Belal Muhammad confident ahead of Della Maddalena clash

Welterweight champion Belal Muhammad predicts that UFC 315 will be “a rough night” for Jack Della Maddalena when the two fight for his belt in Montreal this May.

While the No.4 contender remains undefeated in the promotion, Della Meddalena has struggled with grapplers in his rise up the UFC ranks.

Two of the 28-year-old’s last three opponents — Bassil Hafez and Gilbert Burns — took down Della Maddalena 10 times between them, and that stat has not escaped Muhammad’s attention.

“So for me, you’ve had 14 months. You better have gotten better,” Muhammad said.

“Like I said, there’s levels to this.

“I’m not Bassil Hafez. I’m not Gilbert Burns.

“When you get in the cage with me, you’re going to realise, ‘Dang, this is why he’s the champion. Why does everyone keep saying he’s not that good? He’s definitely the best in the world.’

“I want to have him leave the cage with that reaction.

“For him, it’s going to be a rough night, a tough night.”

UFC betting sites have Muhammad as an early favourite to defend his welterweight title when the two clash on Saturday, May 10.

Even so, Muhammad believes the UFC made a good decision by giving the Australian underdog a shot at the title.

“I think they made the right call when you look at the landscape of the division,” he said.

“I’m never a guy to underestimate anybody. I like to overestimate my opponents.

“He has the longest winning streak in the division, and he came off a big win against Gilbert Burns.

“When I look at everyone else: [Kamaru] Usman is on a losing streak, [Joaquin] Buckley had a good victory going, but I just think ‘JDM’ is a little ahead of him with the opponent he just fought.

“But like I said, for me, as a champion, you have to fight anybody, you have to fight the best.”