Former Jack Della Maddalena opponent lifts lid on ‘special’ UFC champion ahead of Islam Makhachev test

Exclusive: Danny Roberts explains what it’s like to share the cage with the current UFC welterweight king

It would be unwise to write Jack Della Maddalena off ahead of his UFC 322 title clash with the imperious Islam Makhachev. That’s according to a former opponent of the reigning welterweight champion.

Della Maddalena will defend his UFC crown for the first time on Saturday when he takes on Makhachev, who moves up to 170lb after a dominant run as the king of lightweights. The Dagestani 33-year-old, who is arguably the pound-for-pound best in the sport, looked near-unbeatable as champion and boasts a resume that includes title-fight victories over Charles Oliveira, Alexander Volkanovski and Dustin Poirier.

Makhachev thus poses an almighty maiden challenge for Della Maddalena, six months on from the Aussie outpointing Belal Muhammad to dethrone the grappler and reach the welterweight mountain top.

But ex-UFC star Danny Roberts knows from first-hand experience the quality that the champion possesses. He, after all, fell victim to “JDM”’s rise, succumbing to a first-round knockout in November 2022.

“It was amazing to get in there, and I knew from the second we started throwing hard: ‘This is a good kid,’” Roberts told The Independent.

“You know your levels. I’ve had X amount of fights in the UFC, I know what it is when I get in there with someone – I know their level, their skillset, their potential – and I knew he was going to be great.

“When he was fighting Belal, I knew he was going to win that title. He’s going to give Makhachev problems, and a lot of people might not see that. Some people counted him out against Belal, some people counted him out against a friend of mine, Gilbert Burns. The kid’s special.”

Danny Roberts knew Jack Della Maddalena (left) was going to be special (Getty Images)

Della Maddalena lost his first two fights as a pro but has since gone on an 18-fight win streak, with victories over Randy Brown, Bassil Hafez, Kevin Holland and Burns following his ruthless finish of Roberts.

Roberts, now fighting in PFL, has since admitted that he took the Della Maddalena fight in the midst of unstable financial times, something which he feels the UFC should do better to prevent among its athletes.

“Fighting JDM was a financial transaction,” he explained. “It was business. I needed Christmas presents for my kids, I needed food on the f*****g table. I took that fight on like two weeks’ notice.

“I wasn’t really ready for it. Fights come up when they come up. You can take them or you don’t. Sometimes you have a financial burden on your shoulders.”