When Jack Della Maddalena stopped Ramazan Emeev in June 2022, he passed what he described as the “Dagestani wrestler test”. At UFC 322, he now faces the Islam Makhachev test – the final boss of Dagestani wrestler tests.
The incumbent welterweight champion is only in the embryonic stages of what he hopes will be a memorable title reign. Yet in his first defence, Dana White has fast-tracked him to a legacy fight. In imperious former lightweight king Makhachev, Della Maddalena has been tasked with overcoming a man three former champions have fallen at the feet of.