pounders are often bigger in size, which could act as a discrepancy since Makhachev has mostly fought in the lightweight division for most of his career.

“I’m talking about over 205lb, 210 into 215lb, some of the guys I’ve faced would walk around at that weight,” Stephen Thompson told ‘Submission Radio’. “I think the height, they might be the same height or JDM might be a little taller, but I see these guys and I see their strengths, Islam is going to have a tough time.” Islam Makhachev, meanwhile, has shown himself to be an exceptional grappler and a wrestler, and even though he has those skills, ‘Wonderboy’ is skeptical about his chances of shutting down Maddalena.

“Now, do I think he can get it done? Yes. I think he’s that good of a grappler, but I think JDM has faced some of the best welterweight grapplers and wrestlers in the division, Belal being one of them,” Stephen Thompson added. “So I think it’s going to be a tough night for him.” Well, only time will tell how things play out for the lightweight champion.

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