Sign on the dotted line: Australian MMA fighter wins contract with the UFC
Australian MMA fighter Jack Della Maddalena has scored a UFC contract on Dana White’s Contender Series with an impressive performance against Swiss fighter Loosa Ange.
Della Maddelena won a unanimous decision, all judges scoring the bout 30-27. This is the first decision victory in Della Maddelena’s professional career, and the first time one of his fights went past the second round.
This victory extends his win streak to an impressive 10 in a row, his previous nine fights all being victories via stoppage.
Della Maddelena stayed in control for most of the fight, keeping it a striking affair where he seemed most comfortable, landing skilful counterpunches and staying just outside of Ange’s range.
When the fight did go to the ground, Della Maddelena kept his composure and stayed defensive, escaping a very tight arm triangle in the second round, to immediately go back on the attack.
“I was a bit slow on some of the counters, if I was a bit sharper I would have gotten [Ange] out of there”, Della Maddelena said in his post-fight interview.
UFC president Dana White had plenty of praise for the Australian when announcing he had earned a contract.
“All I can say about this fight is wow. It was an incredible fight. He showed us a lot of everything,” he said.
“I expect big things from this kid.”
What a fight! 👏#DWCS live on @ESPNPlus pic.twitter.com/GpUXoJv4y5 — UFC (@ufc) September 15, 2021
Della Maddelena was one of five fighters to be given a UFC contract from today’s episode of Contender Series, the other fighters including Canada’s Jasmine Jasudavicius, Poland’s Lukasz Brzeski, Russia’s Albert Duraev, and Brazil’s Jailton Malhadinho.
Dana White’s Contender Series broadcasts live from the UFC Apex centre in Las Vegas every Wednesday at 10am AEST on the UFC Fightpass.