Jack Della Maddalena confident he can beat Belal Muhammad at UFC 315: 'I think I'm a better MMA fighter than him'

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Jack Della Maddalena understands the narrative surrounding his upcoming fight against Belal Muhammad at UFC 315 as the classic striker versus grappler matchup, but he's quick to shut that down.

Painting the welterweight title bout in such black and white terms demeans what both athletes are capable of doing, although Della Maddalena has heard plenty about Muhammad's wrestling and conditioning in the days leading up to their fight. Of course, Muhammad often touts his boxing as some of the best on the entire roster and he's even teased using his "Canelo hands" to ensure he retains his title on Saturday.

For his part, Della Maddalena doesn't negate that Muhammad can do everything necessary to win, but the Aussie-born slugger also believes he just does it all a little bit better.

"He's good at winning," Della Maddalena said about Muhammad when speaking to MMA Fighting. "So he'll revert back to just trying to win. Obviously, I don't underestimate his striking, but I think I can get him on the feet and on the ground. I think I'm a better MMA fighter than him.

"I wouldn't want to have a boxing match with him because I like MMA. I like the rule set. I like kicking. Kicking him and elbow him."

While Della Maddalena has built his reputation on delivering strikes with devastating power, he knows that Muhammad is very capable on his feet.

It was only three fights ago that Muhammad put on a blistering performance to knock out Sean Brady and he's gotten better since then. That's why Della Maddalena isn't just going to discount Muhammad as a liability on the feet, although he still doubts the reigning UFC welterweight champion is going to want to spend much time there in the actual fight.

"I think his striking, it's fast," Della Maddalena said. "He has a fast, awkward striking style. So it's effective. Obviously, he's not a very damaging guy just because he doesn't put all his weight behind his shots. It seems like he just snaps them out there fast. He can touch you and then get on your hips so he's a well-rounded guy.

"Obviously the fight starts on the feet so I think he'll come out and dip his toes a little bit. If he's feeling comfortable, and his fast little flicking hands he thinks are landing, he might stay on the feet a little bit.. When he starts feeling uncomfortable, I think that's when you see him start to revert back to his bread and butter."

The "bread and butter" is obviously Muhammad's grappling game, and that alongside his ability to push a relentless pace for 25 minutes, has kept him undefeated for the past six years.

Della Maddalena absolutely respects both of those weapons and he knows that question is going to come up a lot after he dealt with another grappling heavy game plan in his most recent win over Gilbert Burns. But for all the success Burns found early, he still ended the fight on his back looking up at the lights after Della Maddalena scored a devastating third-round knockout.

"I think I can stop the takedown," Della Maddalena said. "I'm comfortable on my back, and I think sometimes that's not good for [MMA], it sometimes works to my detriment. Stop the takedown is what I need to do. I think that makes the fight easier for me.

"If it hits the [ground], I've got ways of getting up. I'll be able to attack him off my back but stopping the takedown will be the best route to victory. It will save me energy, and I can use that energy to bust him up."

Despite his remarkable run through the division, and now serving as champion for the past 10 months, Muhammad has plenty of critics and there are more than a few fighters who love to tell him how his downfall is inevitable.

Through it all, Muhammad just keeps finding a way to win and Della Maddalena definitely respects that about him.

Much like his opponent, Della Maddalena has built his resume through nothing but hard work and he rarely has a bad word to say about anybody so don't expect that to change prior to Saturday's fight.

Killing him with kindness might be a stretch but Della Maddalena has no need to say anything purely for the sake of getting under Muhammad's skin. Instead, he prefers to just let the fighting do the talking for him and taking Muhammad's title says plenty.

"I respect the resume for sure," Della Maddalena said. "He has had a very good career. Obviously a hard working guy, he's put a lot of wins together, which isn't easy, especially at this sort of level of fighters he's fighting. I respect it.

"No bad blood. I'm coming with vicious intentions. That's the fight game."