Australian Jack Della Maddalena outstruck Belal Muhammad to assert the UFC welterweight championship by unanimous determination after a climactic final-round scramble left Muhammad bloodied from a knee strike.
Perth-born Della Maddalena, who has a boxing background, thwarted a number of takedown makes an attempt from Muhammad, the superior wrestler, to maintain a lot of the struggle on the ft as he claimed his 18th skilled win in a row, handing the American his first loss in six years.
“He brings the pressure. I knew I had to be sharp on my feet,” Della Maddalena stated. “I wanted to take him out of there. I was gunning for a finish but Belal is a tough dude.”
Della Maddalena, 28, now desires to face light-weight champion Islam Makhachev, who had taken the belt from Australian champion Alexander Volkanovski.
“I think its a beautiful challenge. He’s the pound-for-pound No 1. I want to get him back for Volk,” Della Maddalena stated.
Within the co-main occasion, Kyrgyzstan’s Valentina Shevchenko defended her flyweight belt with a unanimous determination over Manon Fiorot, who suffered her first loss after 12 straight wins.
Shevchenko’s proper hooks left Fiorot’s nostril bleeding within the first spherical, however the Frenchwoman fought again, pinning Shevchenko to the cage and touchdown knees from the clinch over the following two rounds.
However Shevchenko escaped a physique lock within the fourth spherical and knocked Fiorot down, earlier than touchdown a spinning backfist and a superwoman punch within the fifth and remaining spherical to make sure a 48-47 victory on all three judges’ scorecards
