LAS VEGAS – On. Off. On. Off. On.
That’s quick way of summing up Jack Della Maddalena’s past three weeks. At a UFC on ESPN 49 news conference Wednesday, Della Maddalena (14-2 MMA, 4-0 UFC) detailed the rollercoaster of having a flight across the world, three opponents, two cancellations, and two weight cuts.
“Just a lot of ups and downs,” Della Maddalena told MMA Junkie and other reporters. “We came over. This is our third week. We obviously got the news Sean Brady was out, so it was pretty devastating. Then we got an opponent.
Della Maddalena was originally scheduled to fight Brady at this past Saturday’s UFC 290, the pinnacle of International Fight Week in Las Vegas. Brady withdrew six days prior to the scheduled fight date and was replaced by promotional newcomer Josiah Harrell.
The two fighters weighed officially and each made the welterweight mark. Hours after, however, Harrell was removed when pre-fight medical testing showed an undiagnosed brain disease called moyamoya.
“It was obviously unfortunate what happened, but I think it was a positive,” Della Maddaelna said. “Then, we got a fight. We got what we came for, is the good thing.”
Unable to fight a replacement a day prior to the event, the UFC pushed Della Maddalena back a week to Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 49. The promotion signed another newcomer for the task. This time it’s Bassil Hafez (8-3-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC).
During all of the periods of uncertainty, numerous notables raised their hands publicly to fight Maddalena. Kevin Holland, Joaquin Buckley, and Chris Curtis were among them. However, none of those bouts materialized. Della Maddalena got tired of the back-and-forth without any productive conversations.
“I think everyone who said they were into fighting (me) all had fights locked in,” Della Maddalena said. “It was never really an option of those guys. If I had the choice, I’d probably have picked the highest ranked guy I could’ve. But beggars can’t be choosers and I just took what I could.”
Della Maddalena is from Perth, Australia, so it’s natural he hopes to fight at UFC 293, which takes place Sept. 9 in Sydney. Should he win Saturday, Della Maddalena hopes an established-name matchup finally materializes.
“If you want to fight, let’s do it,” Della Maddalena said. “If you want to fight down the line, let me fight and then we’ll figure it out. But I want to fight someone legit in Australia.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 49.
