Following his dominant performance against Belal Muhammad at UFC 315, reigning lightweight champion Islam Makhachev quickly turned his attention to the newly crowned welterweight king, Jack Della Maddalena, issuing a clear and emphatic challenge.
The UFC`s lightweight ruler knew that the outcome of Saturday night`s main event would significantly impact his future plans. With Della Maddalena securing the 170-pound title, the path is now open for Makhachev to potentially chase a second belt. His close relationship with Muhammad had previously made a move to welterweight against Belal unlikely, but with a new champion in place, Makhachev appears ready to embrace the challenge.
Shortly after UFC 315 concluded, Makhachev took to social media to signal his intent:
“Time to become a double champion,” Makhachev wrote on Twitter. “Let’s go.”
Makhachev also sent a direct message to Della Maddalena. This interaction came after the Australian addressed Makhachev in the cage, welcoming a potential fight and stating his desire to avenge his friend, Alexander Volkanovski. Volkanovski has faced and lost to Makhachev twice, their second bout ending with a powerful head kick knockout from the Russian.
In his message to the new champion, Makhachev made it clear he sees a difference between Della Maddalena and Volkanovski:
“You are not Volk,” Makhachev said to Della Maddalena. “I will show you different level. Keep my belt clean.”
For his part, Della Maddalena reiterated his willingness to welcome Makhachev to the welterweight division if that`s the fight the UFC wants to make. Responding to Makhachev`s comment about keeping the belt clean, Della Maddalena offered a confident reply with a smirk:
“Come get it,” Della Maddalena said. “I think there are a lot of good welterweights. Obviously, I think Islam what he’s done, I think he deserves the shot if he wants to step up. But I guess that’s not my call, it’s up to the UFC.”
Given this immediate exchange between the two champions, it seems likely that the UFC will find it relatively easy to put this highly anticipated matchup together sometime later this year.
